The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) was a bird that could not fly and is no longer alive. It lived only on the island of Mauritius, which is located east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo was closely related to another extinct bird called the Rodrigues solitaire. Together, these two birds belonged to a group called Raphina, which is part of the family that includes pigeons and doves (Columbidae). The Nicobar pigeon is the closest living bird to the dodo. Some people once thought a white dodo lived on the nearby island of Réunion, but this idea is now believed to be a mistake based on confusion with the Réunion ibis and old paintings of white dodos.
Subfossil remains, which are bones and other remains found in the ground, show the dodo was about 62.6–75 centimeters (2.05–2.46 feet) tall and weighed between 10.6–17.5 kilograms (23–39 pounds). Drawings, paintings, and written descriptions from the 17th century are the only evidence of what the dodo looked like. These images differ, and not all were made from live dodos, so scientists do not know exactly how the dodo appeared or behaved. It was often shown with brownish-grey feathers, yellow feet, a tail feather tuft, a grey head with no feathers, and a beak with black, yellow, and green colors. The dodo used stones to help digest food, which likely included fruits. It probably lived in the forests of dry coastal areas on Mauritius. One report says the dodo laid only one egg. Scientists believe the dodo lost the ability to fly because there were plenty of food sources and few predators on Mauritius. Though the dodo was once thought to be clumsy and fat, it is now believed to have been well-suited to its environment.
The first written record of the dodo was made by Dutch sailors in 1598. Over time, sailors hunted the dodo, and invasive animals harmed it. Its habitat was also destroyed. The last known sighting of a dodo was in 1662. People did not immediately realize the dodo was extinct, and some thought it was a myth. In the 1800s, scientists studied remains of four dodos that had been brought to Europe in the early 1600s. One of these remains is a dried head, the only soft tissue of the dodo that still exists. Since then, many more bones and other remains have been found on Mauritius, especially in the Mare aux Songes swamp. The dodo went extinct less than 100 years after it was discovered, which highlighted how humans can cause species to disappear. The dodo became famous because of its role in the story Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and is now often used as a symbol of extinction and outdated things.
Taxonomy
The dodo bird was once thought to be related to many different birds, such as ostriches, rails, albatrosses, and vultures, by early scientists. In 1842, a Danish scientist named Johannes Theodor Reinhardt studied a dodo skull and suggested that dodos were closely related to ground pigeons. Many people laughed at this idea, but later, two English scientists, Hugh Edwin Strickland and Alexander Gordon Melville, supported it in their 1848 book The Dodo and Its Kindred. They examined a dodo’s preserved head and foot and compared them to the remains of another extinct bird, the Rodrigues solitaire. They found that the dodo and Rodrigues solitaire shared many features, such as leg bones similar to those of pigeons.
Strickland and Melville noted that the dodo had a short beak with a long, bare part at the base, like some pigeons. The dodo also had bare skin around its eyes, a high forehead, and a nostril positioned low on the beak, features also found in pigeons. Its legs were more like those of ground-dwelling pigeons than other birds, and its large crop (a part of the digestive system) was similar to pigeons. Like pigeons, the dodo laid only one egg and lacked certain bones in the nose and beak. However, the dodo had smaller wings and a larger beak compared to other pigeons.
During the 19th century, scientists classified several birds as relatives of the dodo, including the Rodrigues solitaire and the Réunion solitaire. A 17th-century description of a dodo and bones found on Rodrigues led to the naming of a species called Didus nazarenus, but this is now known to be the same as the Rodrigues solitaire. Some old drawings of a bird from Mauritius were also mistaken for dodos, leading to names like Didus broeckii and Didus herberti.
For many years, the dodo and Rodrigues solitaire were placed in their own family, Raphidae, because their relationship to other pigeons was unclear. Scientists thought they evolved similar traits independently. However, later studies using bone structure and DNA analysis showed that the dodo and solitaire belong to the pigeon family (Columbidae) and are grouped together in a subfamily called Raphinae. In 2024, a new subtribe named Raphina was created to include only the dodo and solitaire.
