Birds typically need long, narrow wings to soar ... and other aquatic prey. Feathers are a fantastic model system for understanding how complex structures evolve and how anatomy and behavior ...

The researchers deployed rows of flaps to the wing design to prevent aircraft from stalling, much like birds deploy their covert feathers to achieve certain aerial maneuvers. Covert feathers are a ...

But now, a new examination of fossils reported today in the journal Science reveals several examples of this four-winged anatomy in ... The feathers of birds’ wings, known as flight feathers ...

But there's more to bird flight than strong wings and hollow bones. One secret lies in their covert feathers—layers of small feathers that cover the wing’s base and shift during tricky ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. If you ever sit in an airplane row overlooking a wing, then you ...

By connecting feather patterns to proportions, they inferred flight abilities like the early bird Archaeopteryx and four-winged Microraptor. Caudipteryx had flyer ancestors but lost flight features ...

In modern birds, the palaeontologist said, shorter upper arm bones and a set of tertial feathers fill the gap between the body and the rest of the wing. In the case of Archaeopteryx, however ...