Researchers' new work has shown the dinosaurs had avian-like brains even before they started to evolve into birds.

According to the recently published study by the researchers in Nature, their findings have found evidences confirming the evolution of the dinosaur brainpower for flight even before they evolved into birds.

The study named "Evolutionary origins of the avian brain" stated that dinosaurs had the neurological capabilities required for flight even before the existence of Achaeopteryx, one of the first birds in that time.

The paper's abstract read: "Features that were once considered exclusive to modern birds, such as feathers and a furcula, are now known to have first appeared in non-avian dinosaurs."

It is not absolutely clear regarding the early evolutionary history of the hyperinflated brain which distinguishes birds from that of the other living reptiles. But the researchers' deep workings have confirmed that the hyperinflation in the brain helps maintaining coordination between the superior vision and the qualities that are required to fly.

It was with the help of the high-resolution X-ray computed tomographic (CT) scans that the researchers were able to analyze approx two dozen specimens of Achaeopteryx and other non-avian dinosaurs like tyrannosaurs.

The above study, based upon high-resolution Xray CT scans, was published on Sunday.