In 2002, scientists analyzed the dodo’s DNA for the first time. They compared genetic material from a dodo’s leg bone and a Rodrigues solitaire’s thigh bone. This showed that the dodo and solitaire are closely related and belong to the pigeon family. The study suggested that the Nicobar pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica) is their closest living relative, followed by crowned pigeons (Goura) and the tooth-billed pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris). These birds are all ground-dwelling pigeons found on islands.
A 2002 study estimated that the dodo and solitaire’s ancestors split from other pigeons about 23 million years ago. The Mascarene Islands (Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodrigues), where the dodo and solitaire lived, are less than 10 million years old. This means the ancestors of these birds could have flown for a long time after their lineage split. Scientists believe the dodo and solitaire’s ancestors reached the islands by flying from South Asia. Without large land animals to compete for food, the dodo and solitaire grew very large and lost the ability to fly.
Another flightless pigeon, the Viti Levu giant pigeon (Natunaornis gigoura), was discovered in Fiji. It was slightly smaller than the dodo and solitaire and is also thought to be related to crowned pigeons.
The dodo was first called "Walghvoghel" in Dutch by a sailor named Wybrand van Warwijck in 1598. "Walgh" means "tasteless" or "sickly," and "voghel" means "bird." This name was later translated into German as "Walchvögel." Another account from the same voyage said the Portuguese called the dodo "penguins," but this may have referred to the bird’s small wings rather than the penguin species. A Dutch crew called the bird "Dronte" (meaning "swollen") in 1602, a name still used in some languages. They also called it "griff-eendt" and "kermisgans," names related to fattened birds eaten during a festival in Amsterdam.
The origin of the word "dod" is unclear. Some theories suggest it came from Dutch words, but no single explanation is certain.
Description
Because no complete dodo specimens remain, scientists have difficulty determining details like its feathers and colors. Most information about the dodo’s appearance comes from old drawings and written descriptions from the time of its discovery (1598–1662) until its extinction. These sources suggest the dodo had gray or brown feathers, with lighter feathers on its wings and a curly tuft of light feathers near its tail. Its head was gray and bare, its beak was green, black, and yellow, and its legs were thick and yellowish with black claws. A study of the few feathers left on the Oxford specimen showed they were similar to those of other pigeons and not soft or downy.
Subfossil remains and bones brought to Europe in the 17th century show the dodo was a large bird, standing about 62.6–75 cm (24.6–29.5 in) tall. Males were larger than females and had longer beaks. Scientists have estimated the dodo’s weight differently. In 1993, one study suggested males weighed about 21 kg (46 lb) and females 17 kg (37 lb). Another study from the same year noted that dodos depicted in Europe might have been overweight because they were kept in captivity. Scientists believe wild dodos likely weighed between 10.6–17.5 kg (23–39 lb), while those that were overfed might have reached up to 27.8 kg (61 lb). A 2011 study estimated the average weight as low as 10.2 kg (22 lb), but this has been questioned. A 2016 study using CT scans of bones suggested a weight range of 10.6–14.3 kg (23–32 lb). Scientists still disagree about the exact weight, and some think it might have changed with the seasons, with dodos gaining weight in cooler months.
The dodo’s skull was different from other pigeons. It was stronger, with a hooked beak tip and a short cranium (head bone) compared to its jaws. The upper beak was nearly twice as long as the cranium. The nostrils were long and lacked a bony divider. The skull was wider than it was long, with a dome-shaped front bone above the eye sockets. The skull sloped downward at the back, and the eye sockets took up much of the skull’s rear. The eye’s scleral rings (bony structures) had eleven small bones, like those of other pigeons. The lower jaw was slightly curved, with one opening on each side, as in other pigeons.
The dodo had 19 neck and chest vertebrae (including three fused into a notarium), 16 lower back and sacral vertebrae, six tail vertebrae, and a pygostyle (a bone at the tail’s end). Its neck had strong muscle and ligament areas to support its heavy head and beak. Each side had six ribs, four of which connected to the sternum (breastbone). The sternum was large but smaller compared to the body size of flying pigeons. It was full of air pockets, broad, and thick. The bones in the shoulder, wings, and chest were smaller and more delicate than those of flying pigeons but not completely absent. The dodo’s carpometacarpus (a wing bone) was stronger than that of the Rodrigues solitaire, a related bird. The pelvis (hip bones) was wider than the solitaire’s but similar in size to smaller flying pigeons. Most leg bones were stronger than those of other pigeons, but their lengths were similar.
