] D 



DODO, 



bUck put They reported that it U covered with thin nod short 

 father, and want* winga, instead whereof it hath only four or five 

 long black feathers ; that the hinder part of the body u very fat 

 and floahy, wherein for the Uil were four or fire amall curled feathers, 

 twirled up together, of an mill-colour. Its legs are thick rather than 

 long, whoa* upper part u far as the knee is covered with black 

 fcathen ; the lower part together with the fret of a yellowish colour : 

 its foet divided into four torn, three (and thorn the longer) standing 

 forward, the fourth and shortest backward : alKuruUhed with black 

 claws. After I had composed and writ down the history of thin bird 

 with as much diligence and faithfulness an I could, 1 happened to 

 ee in the honsa of Peter Pauwius, primary professor of physic in 

 the university of Leyden, a leg thereof cut off at tlio knee, lately 

 brought over out of Mauritius his island. It was not very long, 

 from the knee to the bending of the foot, being but little more than four 

 inches, but of a great thickness, so that it was almost four inches in 

 compass, and covered with thick-set scales, on the upper side broader, 

 and of a yellowish colour, on the under (or backside of the leg) leaser 

 and duaky. The upper side of the toes was also covered with broad 

 scale*, the under side wholly callous. The toes were short for so 

 thick a leg : for the length of the greatest or middlemost toe to the 

 nail did not much exceed two inches, that of the other toe next to it 

 scarce came up to two inches : the back toe fell something short of an 

 inch and a half ; but the claws of all wore thick, hard, black, less 

 than an inch long; but that of the back toe longer than the rest, 

 exceeding an inch.* The mariners in their dialect gave this bird 

 the name Walgh-Vogel, that is, a nauseous or yellowisht bird ; 

 partly because after long boiling it* flesh became not tender, but 

 continued hard and of a difficult concoction, excepting the breast 

 and gizzard, which they found to be of no bad relish, partly because 

 they could easily get many turtle-doves, which were much more 

 delicate and pleasant to the palate. Wherefore it was no wonder 

 that hi comparison of thone they despised this, and said they could 

 be well content without it. Moreover they said that they found 

 certain stones in its gizzard, and no wonder, for all other birds as 

 well as these swallow stones, to assist them in grinding their meat." 

 Thus far Clusius. 



In the ' Voyage of Jacob Heemskerk and Wolfert Harmansz to the 

 East Indies' in 1601, 1602, 1603 (small 4 to., Amsterdam, 1648), 

 folio 19, the Dod-aarscn (Dodos) ore enumerated among the birds of 

 the Island of 'C'erne, now Mauritius;' and in the 'Journal of the 

 East Indian Voyage of Willem Ysbrontsz Bontekoe van Hoorn, 

 comprising many wonderful and perilous things that happened tn 

 him' from 1618 to 1625 (small 4 to., Utrecht, 1649) under the head 

 of the ' Island of Mauritius or Maskarinos,' mention is made (page (i) 

 of the Dod-eersen, which hod small wings, but could not fly, and 

 were so fat that they scarcely could go. 



Herbert, in his ' Travels' (1634), gives a figure or rather figures of 

 a bird that he calls ' Dodo,' and the following account : " The Dodo 





_- 



^- 



Herbert's flyurr. 



cotnm first to oar description, liere, and in Dygarrois (and no where 

 be, that ever I could see or la-are of, is generated the Dodo). (A 

 I'ortuRuixo name it in, and has reference to her nimplenes), a bird 

 which fur ahupc iui.l ran ii.-iwc infill be called a I'hdiiiix (wer't in 

 Arabia); her body is round and cxtrcame fat, her slow pace begets 

 that corpulencie ; few of them weigh tense than fifty pound: better 

 to the eye than the ttomack : grcanie appetites may perhaps commend 

 them, but to the indifferently curious nourishment, but prove offen- 

 sive. Let'* take her picture : her visage darts forth melancholy, as 

 sensible of nature's injurie in framing so great and massio a body to 



W are Indebted to Dr. 1. K. Cnj for the fnllowlnr meanuremcnl of the 

 fnni In the Bitli.h Miurnm : Knee to ancle 4 \ Inctirn ; circumference 4 Inch ; 

 Middle toe 1 Inch**; back toe It Inch; front rUw>, which re much wmii, 

 t Us*.; back elaw, also much worn, abnrter. Dr. Gray otwtrvn tbit the ! 

