XROMM (IMAGE)

American Museum of Natural History

XROMM

Caption

X-ray studies reveal that baby birds flap their tiny wings to help them climb steep slopes. The force generated by flapping pushes them forward as well as upward, improving traction as they climb. Non-bird dinosaurs might have done the same thing with their 'mini-wings' before flight evolved.

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© Ashley Heers/Brown University XROMM Facility

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