The dodo is one of the most iconic—and misunderstood—extinct animals. Four hundred years after its extinction, the popular narrative remains that the flightless bird was simply too dumb, slow, and ungainly to withstand modern society’s arrival to its native island of Mauritius. But researchers are seeking justice for the unfairly maligned dodo and its extinct relative, the solitaire, by synthesizing centuries of scientific literature, historical accounts, and biological information into a single work providing clarification and revised taxonomic records.

The dodo’s main enemies weren’t humans themselves, but everything they brought with them while establishing a provisioning port for the Dutch East India Company on Mauritius. Livestock such as pigs trampled the ground birds’ nests, while rats devoured their eggs and small chicks. Meanwhile, dogs, cats, and other invasive animals preyed on the birds themselves while also competing for the island’s limited food sources. By 1662, the dodo was done. Barely a century later, the Rodrigues solitaire followed it into extinction. And with just 64 years of human documentation of the former, it didn’t take long before bird fact blended with bird fiction.

“The dodo was the first living thing that was recorded as being present and then disappeared,” Gostling said, adding that before their extinction, “it hadn’t been thought possible” that human beings could exert so much influence on the environment.

As for its “dumpy” reputation, a closer look at its anatomy indicates the dodo was far from a clumsy, slow-moving bird. Skeletal remains studied by the team show that the dodo possessed a tendon in its leg almost the same diameter as the bone itself. This feature can be found today in other avian species known for their speed and climbing agility, indicating the dodo was actually an incredibly fast and active animal.

“Even four centuries later, we have so much to learn about these remarkable birds,” Young said. “The few written accounts of live Dodos say it was a fast-moving animal that loved the forest.”