Many skeletal differences between the dodo, the Rodrigues solitaire (its closest relative), and other pigeons are linked to their flightlessness. The dodo’s pelvis was thicker to support its weight, and its wings and chest were underdeveloped, retaining features of juvenile birds. Its skull, body, and legs changed significantly with age. The dodo and solitaire shared traits like skull and pelvis features, large size, and a broad sternum. However, the dodo had a stronger, shorter body, a larger skull and beak, a rounded skull roof, and smaller eye sockets. Its neck and legs were shorter, and it lacked the wrist knob found on the solitaire.
Most historical descriptions of the dodo come from ship logs and journals of Dutch East India Company vessels that visited Mauritius during the Dutch Empire’s rule. These records guided future trips. Few accounts are reliable, as many were copied from earlier descriptions and written by non-scientists. One of the earliest accounts, from van Warwijck’s 1598 journal, described the bird as follows:
One of the most detailed descriptions is from Herbert’s 1634 work, A Relation of Some Yeares Travaille into Afrique and the Greater Asia:
The travel journal of the Dutch ship Gelderland (1601–1603), rediscovered in the 1860s, contains the only known sketches of living or recently killed dodos drawn on Mauritius. These sketches are attributed to the artist Joris Joostensz Laerle and another artist. It is unclear how many of the 17th-century illustrations were based on live or stuffed dodos, which affects their accuracy. Because few physical remains and descriptions exist, these artworks are important for understanding the dodo’s appearance. Since the mid-19th century, scientists have tried to collect all historical dodo illustrations, but new ones are still occasionally found.
The traditional image of the dodo as a fat, clumsy bird may be exaggerated. Scientists believe many old European drawings showed overfed captive birds or poorly stuffed specimens. Some think the images might show dodos with puffed feathers during displays. The Dutch painter Roelant Savery created the most famous dodo illustrations, including one from 1626 now called Edwards’s Dodo after the ornithologist George Edwards. This painting is now in the Natural History Museum in London and is the most common image of the dodo. It shows a very fat bird.
An Indian Mughal painting rediscovered in 1955 in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, shows a dodo with native Indian birds. It depicts a thinner, brown-colored bird. The painting is believed to be from the 1
Behaviour and ecology
Not much is known about the dodo's behavior because most descriptions from that time are short. Based on estimates of its size, scientists think male dodos might have lived up to 21 years, and females up to 17 years. Studies of the strength of its leg bones suggest it could run quickly. Its legs were strong and helped it move easily through thick forests before humans arrived. Though its wings were small, muscle marks on the bones show they were not completely useless. They may have helped with balance or displays, like some modern pigeons. Unlike the Rodrigues solitaire, there is no evidence the dodo used its wings for fighting. Some dodo bones show healed breaks, but its wings were smaller and its chest muscles weaker compared to the solitaire. The dodo may have used its large, curved beak for territorial disputes. Since Mauritius had more rain and less seasonal change than Rodrigues, the dodo may have had less need to fight for territory. The Rodrigues solitaire was likely more aggressive. In 2016, scientists made the first 3D model of the dodo's brain. Its brain size compared to its body was similar to modern pigeons, suggesting it had a similar level of intelligence.
The dodo's preferred habitat is unknown, but old records suggest it lived in wooded areas near the coast in southern and western Mauritius. This idea is supported by the fact that most dodo remains were found near the sea in southeastern Mauritius. Its limited range on the island may have contributed to its extinction. A 1601 map shows a small island near Mauritius where dodos were caught. A scientist named Julian Hume thinks this island was called l'île aux Bénitiers in Tamarin Bay. Bones have also been found in mountain caves, showing the dodo lived in highland areas. Studies at the Mare aux Songes swamp, where many dodo remains were found, show the area had many trees like tambalacoque and Pandanus, as well as unique palms. The swamp’s location near the coast and its wetness supported many plant species, while nearby areas were drier.
