Evolution of the phoenix

Chinese dragons are supposed to go through several stages of development including a phoenix stage. Maybe phoenixes as we know them, are actually descended from dragons, but stay in the phoenix stage all their lives. I have made up a scientific name for them, Dreco phoenixensis. The name of their genus, Dreco, comes from the Latin Draco=dragon, and roughly represents them as being mutated dragons.

Baby phoenixes rising from the flame and being reborn,could be explained maybe by that the phoenix eggs will only hatch, if put in flames, so the parents would probably die, their purpose in life gone.

This behaviour probably made it be assosiated with the old pagan gods and goddesses of death and rebirth and eventually the Christian resurrection.