Skip to main content
Scientific American
  • Sign In
  • |Newsletters
  • COVID
  • Health
  • Mind & Brain
  • Environment
  • Technology
  • Space & Physics
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Subscribe
  • Current Issue
  • Sign In
  • Newsletters
      • Share
      • Latest

      Save 20% on digital!

      Evolution

      Which Came First, the Feather or the Bird?

      A long-cherished view of how and why feathers evolved has now been overturned

      • By Alan H. Brush, Richard O. Prum on March 1, 2004
      • Share on Facebook
      • Share on Twitter
      • Share on Reddit
      • Share on LinkedIn
      • Share via Email
      • Print
      Advertisement

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

        Recent Articles by Alan H. Brush

        • Dinosaur Feathers Came before Birds and Flight

          Recent Articles by Richard O. Prum

          • Dinosaur Feathers Came before Birds and Flight
          Advertisement

          Newsletter

          Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter.

          Sign Up

          Support Science Journalism

          Discover world-changing science. Explore our digital archive back to 1845, including articles by more than 150 Nobel Prize winners.

          Subscribe Now!Support Science Journalism

          Follow us

          • instagram
          • soundcloud
          • youtube
          • twitter
          • facebook
          • rss

          Scientific american arabic

          العربية
          • Return & Refund Policy
          • About
          • Press Room
          • FAQs
          • Contact Us
          • Site Map
          • Advertise
          • SA Custom Media
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Your US State Privacy Rights
          • Your Privacy Choices/Manage Cookies
          • International Editions
          Scientific American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial relations with thousands of scientific publications (many of them can be found at www.springernature.com/us). Scientific American maintains a strict policy of editorial independence in reporting developments in science to our readers.

          © 2023 Scientific American, a Division of Springer Nature America, Inc.

          All Rights Reserved.

          Scroll To Top

          Support science journalism.

          Scientific American paper issue and on tablet

          Thanks for reading Scientific American. Knowledge awaits.

          Already a subscriber? Sign in.

          Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue.

          Create Account

          See Subscription Options

          Continue reading with a Scientific American subscription.

          You may cancel at any time.

          Sign in.