Tiny feathered dino may have glided

[RonO]

https://www.science.org/content/article/glide-and-stride-tiny-feathered-dino-flapped-it-ran

A sparrow sized raptor had an extrodinary stride length indicating that
it may have glided between steps. Maybe like a flying fish on land.

There was once an old paper on the evolution of flight put up on TO
around 20 years ago where a researcher shortened the feathers on the
wings of a partridge so that it could not fly, but the birds were still
facilitated in their running and maneuvering. It could also run up a
steeper incline using it partial wings.

Ron Okimoto

[JTEM]

Post by RonO
https://www.science.org/content/article/glide-and-stride-tiny-feathered-
dino-flapped-it-ran
A sparrow sized raptor had an extrodinary stride length indicating that
it may have glided between steps.  Maybe like a flying fish on land.

The Cursorial theory on the origins of powered flight in birds
always made a great deal more sense than the Arboreal.

Amongst the obvious facts is that birds are so well adapted to
the ground that flightless birds -- secondarily flightless --
began evolving relatively quickly!

Not the only piece of evidence but amongst the more obvious...

[John Harshman]

Post by JTEM

https://www.science.org/content/article/glide-and-stride-tiny-feathered- dino-flapped-it-ran
A sparrow sized raptor had an extrodinary stride length indicating
that it may have glided between steps.  Maybe like a flying fish on land.

The Cursorial theory on the origins of powered flight in birds
always made a great deal more sense than the Arboreal.
Amongst the obvious facts is that birds are so well adapted to
the ground that flightless birds -- secondarily flightless --
began evolving relatively quickly!
Not the only piece of evidence but amongst the more obvious...

That's actually an interesting point. But what are these early,
secondarily flightless birds? Are you referring to oviraptorosaurs,
deinonychosaurs, and such? Greg Paul's ideas? What's the evidence that
they had flying ancestors?

[JTEM]

Post by John Harshman
That's actually an interesting point. But what are these early,
secondarily flightless birds? Are you referring to oviraptorosaurs,
deinonychosaurs, and such? Greg Paul's ideas? What's the evidence that
they had flying ancestors?

Just Googled "earliest secondarily flightless bird."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagopteryx

Not the only hit but it should be enough for you, considering that
nothing is capable of every satisfying you anyway...

[John Harshman]

Post by JTEM

Post by John Harshman
That's actually an interesting point. But what are these early,
secondarily flightless birds? Are you referring to oviraptorosaurs,
deinonychosaurs, and such? Greg Paul's ideas? What's the evidence that
they had flying ancestors?

Just Googled "earliest secondarily flightless bird."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagopteryx

Sorry, but Patagopteryx is not evidence for your claims. It's a
flightless bird all right, but we know that because it's embedded within
the group closest to modern birds and thus evolutionarily quite distant
from the origin of flight. You might as well point to a kiwi.

If there's a secondarily flightless theropod that supports your claim it
would have to be something much closer to the origin of flight, which is
why I mentioned oviraptorosaurs and deinonychosaurs. You should try Greg
Paul's book Dinosaurs of the Air.

[John Harshman]

Post by RonO
https://www.science.org/content/article/glide-and-stride-tiny-feathered-dino-flapped-it-ran
A sparrow sized raptor had an extrodinary stride length indicating that
it may have glided between steps.  Maybe like a flying fish on land.
There was once an old paper on the evolution of flight put up on TO
around 20 years ago where a researcher shortened the feathers on the
wings of a partridge so that it could not fly, but the birds were still
facilitated in their running and maneuvering.  It could also run up a
steeper incline using it partial wings.
Ron Okimoto

You're thinking about Ken Dial's wing-assisted incline-running, or WAIR.
It turns out that only anatomy already adapted for efficient, powered
flight (i.e., as in modern birds) can be used for WAIR, so it can't be
an intermediate step in flight evolution.