Re: Evolution of Bird Feather and Aerofoil

On Sep 14, 5:20 pm, Augray <aug...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 15:50:06 -0000, UC
<uraniumcommitteechair...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in
<uranium-1189785006.630603.127...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> :



On Sep 14, 11:26 am, r norman <r_s_norman@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 15:11:23 -0000, UC <uraniumcommit...@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

<snip>

Here is some good(?) science on the matter:

http://www.biomechanics.bio.uci.edu/_html/nh_biomech/flight/flight.htm

Don't you realize that this citation only confirms the significance of
the difference between tree-down and ground-up?

No.

I don't get it. Perhapos there's something I'm missing. Once the
'bird' is in the tree, it can glide down. Duh? I don't see these as
exclusive behaviours, but rather as two sides of the same evolutionary
achievement. Little animals can get airborne easier than big ones,

How so? Can a mouse get airborne than an owl?

I said 'bird'. Read what I write, not what you imagine I write. My
point was that small animals were pre-adapted for flight in the sense
that they were light. Bats look a lot like mice...imagine that!

and
they can climb easier too!

Can an earthworm climb a tree easier than a cat?

Que???

I don't understand how this is anything
resembling a coherent dichotomy.

I'm not surprised.

Unlike Harshman and Norman, I'll make a futile effort to teach you,
for the benefit of the lurkers.

The "ground-up" vs "tree-down" dichotomy is laugable. It's much more
complex than that. Feathers had to evolve BEFORE flight, not as a
response to a 'desire' for flight. Proto-avians could have used the
feathered 'arms' to shield their eggs from the sun, to enable them to
hop up and down over their nests to create wind; one can imagine all
sorts of possibilities, and the truth is probably so bizarre we cannot
even imagine it.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Evolution of Bird Feather and Aerofoil
    ... I said 'bird'. ... point was that small animals were pre-adapted for flight in the sense ... Can an earthworm climb a tree easier than a cat? ... Feathers had to evolve BEFORE flight, ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Evolution of Bird Feather and Aerofoil
    ... the difference between tree-down and ground-up? ... 'bird' is in the tree, ... point was that small animals were pre-adapted for flight in the sense ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Evolution of Bird Feather and Aerofoil
    ... the difference between tree-down and ground-up? ... 'bird' is in the tree, ... point was that small animals were pre-adapted for flight in the sense ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Bird House Plans Needed.... Here you go!
    ... BIRDS YOU CAN ATTRACT TO NEST BOXES ... More than two dozen North American birds will nest in bird houses. ... boxes on a tree stump or wooden fence post between three and five feet ...
    (rec.woodworking)
  • Re: Bird House Plans Needed......pls
    ... BIRDS YOU CAN ATTRACT TO NEST BOXES ... Many of the birds that visit feeders and baths may stay and nest in nearby trees. ... More than two dozen North American birds will nest in bird houses. ... boxes on a tree stump or wooden fence post between three and five feet high. ...
    (rec.woodworking)