Many species on Mauritius became extinct after humans arrived, causing serious damage to the island’s ecosystem. Before humans, Mauritius was covered in forests, but most of these forests are gone due to deforestation. The few remaining species are still in danger. The dodo lived with other extinct birds, such as the flightless red rail, the broad-billed parrot, and the Mauritius blue pigeon. Extinct reptiles included giant tortoises and a skink. Some animals, like the Mauritian flying fox and a snail, lived on Mauritius and Réunion but are now gone. Some plants, like the palm orchid, are also extinct.
A 1631 Dutch letter, rediscovered in 2017, is the only known record of the dodo’s diet. It mentions the dodo used its beak for defense. The letter uses wordplay, with dodos possibly representing wealthy mayors. The dodo likely ate fallen fruits, nuts, seeds, bulbs, and roots. Some scientists think it may have also eaten crabs and shellfish, like related pigeons. Its diet was probably varied, as captive dodos were given many types of food during long sea voyages. A scientist named Oudemans suggested the dodo stored fat from ripe fruits at the end of the wet season to survive the dry season when food was scarce. Reports describe the dodo as having a large appetite. Another scientist, France Staub, thought the dodo mainly ate palm fruits and linked its fat cycle to the fruiting patterns of palms.
The upper jaw bones of the dodo may have moved relative to each other, which could have affected how it ate. In modern fruit-eating pigeons, movable jaw parts help consume large food items. The dodo’s beak could withstand strong forces, suggesting it ate hard foods. Studies of its brain show it had a large area for smell, which may have helped it find fruit and small prey.
Some sources say the dodo used gastroliths (small stones in the stomach) to help digest food. An English writer named Sir Hamon L'Estrange saw a live dodo in London and described it. It is not known how dodos fed their young, but related pigeons produce crop milk. Drawings of dodos show a large crop, which may have stored food and made crop milk. Scientists think the dodo’s size was limited by how much crop milk it could produce for its young.
In 1973, the tambalacoque tree, also called the dodo tree, was thought to be dying on Mauritius, where it is found only. Only 13 trees were believed to remain, all about 300 years old. A scientist named Stanley Temple thought the tree relied on the dodo to spread its seeds, as the seeds might only grow after passing through the dodo’s digestive system. He claimed the tree was nearly extinct because the dodo was gone. However, reports from the 1940s showed the tree’s seeds could grow without being eaten by the dodo. Other scientists disagreed, saying the tree’s decline was exaggerated or that other extinct animals, like tortoises or parrots, also helped spread its seeds. In 1991, scientists found the tree had grown to hundreds of trees, not 13, showing the dodo was not the only reason for its survival.
A scientist named Carlos Yamashita suggested the broad-billed parrot may have relied on dodos and tortoises to eat palm fruits and spread their seeds. Some parrots today depend on cattle for this task, as their ancient relatives did. In 2020, scientists said extinct birds like the dodo and Rodrigues solitaire may have helped spread large seeds, which are now missing from the ecosystem. In 2023, scientists noted the loss of the dodo and other native fruit-eaters has hurt the growth of native plants, as no species now can handle the same seed sizes.
Relationship with humans
Mauritius was visited by Arab ships during the Middle Ages and by Portuguese ships between 1507 and 1513, but no one settled there. No records of dodos from these visits are known, though the Portuguese name for the island, "Cerne (swan) Island," might have referred to dodos. The Dutch Empire took control of Mauritius in 1598 and renamed it after Maurice of Nassau. The island was used to supply ships of the Dutch East India Company.
The first known descriptions of the dodo came from Dutch travelers during the Second Dutch Expedition to Indonesia in 1598, led by admiral Jacob van Neck. These accounts were published in 1601, including the first printed picture of the bird. Early sailors who visited Mauritius were interested in dodos mainly for food. A 1602 journal by Willem Van West-Zanen described hunters killing 24–25 dodos for meals. The birds were so large that two could not be eaten in one meal, and their remains were preserved by salting. An illustration from 1648 showed dodos being killed, along with a dugong and possibly Mascarene grey parakeets. The image was labeled with a Dutch poem translated by Hugh Strickland in 1848.
Some travelers found dodo meat unappetizing and preferred to eat parrots or pigeons. Others described it as tough but edible. Some hunters targeted dodos only for their gizzards, which were considered the most delicious part. Dodos were easy to catch, but hunters had to avoid being bitten by their strong beaks.
