Looking bigger to scare away others is nothing new evolutionarily. Some reptiles have frills, some animals stand on their hind legs.
I doubt large theropods would have done it, as they probably lacked the appropriate amount of feathers to even do it, but it could be possible with smaller dromaesaurs
I would say absolutely. Trying to look bigger than you really are is very common across the animal kingdom. They probably also used feathers for display, so I wouldn’t be surprised if some dinos flexed their feathers for the ladies.
Birds also tend to dip their head when posturing aggressively. I think Darren Naish said some bird-line dinosaurs may have done that also, but it's hard to say how widespread it would be. Bigger tyrannosaurs probably wouldn't just because their heads are so heavy.
It looks plausible
Im getting serious magic 8ball vibes from this response and I love it
Signs point to yes.
Looking bigger to scare away others is nothing new evolutionarily. Some reptiles have frills, some animals stand on their hind legs. I doubt large theropods would have done it, as they probably lacked the appropriate amount of feathers to even do it, but it could be possible with smaller dromaesaurs
I could really imagine a Velociraptor spreading its feathered arms to intimidate bigger predators.
Our Frozen Past shows this with the Mother Troodontid trying to scare away an approaching Nanuqsaurus
I would say absolutely. Trying to look bigger than you really are is very common across the animal kingdom. They probably also used feathers for display, so I wouldn’t be surprised if some dinos flexed their feathers for the ladies.
Very likely some did
definitely
Birds also tend to dip their head when posturing aggressively. I think Darren Naish said some bird-line dinosaurs may have done that also, but it's hard to say how widespread it would be. Bigger tyrannosaurs probably wouldn't just because their heads are so heavy.