Page 96 - The Origin of Birds and Flight

94 The Origin of Birds and Flight

Many species have thousands of feathers: The Plymouth
Rock hen has approximately 8,000, and the Whistling
Swan 25,000. Even a small bird such as the goldcrest
may have more than 1,000 feathers. (1) The fact that each
one of these thousands of feathers has a separate func-
tion and assumes the right shape, size and angle cannot
be the result of chance. Feathers arranged for flight are
proof of creation and display Allah’s dominion over liv-
ing things.

1. B. Taylor, The Bird Atlas, New York: Dorling Kindersley,
Plymouth Rock Hen 1993, p. 5.

insights on how feathers evolved, because its own feathers are nearly
indistinguishable from those of today’s birds. 73
Evolutionists’ biased attitudes towards the question of the origin of
74
bird feathers led to conflicting theories. It was claimed that reptile scale
gradually lengthened, developed fringes, and assumed a form capable
of bearing a bird in such a way as to facilitate flight. 75 It’s of course
impossible for an unconscious scale to decide to lengthen itself and then
change form so as to achieve the structure of the avian feather. It’s even
more impossible for all the scales on a reptile’s body to make such a deci-
sion and give rise to a marvel of creation that astounds scientists. Indeed,
evolutionists have no evidence to support their scenarios, which are sim-
ply based on imagination.
The fossil record refutes feathered dinosaur claims:
To date, there has been speculation regarding “feathered dino-
saurs,” although detailed analysis has refuted all of it. In an article titled,
“Why Dinosaurs Lacked Feathers,” the eminent ornithologist Alan
Feduccia writes:
Feathers are features unique to birds, and there are no known interme-
diate structures between reptilian scales and feathers.
Notwithstanding speculations on the nature of the elongated scales