New research led by University of Lethbridge scientists offers the most detailed look yet at how the dodo (Raphus cucullatus) — the flightless bird driven to extinction by the 1600s — actually perceived its world, suggesting the ‘stupid bird’ had a far more complex sensory life than its reputation implies.
The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) by Frederick William Frohawk, 1905.
The dodo and its close relative, the Rodrigues Solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria), are two of the most recognized symbols of human-caused extinction.
Yet, despite their prominence in the scientific and popular literature, little is known about their behavior.
“Few animals symbolize human impact on nature as intensely as the dodo,” said University of Lethbridge Ph.D. student Sara Citron and her colleagues.
“Endemic to Mauritius, the flightless dodo generated interest and awareness of humanity’s role in extinctions, paving the way for the emergence of conservation biology.”
“Extensive research on the dodo has yielded insights and ongoing debate over various aspects of its biology.”
“The majority of this knowledge was established after its disappearance in the late-17th century because, despite surviving the arrival of humans on Mauritius for several decades, only limited and often inaccurate information on its behavior and ecology were recorded when the species was still alive, and no skins were preserved.”
“With respect to its behavior, it is inferred that it nested on the ground and showed little fear of humans. The latter is a common trait in island-dwelling species with no mammalian predators, and contributed to the unfair portrayal of the dodo as ‘stupid’.”
“Notably, this depiction was never applied to the dodo’s closest relative, the Rodrigues Solitaire, which became extinct around c. 1761,” they added.
“Due to the accounts of François Leguat in 1691-93 and Julien Tafforet in 1725-26, who were both marooned on the island, the behavior of the Solitaire is significantly better attested than the dodo.”
“Their description of the Solitaire’s intense intraspecific (and potentially interspecific) aggression, may, unlike the unfortunate dodo, have spared the bird from a similarly foolish attribution.”
In the current study, the authors compared CT scans of dodo and Rodrigues Solitaire skulls with those of 36 living pigeon and dove species, examining eye sockets, nerve openings, and 3D brain reconstructions called endocasts.
The findings paint two very different pictures of these closely related, extinct island birds.
The Rodrigues Solitaire, once thought to be a scaled-up pigeon, turns out to essentially be just that — its sensory systems closely resemble those of its living relatives, aside from an oddly shaped skull.