Alan Brush states that much more research is necessary. Modern feathers are structures that have been subjected to over a hundred million years of evolution for the purpose of a flight. Brush believes that the structures on the fossil could be protofeathers, the structures from which modern avian feathers evolved, or might be true feathers of a sort entirely unlike modern feathers. More research, including cross-section and chemical analysis, could determine whether they are protofeathers, feathers, or something totally unrelated. Stieg, Bill. 1997.
Debate rages over birds' relation to dinosaurs.