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Description
66 million years ago was just a normal day in the life of dinosaurs. No asteroid, no widespread wildfires, no tidal waves, nothing out of the ordinary. 66 million years later, some more incredible life had evolved. One of the most successful is a pony-sized, cursorial hadrosaur known as the horned whistler. Adapted for long distance running, like a horse, this dinosaur eats grass and berries like a bison. It lives in the Great Plains area, migrating north in spring and back south for the winter. They live in herds up to 1 million strong, devouring so much food that the individuals in the center occasionally starve. They are preyed upon by a variety of animals, such as large carnivorous pachycephalosaurids, large pterosaurs, and pack hunting hyena-like metatherians that can crush bones. But the horned whistler is not defenseless. When a predator gets too close, every individual in the area will forcefully eject air from the small hole in its rear crest, creating an ear-breaking that stuns most predators, sometimes long enough to escape. But such a loud sound means that they have had to evolve reduced hearing, and are therefore vulnerable to ambush. The nasal crest is only present in males, for it is purely for display. Females prefer the one with the largest and most tightly curled horn. They live about 20 years and are fiercely protective of their young.

Description
66 million years ago was just a normal day in the life of dinosaurs. No asteroid, no widespread wildfires, no tidal waves, nothing out of the ordinary. 66 million years later, some more incredible life had evolved. One of the most successful is a pony-sized, cursorial hadrosaur known as the horned whistler. Adapted for long distance running, like a horse, this dinosaur eats grass and berries like a bison. It lives in the Great Plains area, migrating north in spring and back south for the winter. They live in herds up to 1 million strong, devouring so much food that the individuals in the center occasionally starve. They are preyed upon by a variety of animals, such as large carnivorous pachycephalosaurids, large pterosaurs, and pack hunting hyena-like metatherians that can crush bones. But the horned whistler is not defenseless. When a predator gets too close, every individual in the area will forcefully eject air from the small hole in its rear crest, creating an ear-breaking that stuns most predators, sometimes long enough to escape. But such a loud sound means that they have had to evolve reduced hearing, and are therefore vulnerable to ambush. The nasal crest is only present in males, for it is purely for display. Females prefer the one with the largest and most tightly curled horn. They live about 20 years and are fiercely protective of their young.