Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo16amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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Text Appearing Before Image:
THE BEGINNINGS OF FLIGHT
Text Appearing After Image:
By courtesy of the New York Zoological Society White-winged dove four days old. with wing and leg extended, the latter to show the feathers of the "pelvic wing" been fleveloped at all, and we are as much in the dark as ever regarding the manner of this. Archa'opirriix is very reptile-like; but for its feathers it might be a reptile, and so far there is not the slightest hint of an intermediate stage between scale and feather. But to come back to the question of flight: there are two principal theories as to its origin, one that it was brought about by jumping up, the other that it was brought about by jumping down. According to one view, the aV)out-to-be l)irds ran along the ground, or jumped into the air waving their fore limbs vig- orously, until the time came when the wings were sufficiently developed to raise their owner into the air. Those who hold the other view consider that flight began by animals leaping from trees and instinctively spreading their limbs to catch at anything convenient to break their fall. Advocates of the first theory cannot bring forward a single creature that today habitually runs along the ground before taking flight; the best they can do is to adduce the flying fish which is not

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