DODO AND SOLITAIRE 



2155 



chiefly in the night, when roosting, or when on the nest during the process of in- 

 cubation, while rats would also destroy the eggs or young in the nest. Hence, I 

 did not see how a change in the place of feeding could alone account for the increase 

 of the bird. I therefore made particular inquiries from natives as to its roosting; 

 and from the information thus procured I believe the Didunculi almost invariably 

 now roost upon the high branches of trees instead of upon low stumps as formerly. ' ' 

 The nest is so rarely found, that few opportunities occur of learning where it is 

 built; but it appears that it is generally situated in the fork of a tree, and that the 

 eggs are white; although formerly the bird nested on the ground. Verging some 

 years ago on extinction, from the assumption of arboreal habits, the Samoan tooth- 

 billed pigeon is now increasing rapidly in numbers. 



Dodo 



DODO AND SOLITAIRE 

 Family DIDIDSE 



The dodo and its near ally the solitaire are recently exterminated 

 members of the order, characterized by their very large size and 

 massive build, accompanied by a total incapacity for flight. This group was 

 entirely confined to the islands of Mauritius, Reunion, and Rodriguez. A native 

 of Mauritius, and the sole repre- 

 sentative of its genus, the dodo 

 {Didus ineptus), in size was 

 somewhat larger than a swan, 

 with rudimental wings, and a 

 tail composed of short curly 

 feathers. The beak was very 

 large and hooked, the body 

 remarkably heavy, and the legs C 

 and feet short and stout. Large, 

 clumsy, and defenseless, the dodo 

 was a bird marked out for early 

 destruction; and soon after its 

 discovery it fell a prey to sailors, 

 and the animals introduced by 

 them into its island home. A THE DODO. 



few scattered relics of stuffed 



specimens, together with bones dug up from the peat of Mauritius, are all that are 

 left of this bird, but fortunately a good idea of its appearance is given in several 

 contemporary pictures. It was discovered by Admiral Van Neck in 1598, and was 

 still abundant in 1601, and it was known to be living eighty years later, although 

 by 1691 it appears to -have been exterminated. An allied bird inhabited Reunion, 

 but its affinities will probably remain unknown. 



