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First birds were poor fliers – flaps would have buckled Archaeopteryx feathers

Meet Archaeopteryx, one of the most primitive of all birds. It beautifully illustrates the transition between small predatory dinosaurs and their bird descendants. It has toothed jaws and three clawed fingers on each hand, but it also had broad wings with well-developed flight feathers. Like those of modern birds, these feathers had two asymmetrical vanes […]

By Ed Yong

PUBLISHED May 13, 2010

Meet Archaeopteryx, one of the most primitive of all birds. It beautifully illustrates the transition between small predatory dinosaurs and their bird descendants. It has toothed jaws and three clawed fingers on each hand, but it also had broad wings with well-developed flight feathers. Like those of modern birds, these feathers had two asymmetrical vanes coming off a central shaft or ‘rachis’.

But despite this striking resemblance, Archaeopteryx’s feathers differed from those of modern birds in a critical way. Robert Nudds from the University of Manchester and Gareth Dyke from University College Dublin have found that they were thinner and weaker than today’s feathers. If this early bird had tried the same flapping flight that its descendants do so effortlessly, its feathers would have buckled under the stress. It seems that this pioneer among birds wasn’t a very good flier.

Since its discovery, palaeontologists have argued about Archaeopteryx’s flying abilities. Sure, the animal had broad wings and sophisticated feathers. Its skull had an inner ear that resembled that of modern birds, suggesting that it had the coordination necessary for flight...

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First birds were poor fliers – flaps would have buckled Archaeopteryx feathers

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