Bird brain reveals flight secrets
By Jacqueline Ali

The fossilised brain of a 150 million- year-old bird has given up the secret
of whether or not the creature could fly: apparently it could, say experts.

Hi-tech scanning equipment was used to X-ray the brain case of the Jurassic
era bird, called Archaeopteryx.

It revealed structures similar to those that modern birds use for flight and
balance, the study in Nature reports.

This adds significant weight to the popular theory that the birds' wings
were used for more than just flapping.

Since the discovery of the first Archaeopteryx fossil in 1861, the species
has been a source of some contention among the palaeontology community.
The carnivorous bird, which measured a maximum of around 50cm with wings
outstretched, had features that were both dinosaur-like and bird-like in
nature.

It had the distinctly avian characteristic of being feathered, yet also had
teeth and clawed hands.

Read the rest at BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3535272.stm

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