- A flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.
- It stood about a meter (3.3 feet) tall, weighing about 20 kilograms (44 lb).
- Lost the power of flight because food was abundant and mammalian predators were absent on Mauritius.
- It was related to pigeons and doves, and its closest relative was the Rodrigues Solitaire, which is also extinct. The picture below illustrate the Dodo.
- The dodo was first mentioned by Dutch sailors in 1598. By 1681, all dodos had been killed by hungry sailors or their domesticated animals.
- The Dodo have simply been a mythological creature until the 19th century, when research was conducted on some of the few surviving remains of specimens that had been taken to Europe in the 17th century.
- Below are some of speciment of Dodo Birds collected from Mauritius.
The Prague remains of a dodo taken to Europe in the 17th century.
The skeleton put together by Richard Owen from bones found in a marshy pool on Mauritius, Natural History Museum.
Dodo bones that were rediscovered at Grant Museum in 2011.
- The etymology of the word dodo is unclear. Some ascribe it to the Dutch word dodoor for "sluggard", but it more likely is related to dodaars, which means either "fat-arse" or "knot-arse," referring to the knot of feathers on the hind end.
- The first recording of the word dodaerse is in captain Willem van Westsanen's journal in 1602.
- Sir Thomas Herbert used the word dodo in 1627, but it is unclear whether he was the first; the Portuguese had visited the island in 1507, but, as far as is known, did not use the word. Nevertheless, according to the Encarta Dictionary and Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, "dodo" derives from Portuguese doudo (currently doido) meaning "fool" or "crazy".
- It is mentioned that the bird was living on fruit, and nested on the ground, laying a single egg.
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