THE DODO. 



THE wings of the Dodo are somewhat similar 

 to those of the Ostrich and Cassowary : but, in 

 its general appearance, it differs from these, 

 and, indeed, all other known birds. We are, 

 perhaps, incorrect in speaking of the Dodo in 

 the present tense ; for, in all probability, it is 

 now extinct. There is not even a perfect spe- 

 cimen to be found ,- still, no doubts are enter- 

 tained of its having once been in existence. 

 The only authentic original figure of the Dodo, 

 is a painting in the British Museum, which is 

 said to have been taken from the living bird, 

 brought into Holland by the Dutch, soon after 

 the discovery of the East Indies, by the way 

 of the Cape of Good Hope. Beneath the paint 

 ing is a Dodo's leg, in a fine state of preserva- 

 tion, which is very thick, in proportion to its 

 length, " and satisfies the eye of every orni- 

 thologist, that it cannot belong to any other 

 known bird." The Dodo must have been as 



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