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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →CT scans of fossil skulls show that giant Australian mihirungs had brain shapes researchers said most closely resembled those of chickens. The scans also revealed an extraordinary skull in Dromornis stirtoni. Researchers used these anatomical clues to propose how the birds saw and fed, but vision and diet are interpretations—not direct evidence of behavior.
What were mihirungs, and when did they live?
Dromornithids, commonly called mihirungs, were giant, flightless birds from Australia. An International Ornithologists’ Union newsletter describes the group as living from around 25 million years ago until roughly 50,000 years ago, and says the largest forms reached about 3 metres tall and 600 kilograms. These are broad estimates reported in the newsletter, not specimen measurements established by the brain study. International Ornithologists’ Union newsletter
How did scientists study fossil bird brains?
Warren D. Handley and Trevor H. Worthy’s 2021 study used CT scans of fossil braincases to create three-dimensional reconstructions of the spaces inside the skulls. Those spaces preserve clues to the brain and associated structures, including nerves; they are not preserved soft-tissue brains. The researchers compared the reconstructions with anatomy in living birds. The original paper is titled “Endocrinal Anatomy of the Giant Extinct Australian Mihirung Birds (Aves, Dromornithidae),” published in Diversity 13, article 124. Study DOI
Popular coverage identifies fossils of Dromornis murrayi (about 24 million years old), Dromornis planei and an Ilbandornis taxon (about 12 million years old), and Dromornis stirtoni (about 7 million years old). These ages are approximate context reported by New Atlas, not precise dates or statistical results from the study. New Atlas coverage
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What did the reconstructed brains look like?
The reconstructed brain shapes were reported as most similar to those of chickens. That comparison concerns anatomy; it does not show that mihirungs behaved like chickens, had similar intelligence, or shared the same lifestyle. Their enormous bodies and distinctive skulls make them a striking example of how a broadly familiar kind of bird anatomy could occur in a very different animal.
What was unusual about Dromornis stirtoni’s skull?
The striking feature was the cranium: it was described as taller and wider than it was long. The researchers’ proposed explanation is that the skull needed room for muscles operating the bird’s massive bill, leaving the brain compressed and flattened within the available space. This is an interpretation of fossil anatomy, not a direct measurement of how the bird used its bill.
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What might mihirungs have seen and eaten?
Handley and colleagues interpreted the brain and nerve anatomy alongside the birds’ large, forward-facing eyes and large bills. They proposed that mihirungs likely had well-developed stereoscopic vision—using overlapping visual fields to judge depth—and ate soft leaves and fruit. Fossils cannot directly reveal what an individual bird ate or how it perceived its surroundings, so these are functional inferences rather than observed behavior or a confirmed menu.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why call them “extreme evolutionary experiments”?
The phrase captures the contrast between a chicken-like reconstructed brain shape and the unusual proportions of a giant, flightless bird—especially Dromornis stirtoni, whose broad, tall cranium was interpreted as accommodating powerful bill muscles. It is a vivid description of evolutionary variety, not a formal scientific classification. Likewise, “demon ducks,” sometimes used as a nickname for mihirungs, is colorful popular wording, not their taxonomic name.
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