Dodo Wasn’t a ‘Bird Brain’ After All, Study Finds

📰 The Story

For hundreds of years, the dodo has had a terrible reputation as the world’s most stupid bird. Now a new study challenges that image. Scientists compared CT scans of dodo skulls with those of living pigeons — the dodo’s closest relatives — and revealed something surprising. The extinct, flightless bird had a keen sense of smell and eyes suited to dim light. Its brain showed no sign of low intelligence. The dodo wasn’t foolish; it had simply never learned to fear humans.