Even the smallest amount of oil can disrupt the delicate mechanisms behind the flight of seabirds, a new study suggests. Crude oil on the feathers of waterfowl significantly increase the amount of energy the birds have to spend in order to fly, making the birds’ wings and bodies less aerodynamic. Researchers trained wild western sandpipers […]
Tag: feathers
Newly discovered feathered dinosaur sheds light on the evolution of flight 
A newly discovered troodontid species is the earliest example of a bird-like dinosaur with asymmetric feathers—a physical trait associated with the evolution of flight. The new species, named Jianianhualong tengi, was described from a nearly complete skeleton with preserved feathers. The fossil dates from the Early Cretaceous period— approximately 100-145 million years ago—and was found in north-eastern […]
