The phrase "feather taking flight" refers to birds taking flight or birds in flight. As for when birds evolved and began flying, it happened millions of years ago during the Mesozoic Era. The earliest known bird-like species, such as _Archaeopteryx_, lived approximately 150 million years ago and displayed transitional features between dinosaurs and modern birds. Throughout evolutionary history, different bird species developed the ability to fly and adapted to various habitats around the world.