diff --git a/src/wp-includes/post.php b/src/wp-includes/post.php
index 91ff520382..ddd73bc737 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/post.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/post.php
@@ -3615,32 +3615,43 @@ function get_page_uri( $page ) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Retrieve a list of pages
+ * Retrieve a list of pages.
  *
  * @global wpdb $wpdb WordPress database abstraction object
  *
  * @since 1.5.0
  *
- * @param mixed $args (optional) Array or string of arguments {
- *     @type int    'child_of'     Page ID to return child and grandchild pages of (default 0).
- *     @type string 'sort_order'   How to sort retrieved pages (default 'ASC', accepts 'ASC', 'DESC').
- *     @type string 'sort_column'  What column to sort pages by (default 'post_title', accepts post fields).
- *     @type bool   'hierarchical' Whether to return pages hierarchically (default 1|true).
- *     @type array  'exclude'      Array of page IDs to exclude (default array).
- *     @type array  'include'      Array of page IDs to include (default array).
- *     @type string 'meta_key'     Only include pages with this meta key (default empty).
- *     @type string 'meta_value'   Only include pages with this meta value (default empty).
- *     @type string 'authors'      A comma-separated list of author IDs (default empty).
- *     @type int    'parent'       Page ID to return direct children of. 'hierarchical' must be 0|false (default -1).
- *     @type int    'exclude_tree' Remove all children of given ID from returned pages (default empty).
- *     @type int    'number'       The number of pages to return (default empty).
- *     @type int    'offset'       The number of pages to skip before returning (default 0).
- *     @type string 'post_type'    The post type to return (default 'page').
- *     @type string 'post_status'  A comma-separated list of post status types to include (default 'publish').
+ * @param mixed $args {
+ *     Array or string of arguments. Optional.
+ *
+ *     @type int    'child_of'     Page ID to return child and grandchild pages of. Default 0, or no restriction.
+ *     @type string 'sort_order'   How to sort retrieved pages.
+ *                                 Default 'ASC'. Accepts 'ASC', 'DESC'.
+ *     @type string 'sort_column'  What columns to sort pages by, comma-separated.
+ *                                 Default 'post_title'. Accepts 'post_author', 'post_date', 'post_title', 'post_name',
+ *                                 'post_modified', 'post_modified_gmt', 'menu_order', 'post_parent', 'ID', 'rand',
+ *                                 'comment_count'. 'post_' can be omitted for any values that start with it.
+ *     @type bool   'hierarchical' Whether to return pages hierarchically. Default true.
+ *     @type array  'exclude'      Array of page IDs to exclude.
+ *     @type array  'include'      Array of page IDs to include. Cannot be used with 'child_of', 'parent', 'exclude',
+ *                                 'meta_key', 'meta_value', or 'hierarchical'.
+ *     @type string 'meta_key'     Only include pages with this meta key.
+ *     @type string 'meta_value'   Only include pages with this meta value.
+ *     @type string 'authors'      A comma-separated list of author IDs.
+ *     @type int    'parent'       Page ID to return direct children of. 'hierarchical' must be false.
+ *                                 Default -1, or no restriction.
+ *     @type int    'exclude_tree' Remove all children of the given ID from returned pages.
+ *     @type int    'number'       The number of pages to return. Default 0, or all pages.
+ *     @type int    'offset'       The number of pages to skip before returning. Requires 'number'.
+ *                                 Default 0.
+ *     @type string 'post_type'    The post type to query.
+ *                                 Default 'page'.
+ *     @type string 'post_status'  A comma-separated list of post status types to include.
+ *                                 Default 'publish'.
  * }
  * @return array List of pages matching defaults or $args.
  */
-function get_pages( $args = '' ) {
+function get_pages( $args = array() ) {
 	global $wpdb;
 
 	$pages = false;