Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival: What is a bird? An evolutionary perspective on the first ‘birds’

Birds are the most species-rich clade of any vertebrate on land, and this speaks to their success as the last dinosaurs on Earth. But at what point does a dinosaur stop being a dinosaur and start being a bird? Does it ever stop being a dinosaur? And why did they survive when the other dinosaurs died out? Cost: $15       Part of the Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival Join us 100 miles North of Phoenix in North Central Arizona’s Verde Valley for the Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival. Experience birding during the peak Spring migration season at Dead Horse Ranch State Park on the banks of the Verde River. Close proximity to the Verde, Oak Creek, Sycamore Creek, and other perennial waters offers a wide selection of guided tours, hikes, and workshops in one of Arizona’s richest birding habitats. Our experienced guides have extensive knowledge of birds and the unique habitat that makes this region special. The festival, presented each April by Friends of the Verde River, is a purpose-driven community benefit organization and 501© 3 non-profit working to preserve one of the last perennial flowing rivers in the American Southwest. Festival site is at Dead Horse Ranch State Park.