Book 11, Question 2
Why Do Birds Have Feathers Instead of Fur?
Birds have feathers because feathers can do jobs that fur cannot! They are light and strong, and they are shaped for flying, staying warm, and keeping dry. Fur would be heavy and soggy in the rain, and it could never make a wing.
More fun facts
- Birds have had feathers for as long as birds have existed.
- Feathers are useful for much more than flying.
- Scientists studied genes to learn how feathers first evolved, around 120 to 150 million years ago.
- Birds and dinosaurs both belong to a bigger group of reptiles called archosaurs.
- A small feathered dinosaur called Microraptor could probably flap its wings to fly.
Sources: BBC, Scientific American
Questions kids ask
Did dinosaurs have feathers?
Some did. Microraptor, for example, had feathered wings.