They ' ve been around for so long that the term reptile almost seems like a misnomer when applied to them . That is kind of true , but they ' re still called reptiles by most people even biologists . Technically they are the last animal that was between lizards and dinosaurs which includes birds . Birds are now officially considered dinosaurs thankfully , that fight has been going on for 30 years . And about the related to birds part , yes it ' s true that they are closer related to birds , but they are still more like reptiles than the dinosaurs that later evolved into birds . Birds are warm blooded and fast moving , lithe , and lost most of their armored skin except for their legs . They split from the reptile that later became the template for all dinosaurs , birdlike and nonbirdlike .