The dodo’s appearance led Peter Mundy to make observations 230 years before Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Living dodos were sent to Europe and the East, but it is unclear how many survived the journey. Julian Hume estimated that at least eleven dodos reached their destinations alive.
Hamon L'Estrange wrote in 1638 about seeing a live dodo in London, the only known account of a live dodo in Europe. Adriaen van de Venne drew a dodo in Amsterdam in 1626 but did not say if it was alive. Peter Mundy saw two live dodos in Surat, India, between 1628 and 1634. One may have been painted by Mansur around 1625. In 1628, Emmanuel Altham sent a letter from Mauritius to his brother in England, but the letter was destroyed in a fire.
The earliest known picture of a dodo in Europe is from a collection of paintings made around 1610 for Emperor Rudolph II’s royal menagerie in Prague. The dodo in the painting may have been a young bird and was likely dried or embalmed. It probably lived in the emperor’s zoo with other animals. Most dodos brought to Europe were preserved as dried heads and feet, as taxidermists were not yet available on ships.
A dodo was reportedly sent to Nagasaki, Japan, in 1647. It was confirmed to have arrived alive in 2014 and was valued as highly as a white deer or a bezoar stone. This was the last recorded live dodo in captivity.
The dodo was fearless of humans and could not fly, making it easy prey. However, human hunting was not the main cause of its extinction. Bones found in caves suggest that dodos were not hunted by humans in large numbers. Instead, introduced animals like dogs, pigs, cats, rats, and crab-eating macaques harmed dodos by eating their eggs and competing for food. Humans also destroyed the dodos’ forest habitat.
Some scientists believe the dodo may have been rare or limited to certain areas before humans arrived. A 2005 discovery of subfossil remains from a flood suggests that natural disasters may have further threatened the species. The dodo survived volcanic activity and climate changes, showing its resilience.
The date of the dodo’s extinction is debated. The last confirmed sighting was in 1662 by Volkert Evertsz, who described dodos on a small island near Mauritius. A 2003 study estimated the extinction date as 1693, with a range of 1688–1715. Some later records, like a 1688 sighting, may not be reliable.
Alfred Newton suggested that the name “dodo” was later used for the red rail after the dodo went extinct. Some descriptions after 1662 mention the red rail using the name “Dodo,” indicating a possible transfer. A 1668 account by John Marshall described the red rail as “Dodo” and “Red Hen,” noting its tough meat. A 2014 study of Dutch manuscripts suggested no dodos were seen between 1664 and 1674. In 2020, researchers proposed that mentions of dodos after the mid-17th century likely referred to other birds.
Physical remains
The only surviving parts of dodo birds taken to Europe in the 17th century are a dried head and foot in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, a foot that was once in the British Museum but is now lost, a skull in the University of Copenhagen Zoological Museum, and an upper jaw in the National Museum of Prague. The last two were found again and identified as dodo remains in the mid-1800s. Some old museum records mention stuffed dodos, but none of these are known to still exist. A dried foot once owned by Dutch professor Pieter Pauw was described by Carolus Clusius in 1605. Its origin is unknown, and it is now lost, but it may have been collected during the Van Neck voyage. Some dodos displayed in museums today are made from feathers of other birds, often by British taxidermist Rowland Ward’s company.
The only known soft tissue remains, the Oxford head (specimen OUM 11605) and foot, came from the last known stuffed dodo. This dodo was first mentioned as part of the Tradescant collection in 1656 and later moved to the Ashmolean Museum in 1659. It may have been the bird seen by Hamon L’Estrange in London, the bird sent by Emanuel Altham, or a gift from Thomas Herbert. The remains do not show signs of being mounted, so they might have been preserved as a study skin. In 2018, scans of the Oxford dodo’s head showed lead shot inside its skin and bones, used to hunt birds in the 17th century. This suggests the dodo was shot before or after arriving in Britain. The circumstances of its death are unknown, and the lead pellets may help identify where the lead was mined.
Many sources say the Ashmolean Museum burned the stuffed dodo around 1755 because of decay, saving only the head and leg. However, this is now believed to be a myth; the specimen was likely removed from display to protect what remained. The soft tissue has since degraded further. The head was studied by Strickland and Melville, who separated the skin from the skull. The foot is now mostly bones, with only small pieces of skin and tendons left. Few feathers remain on the head. The foot may belong to a female, as it is 11% smaller and more delicate than the London foot. The specimen was displayed in the Oxford museum from the 1860s until 1998, after which it was stored to avoid damage. Casts of the head are now in many museums worldwide.
