388 
PIGEONS AND SAND-GROUSE. 
Whitmee, from which it appears that the bird now feeds mainly on trees, whereas 
it formerly procured its food on the ground:—“ I did not attribute much 
importance to that fact, says the observer, because the bird being wary, I thought 
its destruction by wild cats to be chiefly in the night when roosting, or when on 
the nest during the process of incubation, 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 and Solitaire. 
Family I)IDIDJE. 
The dodo and its near ally the solitaire are recently exterminated 
Dodo. J J 
members of the order, characterised 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 curl}" 
feathers. The beak was very 
large and hooked, the body 
remarkably heavy, and the legs 
and feet short and stout. Large, 
clumsy, and defenceless, 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 
the dodo. them into its island-home. A 
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. 
