Archaeopteryx may have taken off by using two or three powerful leaps to reach the speed needed for sustained flight.
With wings that could not lift high above its back and no keeled breastbone to power a modern-style launch, Archaeopteryx faced a basic problem: how did this early bird get off the ground? New research from the University of Southampton suggests the answer lay largely in its powerful hind legs, which may have propelled it into flight through two or three successive leaps.
Scientists have debated for more than a century how the 150 million year old, reptile-like Archaeopteryx became airborne.
The animal represents a crucial evolutionary stage between non-avian dinosaurs and birds, but unlike many modern birds, it apparently could not generate enough force to launch itself with a single jump.
Its restricted shoulder movement and lack of a breastbone also limited how rapidly its wings could accelerate it to flight speed, leaving the mechanics of takeoff unresolved.
“Archaeopteryx is the first real bird,” explains paleobiologist at the University of Southampton, Dr Neil Gostling. “It was covered in feathers and possessed wings, but also retained a number of distinctly dinosaur features, such as a long bony tail, claws on separate fingers, and teeth in a beakless jaw. It wasn’t a particularly well-developed ‘bird’ compared to those we know today.”
Professor of Biomechanics at Southampton, Markus Heller, adds: “We know Archaeopteryx couldn’t rely on its wings to take off – with no keeled sternum, and a shoulder that couldn’t lift the wing above the back – so we asked what its legs could contribute. It turns out that is where take-off is won: the legs generate the force, and the wings take over afterwards.”
Powerful legs may have solved takeoff
Scientists have proposed several ways early birds might have become airborne, including flapping while running uphill or gliding down from an elevated position such as a tree or cliff.
Because those possibilities are difficult to test directly, the researchers built on observations made by the late Dr Colin Palmer and combined computer modeling with measurements from living birds, including gulls, magpies, crows, and finches. They then adapted those observations to Archaeopteryx anatomy, analyzing forces at the hip, knee, and ankle together with muscle capacity to estimate how quickly the animal could launch.
Two or three leaps reached flight speed
The researchers, including Dr. Pauline Provini of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, concluded that Archaeopteryx could have reached the minimum speed needed for sustained flight after only two or three jumps. That would have avoided the more energetically demanding single leap commonly used by modern birds.
“Our findings show that a mid-sized, 400g Archaeopteryx could have achieved a sustainable flight speed of seven meters per second with three bipedal leaps, or with two bipedal leaps with a downward flap between jumps,” said Dr Erik Meilak, a former PhD researcher at the University of Southampton who carried out the study.
Modern birds still use multiple hops
“All birds push with their legs when they take off,” explains Dr. Gostling. “In fact, up to 90 percent of the force required to get off the ground comes from the legs, and then the wings take over.
“Archaeopteryx would have either taken off with a leap, leap, leap, and then lots of flapping, or a leap, a flap, another leap, and more flapping.
“Although today’s birds can take off with just one leap, we still see many, such as crows, magpies, and seagulls, also using the multiple hop technique. They use one leap if startled, stressed, or threatened, or – like their ancestors – two or three or more if they are saving energy.”
Reference: “Hop, hop and away: On the take-off of Archaeopteryx using a multiple leaping mechanism” by Erik A. Meilak, Neil J. Gostling, Colin Palmer, Pauline Provini and Markus O. Heller, 5 August 2026, Developmental Biology.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2026.07.018
This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council [grant number NE/L002531/1].
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