Facts about Dodo, a distant relative of the extinct pigeon

KOMPAS.com – Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) is bird which is often referred to as an example of a species that became extinct due to humans.

This distant relative of the pigeon can’t fly, is slow to breed, and lives only on one island, namely Mauritius.

No wonder dodo bird was also vulnerable to the arrival of humans, rats, and the introduction of pets in the late 1500s.

About a century later, all that remains of the dodo are paintings and written descriptions and a small collection of bones.

Read also: Get to know Accipitridae, One of the Largest Bird Families

Then what does dodo look like?

Quoted from Live ScienceTuesday (26/4/2022) dodo is a bird with a stocky brown stature with small wings.

The legs are strong and the beak is large, the dodo reaches 70 centimeters in height and weighs from 13 to 20 kilograms.

The male dodo is slightly larger than the female. When compared to wild turkeys and modern geese, the dodo was shorter but heavier.

The Dodo itself became extinct before photography could document the species. This is sad because absolutely no bird specimens have survived.

Paleontologist Julian Pender Hume, a researcher at the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London, even suggested that the taxidermy dodo on display at the NHM was made of goose feathers glued onto a model by a man who had never seen a dodo.

To find out what the dodo actually looked like, modern researchers must look to historical paintings and other works of art, including studying descriptions of early Arabs and Europeans who visited Mauritius. However, such records are not always accurate.

European artists, including Roelant Savery, were largely responsible for the depiction of the round, stocky dodo. This makes many people think this bird is slow, stupid, and clumsy.

However, evidence from the dodo bones shows that the bird was an agile animal that could outpace humans on rocky terrain.

Dodo also has a large brain and well-developed olfactory glands. This is contrary to the image that has been attached to the dodo so far.

Read also: So long as a puzzle, the life of the dodo bird begins to be revealed

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