This morning, I read with great interest a brief article in Science (Turner, et al, 317: 1721, 2007) demonstrating that the Velociraptor had bony "quill knobs" on its ulna that suggest the presence of secondary feathers. Velociraptor did not fly, of course, but the authors indicate that the feathers could have been used for display, or to give "lift" while running downhill. Here is the link: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/317/5845/1721.
We have discussed the article in our ad hoc journal club, and feel certain that the feathers probably were very like ours in color and marking!
Geoffrey
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