In 1865 the discovery of a large quantity of remains in the Mare aux Songes, by Mr. G. Clark, enabled Owen and others to confirm the suggestion of the Danish naturalist, Reinhardt, of the Dodo's affinity to the Pigeons; while in 1889 M. Sauzier, acting for the Government of Mauritius, sent to the late Sir Edward Newton a series of bones from the same spot, enabling the first correctly restored and properly mounted skeleton to be returned for the museum of that island, and the important paper, noticed above, to be published by the last-named and Dr. Gadow. Nearly perfect specimens exist at Cambridge, in the British Museum, and at Paris.
The Dodo is said to have inhabited forests, to have swallowed pebbles, to have uttered a cry like that of a gosling, and to have laid one large white egg on a mass of grass. Hogs and other imported animals seem to have conduced to its extermination, as well as the hand of man.
Didus borbonicus had white plumage, varied with yellow, the first four primaries being directed forwards and downwards. It is mentioned by Tatton (1625), Du Bois (1669), and Carré (1699); while Bontekoe (1646) gave a figure apparently intended to represent it, and another by Pierre Witthoos (ob. 1693) was in existence a few years ago. It was originally called the Solitaire, but this name was also applied to Pezophaps solitarius of Rodriguez by the Huguenot exile Leguat, who described and figured the latter about 1691. Pezophaps was subsequently briefly noticed by D'Heguerty (1751) and again by Pingré (1761), who heard that it still existed in inaccessible districts; while it is also mentioned in an anonymous manuscript discovered at Paris, written perhaps about 1729. Remains came into the hands of Desjardins in 1789 (not fully recognised until 1832), and others were forwarded to England; but much the most important finds were those of the late Sir Edward Newton in 1864, followed up by Mr. Jenner in the succeeding years, and of Mr. H. H. Slater in 1874.[[211]] In 1875 two complete skeletons were obtained, and fairly perfect specimens of those of each sex are at Cambridge, with others elsewhere.
This Solitaire was larger than a Swan, the male standing about 2 feet 9 inches, and the female 2 feet 3 inches high; the colour of the former was brownish-grey, but the latter varied from the hue of "fair hair" to brown, and had a whitish breast. The slightly-hooked, elongated beak had a feathered ridge or peak at the base of the culmen, the neck was elongated and straight, the legs were longer and weaker than in the Dodo, the wings were rudimentary, the hind part (pelvis) was rounded, the tail was hardly noticeable, and the thigh-feathers were thick, and curved like shells at the end. A spherical mass of bone, "as big as a musket-ball," was developed on the wings of the males; and they used it, in addition to the beak, as a weapon of offence, while they whirled themselves about twenty or thirty times in four or five minutes, making a noise with their pinions like a rattle. The mien was fine and the walk stately, the birds being seen singly or in pairs; the nest was a heap of palm-leaves a foot or more high, the single large egg was incubated by both parents. The food is said to have consisted of seeds and leaves, and a stone as big as a hen's egg was often found in the stomach.
Fam. XI. Didunculidae.–Didunculus strigirostris, the Manu-meà or Red Bird of the islands of Upolu, Savai, and Tutuila in the Samoan group, is glossy greenish-black, with chestnut back, rump, wing-coverts, tail and under tail-coverts, but browner wing-quills and abdomen. The hooked and toothed bill is orange, the feet are reddish, and the naked orbits red. The sexes are similar, the young entirely brown. First made known by Strickland on the strength of its discovery in the autumn of 1839 by Peale during the United States Exploring Expedition under Commander Wilkes, it has since been met with by several travellers and missionaries, three living specimens having been exhibited in the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London. By 1863 it was regarded as nearly extinct on Upolu, where it was formerly abundant, though it still held its own on Savai; but in 1874 an increase was reported from the latter island, which was attributed to a change of habits, the birds having become arboreal instead of terrestrial.
Fig. 67.–Manu-meà or Tooth-billed Pigeon. Didunculus strigirostris. × ¼.
The oldest accounts, derived from native sources, stated that Didunculus was essentially a ground species, living on thickly-wooded mountain-sides in flocks of about a dozen, and feeding on berries, plantains (bananas), and yam fruit, while it roosted on low stumps, and bred on the ground, being rather shy, and taking to flight noisily with much flapping of the wings. Mr. Whitmee[[212]] and others, however, tell us that it now feeds almost exclusively on high trees, roosting aloft, and building in the forks. But as early as 1852 Lieutenant Walpole[[213]] asserted that the bird bred among rocks, perched and fed on trees, and flew from wood to wood, or even from island to island, so that it is not impossible that its supposed affinity to the Dodo led writers astray, and that its fondness for the ground was greatly exaggerated. No doubt danger from introduced cats and rats would force the nest to be placed higher.
The Tooth-billed Pigeon was usually found in pairs or small parties, and was in great request for food among the natives, who, moreover, kept individuals tethered to sticks as pets, while the chiefs erected small huts in which to feed the flocks. They were often attracted by decoys, and caught with bird-lime. The habits are diurnal, or somewhat crepuscular; the note apparently varies from deep and guttural to low and plaintive; and breeding takes place from May to September, the single egg being white. The birds are decidedly pugnacious in captivity, and occasionally nibble their food in Parrot fashion.
