A dinosaur’s running gait may reveal insights into the history of bird flight

A robot and ostriches with fake wings model Caudipteryx’s flapping stride

Corey Ford/Alamy

MEEP MEEP  Caudipteryx, a peacock-sized dinosaur (illustrated) that lived about 125 million years ago, was a fast runner. The jostling from its gait may have caused its feathery forelimbs to flap, in a possible precursor to active flapping, a study finds. 

Corey Ford/Alamy

An early winged dinosaur couldn’t fly, but it could run.