"He's a Church Griffin. Gryps vergandis corax. Think Maine coon cat plus raven, and exactly as temperamental as you'd expect given that." Crow, as if understanding that he was being discussed, looked up with an innocent look in his big yellow-green eyes, his pointed ears pricked forward with interest. "Though he's not actually, genetically speaking, a blend of the two. Griffins are a species that evolved convergently with local predators--in this case, felines and avians. Church Griffins are from northern Europe so they evolved along with very large, furry cats and corvids, but then you have the Flamboyant Griffin who look more akin to a macaw crossed with an ocelot, or a garrinna, which is technically a marsupial and looks like a cockatiel plus a thylacine and is native to Australia, but--"
Suddenly Alex realized that he'd gone into Lecture Mode and paused, sheepish. "Sorry. I do that sometimes. And... you're not wrong about the feathers. But it depends on the species; hadrosaurs are aquatic, and they rely more on the coloration of their crests for mating displays than feather displays. I've noticed feathers more on the the predatory Therapoda that I--" He stopped and sighed again. "Sorry. Again."
Seeing his chance, and hoping that she'd be distracted by the rambling, he ran his hand through his hair again and tried for a casual, friendly segue. "So speaking of stuff that's not exactly one thing or the other... um, what are you exactly?" He smiled awkwardly.