bird brain

8/17/2019 Bird Brain

1/3

Bird Brain? Dodos Were Not So Dumb After

All

The dodo is an extinct flightless bird whose name has become synonymous withstupidity.

But it turns out that the dodo was no bird brain, but instead a reasonably brainy bird.

Scientists said on Wednesday they figured out the dodo's brain size and structure

based on an analysis of a well-presered s!ull from a museum collection. They

determined its brain was not unusually small but rather completely in proportion to its

body size.

They also found the dodo may hae had a better sense of smell than most birds, with

an enlarged olfactory region of the brain. This trait, unusual for birds, probably let it sniff

out ripe fruit to eat.

The research suggests the dodo, rather than being stupid, boasted at least the same

intelligence as its fellow members of the pigeon and doe family.

"#f we ta!e brain size - or rather, olume, as we measured here - as a proxy for

intelligence, then the dodo was as smart as a common pigeon," paleontologist $ugenia

%old of Stony Broo! &niersity in ew (or! state said. ")ommon pigeons are actually

smarter than they get credit for, as they were trained as message carriers during the

world wars."


2/3

*#+$ - s!eleton of a auritius odo bird which was found in a cae at the

foot of +e /ouce ountain at /ailles, in 0122, stands at an exhibition in the auritius #nstitute useum in /ort +ouis, ec. 34, 3225.

The dodo lied on the #ndian 6cean island of auritius. The weird-loo!ing, ground-

nesting bird had a pointed bea! and rounded head, stood about three feet 7one meter8tall and weighed up to about 52 pounds 739 !g8.

rien into extinction largely by human hunting, the last dodo was seen in 0::3.

%old said dodos exhibited no fear of humans when people reached auritius in the

0522s.

"Why would they fear something they'e neer seen; They had no natural predators on

the islands before humans arried. Because of this, sailors herded the birds onto theirboats for fresh meat later in their oyages. Their willingness to be drien onto the boats

is, # thin!, what led to people thin!ing they were dumb. #t is rather unfair," %old said.

ew Study Suggests We re lone in &nierse


3/3

Since the unierse is so huge, most astronomers thin! that there must be a planet,

somewhere out there, similar to $arth. But a computer model created at Swedenuintillion planets, or 4 followed by 32 zeros.

The unexpected by-product of the calculation was that $arth may be uni>ue, actually an

aberration among myriads of dead, uninhabitable worlds.

Ta!ing into account all !nown laws of physics and our !nowledge about how planets are

formed, it loo!s li!e that process is capable of producing only planets that cannot

sustain life in any form.

/robability suggests that ?ust in our own galaxy, the il!y Way, there must be about 52

billion planets similar to ours. But according to =ac!risson

bird brain

Documents