Baby Deinonychus could fly

Adam Khor

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0121476

Rubecula

hard to beleive they did though

Adam Khor

Definitely no stranger than say, a Quetzalcoatlus...

Since Deinonychus were apparently quite aggressive and possibly cannibalistic, I can see how climbing trees and flying would have given them an advantage over the adults, allowing them to grow without being eaten by their elders- sort of like young Komodo dragons seeking refuge in trees until they're big enough.

Rubecula

I would have thought it more likely that a big leap and "powered" glide a tad more likely tbh

Adam Khor

Well, if they were arboreal chances are they were not particularly good fliers- maybe the neotropical cracids would be a good equivalent? They can fly but usually just leap from one branch to another, very rarely attempting long trips...

Linnaeus

I do not think that Deinonychus could have flown, at any age. We simply do not have enough evidence to support this hypothesis. True, certain small dromaeosaurids and coelosaurian dinosaurs were evolving anatomically toward avian forms. But today, there is no solid proof that Deinonychus had feathers or wings.

The members of Microraptoria, such as the recently discovered four-winged Changyuraptor, were much more likely to have possessed the power of true flight or at least sturdy gliding ability.

Capt'n Midnight