一项新研究通过高分辨率CT扫描技术重新审视了渡渡鸟的智力水平。[1]国际研究团队对现存仅有的三具完整保存渡渡鸟头骨进行了脑部结构重建，发现其前脑（掌管认知和记忆的脑区）的比例与现代鸽子相当，这表明渡渡鸟的认知能力并非历史学家长期以来所声称的那样低下。[1]
然而研究同时揭示了渡渡鸟视叶异常小的特征，这一发现比其他鸽类和已灭绝的罗德里格斯孤鹰都要显著。[1]小视叶通常出现在适应夜间生活的鸟类身上，如猫头鹰、奇异鸟和澳大利亚夜鹦鹉，这暗示渡渡鸟可能在低光环境中活动，在黎明、黄昏或夜间觅食。[1]渡渡鸟已灭绝超过300年，其灭绝发生在人类到达毛里求斯后的数十年内。[1]
An international research team has challenged the long-held characterization of dodos as dim-witted birds through a detailed neurological analysis.[1] Using high-resolution CT scanning, researchers reconstructed the brain structure of three exceptionally well-preserved dodo skulls, the only complete specimens of their kind known to exist in the world.[1] The findings demonstrate that dodos possessed cognitive and memory capabilities comparable to modern pigeons, contradicting centuries of historical portrayals that depicted them as unintelligent.[1]
However, the study uncovered a distinctive neurological feature that suggests dodos adapted to vastly different environmental conditions than their living relatives.[1] The birds exhibited unusually small optic lobes—regions of the brain associated with vision—significantly smaller than those found in other pigeon species and the extinct Rodrigues solitaire.[1] This anatomical characteristic is typically observed in birds specialized for nocturnal or low-light activity, such as owls, kiwis, and Australian night parrots.[1] This suggests dodos may have been active during dawn, dusk, or nighttime hours, a behavioral pattern unknown among modern pigeons.[1] The dodo itself disappeared over 300 years ago, having become extinct within decades of human arrival on Mauritius.[1]
