The Dodo.- 
- 13 IRDS. The Dodo. 
The Dodc (D.i 
r.ith these hy some ornithologists, although it must 
be confessed to be a very anomalous occupant of 
such a position. The bod}' of the Dodo seems to 
have terminated in a rounded extremity, and to have 
been destitute of true tail-feathers, but a tuft of plumes 
similar to those of the wings occurred low down on its 
back, and probably represented the tail-coverts. The 
plumage of the Dodo was blackish, with the light 
feathers of the wings and so-called tail pale fawn 
colour. 
That the occurrence of a large and sluggish bird 
like the Dodo upon the distant island of ]\Iauritins 
must have been a welcome phenomenon to the Dutch 
sailors who discovered it, cannot admit of much doubt; 
and we can easily understand that in their subsequent 
voyages to the East Indies, they were only too glad 
to avail themselves of the abundant supply of fresh 
meat afforded by the Dodos, after being restricted 
for months to the salt provisions of their ships’ stores. 
If is, however, remarkable that the only relics of so 
singular a bird, which was certainly living two cen- 
turies ago, and of which specimens were undoubtedly 
imported into Europe, should be of so fragmentary 
a description. This is still more strikingly the case 
vni,. 1. 50 
dus ineptus). 
with two other species nearly allied to the Dodo, of 
which only a few bones are known to exist ; — ■ 
THE SOLITAIRE (Didus solitanus) is one of those 
which existed, together with two other species, one of 
which ap])ears to have been the Dodo, on the little 
island of Rodriguez. It is described by a French 
sailor, named Leguat, as attaining a weight of forty-five 
pounds, having feet and beak like a turkey’s, and in 
other respects closely resembling the Dodo. The 
plumage was of a brownish-gray colour, and, according 
to Leguat, the birds produced a noise like a rattle by 
fluttering with their wings, which, he says, have the 
extremity of the bone enlarged into a round knob like 
a musket ball. 
THE NA-ZARENE {Didus Nazarenus) is a bird 
described by another Frenchman, named Francois 
Coache. It is said to have had only three toes. The 
bones which are conjectured to have belonged to this 
bird, indicate that it must have been nearly twice the 
bulk of the Dodo.* 
* For lurtlier information upon these interesting birds the 
reader should consult the impoi t.ant work of Jlessrs. Strickland 
& Melville — “The Dodo and its Kindred” — and a valuable 
paper by Mr. Bartlett in the Proceedings of the Zoological 
Society. 
tions of the early voj'agors, it appears that the Dodo 
was a bulky and heavy bird, larger than a swan, and 
weighing sometimes as much as fifty pounds. It had 
a long and strong bill, with the basal portion of the 
upper mandible depressed and membranous. The 
apical part of this mandible was strong, horny, much 
arched, hooked, and acute, giving the organ so much 
resemblance to that of a vulture that the Dodo was at 
one time regarded as allied to those birds of prey. 
The nostrils were placed in the sides of the membranous 
base of the upper mandible, and in all respects the 
structure of the bill presents so great a similarity to 
that occurring in the Diduncidiis, that, on tire discovery 
of the latter bird, the resemblance could not be 
overlooked. The feet of the Dodo were short and 
exceedingly stout, and, although presenting a certain 
resemblance to those of a Pigeon, indicated clearly 
enough that their possessor was a strictly terrestrial 
bird; indeed, its wings being very short, and furnished 
only with soft decomposed feathers, like the well-known 
Ostrich plumes, were quite incapable of raising it from 
the ground. From this rudimentary condition of its 
wings, the Dodo was long regarded as allied to the 
Struthious birds, and it is still placed in the same order 
big. 123. 
