Birds are simply amazing! They possess some remarkable and unique features within the animal kingdom.
For instance, feathers are unique to 'birds' (aves, the scientific Class).
Feathers: All birds have feathers, (composed of keratin and other proteins - and structural colouration), to serve as body insulation. Different types of feathers may also be ornamental, such as plumes, while other feather types help birds control their flight. A unique alula at the 'leading edge' of the wing is a 'high lift device' that helps develop lift at slow speeds (similar to Handley Page slots in modern aircraft wings) to prevent 'stalling.' The fine detail of the way feathers grow and develop is also staggering. They exhibit exquisite design - or at least, this is what most people would automatically think. And yet, we are told by the scientific establishment, that 'design' is an 'illusion', that feathers are simply the result of millions of years of evolution, the precursors being the scales of reptiles!
I believe that there is something fundamentally wrong with the scientific 'Just-So' story of evolving scales into feathers. Why? Well firstly, they are produced totally differently. Scales, are basically folds and patterned growths in the skin, whereas feathers, grow from a follicle! You couldn't get a wider differential.
Below is an extract from a book by Michael Denton, appropriately called 'Evolution: A Theory in Crisis'... (1986 pg 202 ~ 204)
"Each feather consists of a central shaft carrying a series of barbs which are positioned at right angles to the shaft to form the vane. The barbs which make up the vane are held together by rows of barbules. From the anterior barbules, hooks project downward and these interlock with ridges on the posterior barbules. Altogether, in the flight feather of a large bird, about a million barbules cooperate to bind the barbs into an impervious vane.
The feather is a magnificent adaptation for flight. Flight feathers are remarkably light and strong and anyone who has played with one will know how easily a ruffled feather can be repaired merely by drawing it between the fingers. In addition to its lightness and strength the feather has also permitted the exploitation of a number of sophisticated aerodynamic principles in the design of the bird's wing.
One problem common to all aerofoils is turbulence, which reduces lift and causes stalling. Turbulence can be greatly cut down by the provision of slots in the aerofoil which let through part of the air stream and tend to smooth down the flow. Aeroengineers have used this principle by placing a small subsidiary aerofoil in front of the main wing, creating the so-called Handley Page slot. The use of feathers in the design of an aerofoil lends itself admirably to the provisions of slots, and most birds' wings exploit this technique. The use of feathers also provides the bird with an aerofoil of variable geometry so that it has the ability to vary the shape and aerodynamic properties of its wing at takeoff, landing, and for various different sorts of flight - flapping, gliding, soaring. In many birds, the positioning of the feathers is maintained by an intricate system of tendons which allow the feathers to twist in such a way that when the
wing is raised they open like the vanes of a blind, greatly reducing resistence [sic], but close completely on the downstroke, thus greatly improving the efficiency of flight. One need only watch the darting-backwards-and-forwards flight of the humming bird to grasp something of the excellent aerodynamic properties of the feathered aerofoil.
By what sequence of events and through what kinds of transitional states might the feather, the feathered aerofoil or wing, and avian flight have evolved?"
By what indeed! All of the attempts to 'close the gap' within the scientific literature, that I have seen to date, don't come close to providing an adequate explanation for the origin and development of a feather, or wing, of a bird!
For instance, feathers are unique to 'birds' (aves, the scientific Class).
Feathers: All birds have feathers, (composed of keratin and other proteins - and structural colouration), to serve as body insulation. Different types of feathers may also be ornamental, such as plumes, while other feather types help birds control their flight. A unique alula at the 'leading edge' of the wing is a 'high lift device' that helps develop lift at slow speeds (similar to Handley Page slots in modern aircraft wings) to prevent 'stalling.' The fine detail of the way feathers grow and develop is also staggering. They exhibit exquisite design - or at least, this is what most people would automatically think. And yet, we are told by the scientific establishment, that 'design' is an 'illusion', that feathers are simply the result of millions of years of evolution, the precursors being the scales of reptiles!
I believe that there is something fundamentally wrong with the scientific 'Just-So' story of evolving scales into feathers. Why? Well firstly, they are produced totally differently. Scales, are basically folds and patterned growths in the skin, whereas feathers, grow from a follicle! You couldn't get a wider differential.
Below is an extract from a book by Michael Denton, appropriately called 'Evolution: A Theory in Crisis'... (1986 pg 202 ~ 204)
"Each feather consists of a central shaft carrying a series of barbs which are positioned at right angles to the shaft to form the vane. The barbs which make up the vane are held together by rows of barbules. From the anterior barbules, hooks project downward and these interlock with ridges on the posterior barbules. Altogether, in the flight feather of a large bird, about a million barbules cooperate to bind the barbs into an impervious vane.
The feather is a magnificent adaptation for flight. Flight feathers are remarkably light and strong and anyone who has played with one will know how easily a ruffled feather can be repaired merely by drawing it between the fingers. In addition to its lightness and strength the feather has also permitted the exploitation of a number of sophisticated aerodynamic principles in the design of the bird's wing.
One problem common to all aerofoils is turbulence, which reduces lift and causes stalling. Turbulence can be greatly cut down by the provision of slots in the aerofoil which let through part of the air stream and tend to smooth down the flow. Aeroengineers have used this principle by placing a small subsidiary aerofoil in front of the main wing, creating the so-called Handley Page slot. The use of feathers in the design of an aerofoil lends itself admirably to the provisions of slots, and most birds' wings exploit this technique. The use of feathers also provides the bird with an aerofoil of variable geometry so that it has the ability to vary the shape and aerodynamic properties of its wing at takeoff, landing, and for various different sorts of flight - flapping, gliding, soaring. In many birds, the positioning of the feathers is maintained by an intricate system of tendons which allow the feathers to twist in such a way that when the
wing is raised they open like the vanes of a blind, greatly reducing resistence [sic], but close completely on the downstroke, thus greatly improving the efficiency of flight. One need only watch the darting-backwards-and-forwards flight of the humming bird to grasp something of the excellent aerodynamic properties of the feathered aerofoil.
By what sequence of events and through what kinds of transitional states might the feather, the feathered aerofoil or wing, and avian flight have evolved?"
By what indeed! All of the attempts to 'close the gap' within the scientific literature, that I have seen to date, don't come close to providing an adequate explanation for the origin and development of a feather, or wing, of a bird!
The problem illustrated above, is just feathers! I've not included evolutionary issues with the origin of the complex avian lung, wings, the structure of the bones, an the amniotic egg.... the list goes on!