May 21, 2010
Delicate, thin-shafted plumage would have made flapping difficult
Two species of prehistoric birds were gliders.
Their feathers probably would have buckled or snapped during strong flapping or sharp maneuvers, so the primitive birds may have been limited to gliding, says Robert Nudds, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Manchester in England.
The ancient birds may have simply glided from one branch to another, the researchers say, or “parachuted” from high spots to low by splaying their wings and slowing their descent.
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