Re: Flight capablities of Archie & Confucius? Not so good...

[Tim Williams <tijawi@yahoo.com>]

Evelyn Sobielski <koreke77@yahoo.de> wrote:

> It is perhaps significant that kakapos are effectively
> flightless, but still use their wings to parachute to safety
> from trees etc without getting hurt. For all that can be
> said, Archie had a better wing loading than a kakapo. 


Kakapos, though, are superb climbers.


But I take your point.  I suspect that the wings of _Archaeopteryx_ and small 
non-avialan maniraptorans (e.g., microraptorines, _Rahonavis_, 
_Jinfengopteryx_) were employed to help get them out of trees.


Also, the features of _Archaeopteryx_ that have traditionally (but not 
universally) been regarded as incipient flight characters, may actually be on 
the path to secondary loss - perhaps as a result of an insular existence.  I 
think this was your other point.



Cheers

Tim