Dodos probably weren’t as stupid as historians made them out to be: new research

The dodo has been extinct for more than three hundred years, but its reputation as a foolish creature persists, even embedded in its scientific name. Per The Conversation, new research upends that image entirely. Researchers reconstructed the dodo's brain using CT scans of the only three completely preserved skulls, comparing it to modern pigeons—the dodo's closest living relatives. They found the dodo's forebrain, responsible for cognition and memory, was proportionally similar to other pigeons. The real twist: its optic lobes were unusually small, a trait typical of birds adapted to low-light vision. The research suggests the dodo was likely active at dawn, dusk, or night—behavior unknown in modern pigeons—possibly foraging in darkness to avoid competing with giant tortoises. Rather than foolish, the dodo was a specialized low-light forager: misunderstood, not stupid.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton