FOREST AND STREAM 
Dec. 28, 1912 
818 
Some Extraordinary Extinct Birds. 
BY W. J. MURRAY. 
the dodo (Didus ineptus). 
In the whole range of natural history few 
animals of any class, whether existing or extinct, 
have attracted more attention and interest than 
the dodo. This extinct bird was a native of 
the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. 
From its size, which was about that of a swan, 
as well as its strange appearance, it seems to 
have been at all times an object of much interest 
and curiosity to travelers visiting Mauritius, 
many of whom wrote home descriptions of this 
extraordinary bird, which were more or less in¬ 
teresting. In the year 1628 an Englishman 
named Altham, in writing from Mauritius to 
his brother at home, says: “You shall receive 
a strange fowle which I had at the Island Mau¬ 
ritius, called by ye Portuigalls a Do Do, which, 
of the rareness thereof, I hope wilbe welcome 
to you if it live.” 
About the same time a Mr. Herbert, writ¬ 
ing also from Mauritius, says: “The dodo comes 
first for a description; here and in Dygarrois 
(and nowhere else that I ever could see or heare 
of) is generated the dodo (a Portuguize name 
it is, and has reference to her simpleness) a 
bird, which for shape and rareness, might be 
called a phcenex (wert in Arabia).” 
In a catalogue of rarities preserved in South 
Lambeth, London, and published in 1656, the 
following entry appeared under the heading of 
“Whole Birds”: “A Doder from the island of 
Mauritius. It is not able to fly, being so big.” 
The last evidence as to the dodo’s existence is 
furnished by a journal kept by a Mr. Harry, 
and is now in the British Museum. This shows 
that the bird had not become extinct up to the 
year 1681. But all the writer had to say about 
it was that “Its fflesh is very hard.” 
It was only after the discovery of large 
quantities of the remains of the dodo, by Mr. 
Clark, in the year 1865, that zoologists were able 
to trace its close relationship to the pigeon 
family ( Cohtmbidce ) ; and there appears to be 
sufficient evidence to justify the belief that the 
dodo was a huge pigeon of remarkable speciali¬ 
zation in many respects. The wings, owing to 
gradual disuse, had become rudimentary and 
consequently it had lost the power of flight. 
This together with its reputed good edible quali¬ 
ties no doubt led to its extinction soon after the 
colonization of Mauritius nearly 300 years ago. 
Following the usual tendency of very large ani¬ 
mals to produce few at a birth, it is said that 
the dodo laid only one egg for each hatching. 
THE GREAT auk (Plautus impennis). 
This auk, or gare fowl, as it was also called, 
became extinct about sixty-eight years ago. It 
still, however, continues to be a subject of much 
interest to lovers of nature in general as well 
as to zoologists in particular. While the auk 
bore a strong' resemblance to the penguin, it was 
found to be closely allied to the puffin and to 
the albatross. It inhabited the north of Scot¬ 
land, Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland, in 
which latter country its skeletons have been dis¬ 
covered buried in heaps of guano, and in sand 
on the sea coast. The auk was about the size 
of a domestic goose. Its wings were rudimen¬ 
tary, and therefore useless for flight. Like the 
penguin it used its wings as flippers in the water 
in searching there for its food. 
In the year 1844 the last pair of auks were 
killed on an island off the coast of Iceland. At 
an auction in London in 1895 one auk's skin sold 
for £360 ($1,800), and one egg for £180 ($900) 
thus showing the remarkable public interest 
taken in the history of this extinct bird. 
the moa (Dinornis robustus). 
This gigantic extinct bird of New Zealand 
possessed the most massive bones of the entire 
class of birds. The bones of its feet almost 
rivaled those of the ground sloth, or the ele¬ 
phant, in size. In the museum in Canterbury 
College, Christ Church, New Zealand, there are 
two specimens of the moa which measure 12 
feet 3 inches in height, such remains having 
been found in the peat bogs of New Zealand. 
