The Evolution of Feathers

September 10, 2012 By: Erin Block

Even if you are not a fly tier, you use feathers in one way or another. And understanding their source can really up your game at the vise.  But we often forget just where those feathers come from and their original intent.  In a recent interview with NPR’s Dave Davies, biologist Thor Hanson talks about the process he went through in writing his new book Feathers: the Evolution of a Natural Miracle.

“The vultures started me thinking about feathers, and I’ve never stopped.” says Hanson, as he has “traced feather shapes in the stone of dinosaur fossils and seen them in flying machines, fishing lures, Victorian hats, shuttlecocks, fletching, and ancient Peruvian artwork.”