Brent, regarding reptiles and birds, is it not the case that, while crocodiles and tortoises are both classified as reptiles, the crocodile is actually more closely related to any bird species than it is to any tortoise species? This is what the science of genetics tells us about them, i.e., that the common ancestor of both crocodiles and birds was more recent in time than that between tortoises and crocodiles. It would seem only reasonable, therefore, that if crocodiles and tortoises are categorized in the same zoological class, then certainly birds and crocodiles should be as well.