In the seaside sand dunes and caves were pre¬ 
served the ligaments holding the bones of skele¬ 
tons together, also pieces of dried skin and 
feathers, etc. 
The moa is more nearly allied in structure 
to emus, cassowaries and kiwis (apteryx) than 
to the ostrich. It closely resembles the kiwis 
except for its short beak, and for having after¬ 
shafts upon its feathers. 
For a long time it was hoped that in some 
of the backward mountainous regions of New 
Zealand some living specimen of the moa might 
be found. But the expedition of an Austrian 
naturalist, Herr Reischek, in 1877-8 for this ob¬ 
ject, was fruitless, so that the question of the 
moa’s extinction was considered finally settled, 
and it is believed to have occurred a little over 
500 years ago. The fact that it was flightless— 
not having a trace of rudimentary wings—no 
doubt contributed largely to render it an easy 
prey to its natural enemies, including man, and 
thus to lead to its early extinction. 
The Dwarf Screech Owl. 
Santa Barbara, Cal., Dec. 12. — Editor 
Forest and Stream: Dr. Moody’s writings in 
Forest and Stream have always' been of great 
interest to me, and up to now I have always 
regarded them as the trustworthy notes of a 
trained observer, but after a careful perusal of 
his article on the “Dwarf Screech Owl,” pub¬ 
lished Nov. 16, I very much doubt if he has 
really met with this rare species. 
The “heavy cedar and hemlock forests” of 
Idaho would be the last place to expect to find 
this owl, which is an inhabitant of the driest 
and hottest localities. 
Brushy canons in the sage brush country, 
or dry southern exposures at low elevations 
would more nearly meet its requirements; the 
type specimen came from the southern portion 
of the State (Idaho), where such conditions 
exist. 
The only dwarf screech owl I have taken 
personally was picked up dead at Pentictou, 
British Columbia, a locality almost Sonoran in 
its fauna and flora. 
If Dr. Moody had been able to get a close 
observation of a dwarf screech owl, the first 
thing that would have struck him would have 
been the dark brown eyes—so different from 
the yellow eyes of most owls. Nor has this 
species the eyes set close to the top of the 
head, as he describes. This, as well as all his 
notes, habits and habitat of the little owl he 
met, exactly corresponds with the Pigmy owl. 
The single bell-like whistle, uttered often 
in broad daylight, is especially diagnostic of the 
Pigmy ( Plaucidiwn groma). 
It is not generally known that Pigmy owls 
have distinct aigrettes or “horns,” which are 
only in evidence in life. 
I have often called these little owls up to 
me by an imitation of their whistle, and as they 
peered down at me, often not ten feet away, 
the “horns” would be quite conspicuous. After 
death these tufts become merged with the 
feathers of the crown. 
It is hard to understand the Doctor’s dis¬ 
inclination to call a specimen and so put his 
record on a definite and unassailable basis, when 
it is evident from some of his accounts of his 
recent hunts, that he is not averse to the killing 
of animals, such as the white goat, that are 
yearly growing scarcer in his state. 
Allan Bbooks. 
The Wild Pigeon. 
Meadville, Pa., Dec. 12.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: Inclosed find a clipping from the Buf¬ 
falo Express of Dec. 12, 1912, in regard to the 
return of the wild pigeons. 
What do you know about it? Kindly answer 
through Forest and Stream. 
E. H. Kniskern. 
PIGEONS COMING BACK? 
Sportsman Declares That He Saw Flock of Them 
in Arkansas. 
Have the wild pigeons, which flew across 
the Mississippi valley by the millions, a quarter 
of a century ago and then suddenly disappeared, 
returned? If they have, it is the best news 
sportsmen have heard in many a day, and 
Michael G. Burns, of Minneapolis, merchant and 
sportsman, declares that they have. Men who 
heard Mr. Burns’ statement are inclined to dis¬ 
credit it, but the Minneapolis nimrod declares 
he has seen wild pigeons in great numbers along 
the White River in Arkansas. 
“I was a member of a floating party that 
started at Beaver, Ark., three weeks ago and 
