Turner and colleagues interpreted the presence of feathers on Velociraptor as evidence that the ancestors of dromaeosaurids could fly , making Velociraptor and other large members of this family secondarily flightless . Turner and colleagues interpreted the presence of feathers on Velociraptor as evidence against the idea that the larger , flightless maniraptorans lost their feathers secondarily due to larger body size . Furthermore , they noted that quill knobs are almost never found in flightless bird species today , and that their presence in Velociraptor ( presumed to have been flightless due to its relatively large size and short forelimbs ) is evidence that the ancestors of dromaeosaurids could fly , making Velociraptor and other large members of this family secondarily flightless , though it is possible the large wing feathers inferred in the ancestors of Velociraptor had a purpose other than flight .