The dried London foot, first recorded in 1665 and moved to the British Museum in the 18th century, was displayed next to Savery’s Edwards’s Dodo painting until the 1840s. It was also studied by Strickland and Melville. It was not posed in a standing position, suggesting it was removed from a fresh specimen, not a mounted one. By 1896, it was said to have no skin left, and only bones remain, though its current location is unknown.
The Copenhagen skull (specimen ZMUC 90-806) was once in the collection of Bernardus Paludanus in Enkhuizen until 1651, when it was moved to Gottorf Castle in Schleswig. After the castle was taken by Danish forces in 1702, the collection became part of the Royal Danish collection. The skull was rediscovered by J. T. Reinhardt in 1840. It may be the oldest known dodo remains brought to Europe in the 17th century. It is 13 mm shorter than the Oxford skull and may have belonged to a female. It was mummified, but the skin has since disappeared.
A partial skull (specimen NMP P6V-004389) in the National Museum of Prague was found in 1850 among the remains of the Böhmisches Museum. Other parts of this specimen are not known to exist, though a partial right limb in the museum appears to belong to a Rodrigues solitaire. It may be the remains of a stuffed dodo from the menagerie of Emperor Rudolph II, possibly the one painted by Hoefnagel or Savery.
Until 1860, only four incomplete 17th-century dodo specimens were known. Philip Burnard Ayres discovered the first subfossil bones in 1860, which were sent to Richard Owen at the British Museum, but Owen did not publish the findings. In 1863, Owen asked Bishop Vincent Ryan to notify him if dodo bones were found. In 1865, George Clark, a schoolmaster in Mahébourg, found many subfossil dodo bones in the Mare aux Songes swamp in Mauritius after a 30-year search inspired by Strickland and Melville’s work. Clark described his method to The Ibis journal: he had workers wade through the swamp to find bones. At first, few were found, but after cutting away plants covering the swamp’s deepest parts, many fossils were discovered. Harry Pasley Higginson, a railway engineer, also found bones at the same time, and there is some debate over who discovered them first. Higginson sent bones to museums in Liverpool, Leeds, and York. The swamp yielded over 300 dodo remains, but few skull or wing bones, possibly because upper bodies were washed away or scavenged. The situation is similar to finds of moa remains in New Zealand. Most dodo remains from Mare aux Songes are medium to dark brown.
Clark’s discoveries renewed interest in the dodo. Sir Richard Owen and Alfred Newton both wanted to describe the dodo’s body structure first. Owen bought a shipment of bones meant for Newton, causing rivalry. Owen described the bones in 1866 but incorrectly based his reconstruction on Savery’s painting, making the dodo appear too short and fat. In 1869, he corrected the posture, making it more upright. Newton shifted his focus to the Réunion solitaire. Bones not sold to Owen or Newton were auctioned or donated to museums. In 1889, Théodor Sauzier was sent to explore Mauritius and found more dodo remains in Mare aux Songes, as well as remains of other extinct species.
Louis Étienne Thirioux, an amateur naturalist in Port Louis, found many dodo remains around 1900. These included the first complete skeleton outside Mare aux Songes and the only known remains of a juvenile dodo, a now-lost tarsometatarsus. The skeleton was found in 1904 in a cave near Le Pouce mountain and is the only known complete dodo skeleton. Thiri
The white dodo
The idea that there was a "white dodo" (or "solitaire") on Réunion is now considered incorrect based on modern reports of the Réunion ibis and 17th-century paintings of white, dodo-like birds by Pieter Withoos and Pieter Holsteyn, which were found in the 19th century. The confusion began when Willem Ysbrandtszoon Bontekoe, who visited Réunion around 1619, wrote about fat, flightless birds he called "Dod-eersen" in his journal, though he did not describe their color. When his journal was published in 1646, it included an engraving of a dodo from Savery's "Crocker Art Gallery sketch." In 1625, Chief Officer J. Tatton first mentioned a white, stocky, and flightless bird as part of Réunion's wildlife. Other writers later made similar references.
