Deinonychus antirrhopus
"counterbalancing terrible claw"

      Creeping stealthily out into a clearing, a lone ornithomime approaches a Maiasaura nest, which has been left temporarily unguarded. Using its sharp beak, the dinosaur cracks open several of the eggs and devours their contents. Noticing the giant hadrosaurs returning, the ornithomime snatches up one last egg and retreats into the forest. In the safety of the dark, thick foliage, it consumes the last egg, but is startled by a sound from the woods. It is being hunted. Frightened, the swift dinosaur retreats farther into the woods, but it's attackers are already upon it. A Deinonychus pack chases down the ornithomime, digging into it with their deadly sickle claws. Slowed by loss of blood, the ornithomime falls to the ground, and the Deinonychus feast.

This scene, taken from a short stop-motion film which was later re-used in a special hosted by Christopher Reeve in the late 1980s, is what truly sparked my interest in dinosaurs and solidified my favorite prehistoric creatures: Struthiomimus and Deinonychus. Arguably one of the best known dromaeosaurids, Deinonychus was a wolf-sized bird, reaching about 3m (9ft) long including its stiffened, counterbalancing tail. Its remains have been found associated with a Tenontosaurus and other Deinonychus, spawning the belief that these and other dromaeosaurid raptors were pack hunters. While there is little evidence to back this up, it is not unlikely.

About two years ago I drew my own rendition of the scene described above, updated to reflect current thinking about these birds. Since then much new information has come to light regarding their appearance and feathers, so I thought it was time to do another updated rendition. Here, two Deinonychus have been occupying the low limbs of a tree, when a potential pray animal wandered too close. One bird leaps to attack as the other cocks its head to investigate the sound, and will likely jump or glide down to assist in or steal the kill.