Re: some questions related to dinosaur and/or avian biology

[Stan Friesen <swf@ElSegundoCA.NCR.COM>]

From: JNorton@MAILBOX.UNE.EDU

 > 1)  Are long-necked herbivores found only within the saurischia
 > (sauropods), or are there some long-necked ornithiscian herbivores as
 > well?

No.

 > 3)  For the ornithologists that I know are out there and contribute to these
 > lists:  are all passerines relatively small birds, or are some comparable in
 > size to larger non-passerines?

The largest passerines I can think of off-hand are the ravens.

 > 4)  Another one for the ornithologists, and not meant to resurrect the egg
 > predation arguments again:  do any modern birds bury their eggs in sand
 > or vegetation mounds aa a means of minimizing changes in the immediate
 > external environment of the eggs?

Yes.  I know of at least one fowl (??the guinea hen??) that builds
a large mound of vegetation and lays a handful of eggs within it.
The mound acts as a giant compost heap, and keeps the eggs toasty
warm without the parents needing to sit on them at all.

swf@elsegundoca.attgis.com              sarima@netcom.com

The peace of God be with you.