
Dodo

by George Holton
Title
Dodo
Artist
George Holton
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Dodo bird, Raphus cucullatus. Engraving of the extinct dodo. The dodo was a distant relative of the pigeon. Roughly the size of a swan, it was heavily-built, flightless and clumsy. Two species were known with certainty: the common dodo, Raphus cucullatus, from Mauritius, which became extinct between 1665 and 1670, and the Rodriguez solitaire, Pezophaps solitaria, from the neighboring island of Rodriguez, which died out around 1761. The dodo's numbers quickly dwindled following the arrival of humans to these isolated habitats. All but defenseless, these birds were ill-equipped to cope with the new hunters and the competition from other introduced animal species. This print was done by George Edwards in 1757.
Uploaded
December 9th, 2014
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