Some call the dodo—a large, flightless bird with an endearingly wonky posture—a “symbol of extinction.” Since its last sighting by humans in 1662, Dodus ineptus (as in, inept and absurd) is famously regarded as a stupid creature. But new research shows that, for centuries, we’ve been really unfair to the dodos. Currently, there are only three completely preserved dodo skulls. In an unprecedented study, published recently in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, researchers conducted advanced CT scans of the three skulls, comparing them with other comparable bird brains. The team found that the dodo’s brain wasn’t as small for its size. In other words, there is no evidence to suggest that a dodo would be particularly less intelligent than other birds. The analysis also indicated that dodos shared traits found in nocturnal birds. “Dodos have always been portrayed as silly or confused birds, a reputation that probably came from their trusting behavior that resulted in hundreds of animals being killed in a very short time,” Sara Citron, the study’s lead author and a PhD student at the University of Lethbridge in Canada, said in a statement. “Calling them ‘stupid’ for being naive makes it sound like they deserved to go extinct, which is so unfair.”