Nice post, Chris! I enjoyed all the conjecture, too. It reminded me of something I read once...in which a diary of an early American settler had depictions of ostrich like birds, but larger, that were hunted on the content then. Perhaps they were remaining dinsosaur, until then. But I can't remember where I read this, so it remains hearsay unless I find some reference.

But even the cassowary is basically a dinosaur isn't it? (When I first saw one my jaw dropped). And the ostrich and emu, too?