They concluded it could fly in bursts over relatively short distances like pheasants, peacocks and roadrunners. Crow-sized Archaeopteryx, which lived about 150 million years ago in a tropical archipelago that is now Bavaria, combined primitive dinosaur characteristics with traits seen in modern birds. Its flight capabilities may have enabled Archaeopteryx to escape predators or fly among islands. Archaeopteryx was likely able to take off from the ground, but must have used a unique flying style, Sanchez said. It lacked important traits in the shoulders of modern birds, making it impossible to beat its wings the way they do.

Source: New Strait Times March 14, 2018 04:41 UTC