Do birds fly because they have wings or do they have wings because they fly?

Answer 1

Well, it depends... ;) If you believe in evolution:

Birds wouldn't just randomly evolve to have wings. More likely, they'd want to get away from predators, most of whom can't fly. So, the birds would develop wings because of their need to fly to survive - they have wings because they fly.

If, on the other hand, you believe in creationism/intelligent design:

I suppose those birds' intelligent designer gave them their wings either to keep His/Her little pets out of the way of His/Her other pets, or just for the sake of variety. Either way, in that case birds fly because their designer gave them wings.

You choose. :)

Answer 2

Neither. Not all birds with wings fly. Most of them flies because it's their primary way to survive. Survival in this context, is a means to eat, to find food, to look for safety and evade predators.

Answer 3

The answer is both. 'Flying' is something you do with wings that wings are very good for.

Birds appear to be descendants of dinosaurs that followed a path of lighter and quicker bodies for evasion of predators. Many things came together over millions of generations to make them ever lighter and ever quicker ... including lighter skeletons, lighter scales evolving into fluffier scales for warmth evolving to feathers for warmth and pre-flight, better hind-legs for running hopping, and grasping higher branches, and yes front appendages, (now no longer needed for running) used for flapping and gliding (both quite useful in conjunction with hopping), eventually leading to longer and longer flight.

So wings and flight evolved *together*.

You could ask the same about humans: do we have brains because we think, or do we think because we have brains? ... The answer is that brains and thinking evolved *together*.

Simpler example: do we have vocal cords because we talk, or do we talk because we have vocal cords? Vocal cords and speech evolved together.

Answer 4

they wings to let them fly

Answer 5

lol... in evolution, wings didnt emerge because the birds wanted to run from predators. thats lamarckian theories and its virtually unacceptable. birds fly because they have wings that work.

Answer 6

They are born with wings which enable them to fly. They dun fly & then realise that they dun have wings!

Answer 7

they fly because they have wings.

Answer 8

they fly because they have wings they evolved from dinosaures

Answer 9

they fly because they have wings, but not penguins...they have wings but don't fly

Answer 10

Both.