Dodo bird intelligence and sensory capabilities reassessed by new study

An international team of researchers has released a study challenging the long-held perception of the dodo as an unintelligent bird. By using high-resolution CT scans to create digital reconstructions of rare dodo skulls, scientists from institutions including the University of Lethbridge and the Natural History Museum Denmark have analyzed the bird's brain and sensory anatomy.

The findings indicate that the dodo's prosencephalon, the region of the brain linked to memory and cognition, was not proportionally smaller than that of other pigeons and doves. This suggests the bird was not neurologically inferior to its relatives.

Additionally, the study reveals a specialized sensory profile. The dodo possessed larger eye orbits relative to its skull size but reduced optical lobes, suggesting its vision was adapted for low-light conditions, such as dawn or dusk. Researchers also suggest the bird may have had a heightened sense of smell and a greater capacity for touch through its large upper beak, providing a more complex picture of how the species navigated its environment on Mauritius.