Turner and colleagues interpreted the presence of feathers on "Velociraptor" as evidence that the ancestors of dromaeosaurids could fly, making "Velociraptor" and "Deinonychus" secondarily flightless. This idea has since been discarded; the unmodified forearms count against it. Therefore, the feathers in the ancestors of "Velociraptor" had another function. The feathers of the flightless "Velociraptor" may have been used for display, for covering their nests while brooding.