The History Of Dodo Bird.
The first documented
appearance of the dodo
bird is in the early 15th
century by Dutch
explorers. Dutch vice-
admiral Wybrand Van
Warwijck used the name
"walgyogel" in his journal
to describe the bird after
his visit to the island of
Mauritius in 1598. The
origins of word dodo to
describe the bird is still
unclear, but some ascribe
it to the Dutch word
dodoaars referring to the
birds knot of feathers.
Even though the
Portuguese visited the
island first in 1507, no
records show of them
mentioning the bird. But,
according to the
Portuguese dictionary, the
word "dodo" is derived
from doido meaning
"fool" or "crazy".
Morphology and
Flighlessness
In 2005 , an international
team of researchers
excavated the remains of
dodo birds at the city of
Mare Aux Songes on the
island of Mauritius. A
number of bone remains
were found, and from this
expedition scientists at the
Oxford University of
Natural History and
Dublin's Natural History
Museum were able to
assemble specimens of the
bird from the
disassociated remains.
A Dutch painter, Roelant
Savery, composed some of
the earliest drawings of
the dodo bird depicting
bird to be gray color, with
small wings, a 9 inch bill
with hocked point, stout
yellow legs and with a tuft
of curly feathers high on
the bird's rear end. Even
though the dodos were
small birds of only 40
pounds and 3 feet tall,
their sternum was
insufficient to support
flight. As a result, dodo
birds were ground nesting
birds who feed on fruit
and utilized the island's
ecosystem without any
predators.
Even though the original
drawing of the bird
portrayed dodo's as fat
and clumsy, scientists have
challenged that view.
Because the island of
Mauritius has dry and wet
seasons, dodo birds
gained weight at the end
of the wet season and
slimed down when food
was scarce during the dry
season of the island. This
developed the dodo birds'
image as a "greedy" bird
with a large appetite. Most
of the birds portrayed in
drawing were probably
captive, overfed dodos.
Extinction
Because the dodo bird's
natural environment
lacked any significant
predators, dodos were
fearless of people. This,
combined with
flightlessness, made them
an easy prey. With
combination of human
hunting and becoming
prey for animals brought
onto the island by the
explorers (i.e. dogs, cats,
pigs, and rats) dodo birds
became extinct in late
17th century.
Upon the initial extinction,
very few took notice of
the bird. In the early 19th
century, scientific interest
in the dodo bird was
rekindled after some
evidence of the bird was
found in the swamp on its
native island. Also, the use
of dodo bird as a character
in the Lewis Carroll's
Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland sparked
interest in the dodo bird
with the general public.
Since then, multiple films,
cartoons and other media
have used dodo birds as
an example of an extinct
species.
appearance of the dodo
bird is in the early 15th
century by Dutch
explorers. Dutch vice-
admiral Wybrand Van
Warwijck used the name
"walgyogel" in his journal
to describe the bird after
his visit to the island of
Mauritius in 1598. The
origins of word dodo to
describe the bird is still
unclear, but some ascribe
it to the Dutch word
dodoaars referring to the
birds knot of feathers.
Even though the
Portuguese visited the
island first in 1507, no
records show of them
mentioning the bird. But,
according to the
Portuguese dictionary, the
word "dodo" is derived
from doido meaning
"fool" or "crazy".
Morphology and
Flighlessness
In 2005 , an international
team of researchers
excavated the remains of
dodo birds at the city of
Mare Aux Songes on the
island of Mauritius. A
number of bone remains
were found, and from this
expedition scientists at the
Oxford University of
Natural History and
Dublin's Natural History
Museum were able to
assemble specimens of the
bird from the
disassociated remains.
A Dutch painter, Roelant
Savery, composed some of
the earliest drawings of
the dodo bird depicting
bird to be gray color, with
small wings, a 9 inch bill
with hocked point, stout
yellow legs and with a tuft
of curly feathers high on
the bird's rear end. Even
though the dodos were
small birds of only 40
pounds and 3 feet tall,
their sternum was
insufficient to support
flight. As a result, dodo
birds were ground nesting
birds who feed on fruit
and utilized the island's
ecosystem without any
predators.
Even though the original
drawing of the bird
portrayed dodo's as fat
and clumsy, scientists have
challenged that view.
Because the island of
Mauritius has dry and wet
seasons, dodo birds
gained weight at the end
of the wet season and
slimed down when food
was scarce during the dry
season of the island. This
developed the dodo birds'
image as a "greedy" bird
with a large appetite. Most
of the birds portrayed in
drawing were probably
captive, overfed dodos.
Extinction
Because the dodo bird's
natural environment
lacked any significant
predators, dodos were
fearless of people. This,
combined with
flightlessness, made them
an easy prey. With
combination of human
hunting and becoming
prey for animals brought
onto the island by the
explorers (i.e. dogs, cats,
pigs, and rats) dodo birds
became extinct in late
17th century.
Upon the initial extinction,
very few took notice of
the bird. In the early 19th
century, scientific interest
in the dodo bird was
rekindled after some
evidence of the bird was
found in the swamp on its
native island. Also, the use
of dodo bird as a character
in the Lewis Carroll's
Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland sparked
interest in the dodo bird
with the general public.
Since then, multiple films,
cartoons and other media
have used dodo birds as
an example of an extinct
species.
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