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The latest research by Dr. Alan Feduccia and Julie Nowicki of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studied the development of ostrich eggs. Feduccia compared the hand digits in ostrich embryos with those of dinosaurs of the theropod species, and revealed that birds and theropods had a different thumb order. The following discussion of this research appeared on the website of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS):
"Whatever the ancestor of birds was, it must have had five fingers, not the three-fingered hand of theropod dinosaurs," Feduccia said. Scientists agree that dinosaurs developed 'hands' with digits one, two and three… "Our studies of ostrich embryos, however, showed conclusively that in birds, only digits two, three and four, which correspond to the human index, middle and ring fingers, develop, and we have pictures to prove it," said Feduccia, professor and former chair of biology at UNC. "This creates a new problem for those who insist that dinosaurs were ancestors of modern birds. How can a bird hand, for example, with digits two, three and four evolve from a dinosaur hand that has only digits one, two and three? That would be almost impossible." …2
Another well-known bird expert who opposes the dino-bird theory is Larry Martin of Kansas University, who states that the theory has no consistent, defensible element at all:
To tell you the truth, if I had to support the dinosaur origin of birds with those characters, I'd be embarrassed every time I had to get up and talk about it.3