 by C1u.lt.. Is probably, from Uw .imilarity of the mc-a.mi-mrnt, tlir 

 was aftrrwards noticed by Crew, and finally came to the DrUinh 



t Mo la Willnrhliy, but the print i mmrwhat imll-linrt, anil there may br 

 error. In the original tbe word* are " WalKb-Vofel, hoc et, nantcam morcnn 

 arU, partial quod," kc. : tbe word therefore Is an Interpolation. 



be directed by such amall and oomplementall wings, as are unable to 

 hoiae her from the ground, serving only to prove her a bird ; which 

 otherwise might be doubted of : her bead is variously drest, the one 

 Imlfe hooded with downy blackish feathers; the other perfectly 

 naked ; of a whitUh hue, as if a transparent lawne had covered it : 

 ln-r Mil is very howked and bends downwards, the thrill or breathing 

 place is in the midst of it : from which part to the end, the colour is 

 a light greene mix t with a pale yellow ; her eyes be round and unall, 

 and bright as diamonds ; her cloathing in of finest downo, such as you 

 see in goslins ; her trayne is (like, a China beard) of three or fouro 

 short feathers ; her legs thick, and Mack, and strong ; her tallons or 

 pounces sharp ; her stomack fiery hot, so as stones and iron are easily 

 digested in it ; in that and shape, not a little resembling the Africk 

 oestriches ; but so much, as for their more certain difference I dare 

 to give thce (with two others) her representation." (4th ed., 1677.) 



Nieremberg's description (1655) may be considered a copy of that 

 of Clusius, and indeed his whole work is a mere compilation. As we 

 lia'-e seen above, he names the bird Cygmu cucuJlntut. 



In T null-scant' s Catalogue ('Musicum Tradescontianum ; or, 

 lection of Rarities preserved at South Lambeth, near London, by .lolm 

 Tradescant,' London, 1656, 12mo.), we find among the ' Whole Birds' 

 " Dodar, from the island Mauritius ; it is not able to flie being so 

 big." That this was a Dodo there can be no doubt ; for we have the 

 testimony of an eye-witness, whose ornithological competency cannot 

 be doubted, in the affirmative. Willughby at the cud of his section 

 on 'The Dodo,' and immediately beneath bin translation of Boutins, 

 has the following words: " We have seen this bird dried, or its skin 

 stuffed in Tradescant' s cabinet" We shall hereafter trace this 

 specimen to Oxford. 



Jonston (1657) repeats the figure of Ctusius, and refers to his 

 description and that of Herbert. 



Bontius, edited by Piso (1658), writes as follows: "Do Dronte, 

 aliis Dod-aers." After stating that among the islands of the East 

 Indies is that which U called Ceme by some, but Mauritius 'a 

 noxtratibus,' especially celebrated for its ebony, and that in the said 

 island a bird 'mine conformations ' called Dronte abounds, he 

 proceeds to tell us we take Willughby's translation that it is " for 

 bigness of mean size between on ostrich and a turkey, from which it 

 partly differs in shape and partly agrees with them, especially with 

 the African ostriches, if you consider the rump, quills, anil feathers : 

 so that it was like a pigmy among them, if you regard the shortness 

 of its legs. It hath a great ill-favoured head, covered with a kind of 

 membrane resembling a hood ; great black eyes ; a bending, promi- 

 nent fat neck ; an extraordinary long, strong, bluish-whito bill, only 

 tiif i tnl-< of earh mandible are of a different colour, that of the upper 

 black, that of tbe nether yellowish, both sharp-pointed and crooked. 



Drontf. Figure from Bontlnn (wood-cut). 

 There U alao a figure of the bird in tbe frontispiece, a copper-plate engraving. 



It gapes huge wide as being naturally very voracious. Its body is 

 fat, round, covered with soft gray feathers, after the manner of an 

 ostriches : in each side instead of hard wing-feathers or quills, it is 

 furnished with small soft-feathered wings, of a yellowish-ash colour ; 

 ami in liiml, the rump, instead of a tail, is adorned with five small 

 curled feathers of the same colour. It hath yellow legs, (hick, but 

 very short ; four toe* in each foot, solid, long, as it \ oj m,-.l 



with strong block claws. It is a slow-paced and stupid bird, and 

 which easiljr becomes a prey to the fowlers. The flesh, especially of 

 the breast, is fat, esculent, and so copious, that throo or four Dodos 

 will sometime* suffice to till an honored i If they 



be old, or not well boiled, they are of difficult <-oncoction, and are 

 salted and stored up for provision of victual There ore found in 