Baron Edmond de Sélys Longchamps named the birds Raphus solitarius in 1848, believing they were a type of dodo. When 17th-century paintings of white dodos were discovered in the 19th century, they were thought to show these birds. Oudemans suggested the difference between the paintings and older descriptions was that the paintings showed females, meaning the species had different appearances for males and females. Some writers also thought the birds might be similar to the Rodrigues solitaire, as they shared the same name, or that both white dodos and solitaires lived on Réunion.
The Pieter Withoos painting, found first, seems to be based on an earlier painting by Pieter Holsteyn, of which three versions are known. According to Hume, Cheke, and Valledor de Lozoya, all depictions of white dodos likely came from Roelant Savery's painting Landscape with Orpheus and the animals, or copies of it. This painting is usually dated to 1611, though some suggest it was made later, after 1614 or 1626. The painting shows a whitish bird, possibly based on a stuffed specimen in Prague. An inventory from the Prague collection of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II mentioned a "dirty off-white" bird, which may have been the source. Savery’s later paintings showed greyish birds, possibly because he saw a different specimen. Cheke and Hume believe the white color was due to albinism, while Valledor de Lozoya suggests it could be a juvenile trait, bleaching of old specimens, or artistic choice.
In 1987, scientists described fossils of a recently extinct ibis species from Réunion, Borbonibis latipes, with a short beak. Before this, a connection to the solitaire reports had not been made. Cheke suggested the fossils might belong to the Réunion solitaire, and this idea was published in 1995. The ibis was later classified under the genus Threskiornis, with the name solitarius from R. solitarius. Birds in this genus are white and black with slender beaks, matching old descriptions of the Réunion solitaire. No fossils of dodo-like birds have ever been found on Réunion.
Cultural significance
The dodo is one of the most well-known extinct animals. Its unique look made it a symbol for things that are no longer useful or have disappeared. For example, the phrase "dead as a dodo" means something is completely dead or no longer used. Similarly, "to go the way of the dodo" means to become extinct, fall out of use, or become a thing of the past. The word "dodo" is also sometimes used to describe someone who is slow or not very smart, as people once thought the bird was easy to catch.
The dodo appeared in many stories and books, even before it went extinct. In European writing, it was used to represent faraway lands and gluttony, as it seemed very large and heavy. In 1865, the same year that scientists began sharing reports about dodo fossils, the bird was included as a character in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. People believe Carroll added the dodo because he felt a connection to it. He had once introduced himself as "Do-do-dodgson" due to a speech problem, and his real last name was Dodgson. Carroll and the girl who inspired Alice, Alice Liddell, had visited a museum to see dodo remains. The book’s popularity made the dodo a famous symbol of extinction. After the book was published, drawings of the dodo became more exaggerated and cartoonish, even though it was not actually clumsy or doomed to disappear.
The dodo is used as a symbol in many ways, especially in Mauritius. It appears on the country’s coat of arms, coins, and banknotes. It is also on the background of the country’s immigration forms. A smiling dodo is the logo of a popular brewery in Réunion called Brasseries de Bourbon, which once thought a white dodo species lived there.
Environmental groups use the dodo to raise awareness about protecting endangered animals. For example, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Durrell Wildlife Park use the dodo in their work. The Center for Biological Diversity gives an annual award called the "Rubber Dodo Award" to people who harm wildlife and natural areas. In 2011, a spider species, Nephilengys dodo, was named after the dodo to highlight the need to protect life in Mauritius. Two ant species, Pseudolasius dodo and Pheidole dodo, and a type of isopod, Hansenium dodo, were also named after the dodo.
Scientists have used the name "dodo" to describe parts of living things. For example, a gene in fruit flies that helps with flying was named "dodo." A part of a plant’s DNA, called a defective transposable element, was named DodoPi because it could not move within a chromosome.
In 2009, a 17th-century Dutch drawing of a dodo was sold at an auction. It was expected to cost about £6,000, but it sold for £44,450. It is not clear if the drawing was based on a real dodo or an earlier image, and the artist is unknown. Some believe the drawing shows a stuffed dodo, as the legs look dry.
The poet Hilaire Belloc included a poem about the dodo in his book The Bad Child's Book of Beasts from 1896.