You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
This account of two extinct bird species offers “an amazing amount of history, references, facts, maps, and illustrations” (Library Journal). The Dodo and the Solitaire is the most comprehensive book to date about these two famously extinct birds. It contains all the known contemporary accounts and illustrations of the dodo and solitaire, covering their history after extinction and discussing their ecology, classification, phylogenetic placement, and evolution. Both birds were large and flightless and lived on inhabited islands some five hundred miles east of Madagascar. The first recorded descriptions of the dodo were provided by Dutch sailors who encountered them in 1598—and within a century, the dodo was extinct. So quickly did the bird disappear that there is insufficient evidence to form an entirely accurate picture of its appearance and ecology, and the absence has led to much speculation. This extraordinary book pieces together the story of these two lost species from the fragments that have been left behind. “An up-to-date and comprehensive review of everything we know about the dodo and solitaire.” —Journal of Verterbrate Paleontology
The story of the dodo is a classic of evolution and extinction equal in fascination to that of the dinosaur or the saber-toothed tiger. Unlike these, however, the dodo was the first recorded example of an extinction that was, in all probability, entirely caused by humans. Humankind coexisted with the dodo between 1598 and 1681 and then the dodo was gone, hunted to extinction, unable to escape the new predators that arrived in ships on the isolated island later known as Mauritius. The giant pigeon, for this was what the dodo was, evolved from ancestors that had populated the island millions of years before in the Pleistocene period, when Mauritius was far adrift of where it lies today. The pi...
A comprehensive illustrated guide to the dodo: its history, natural history, and its literary and cultural legacy. The extinction of the dodo from the shores of Mauritius followed closely on the arrival of Dutch and Portuguese sailors on the island in the 16th century. Using a diverse number of sources, the author describes the behaviour and myths surrounding this unusual and iconic bird. The first three chapters investigate the dodo's natural history through the use of historical documents, illustrations, paintings, old drawings and literary sources. Its behaviour is examined in the quotes from 16 of the written reports by travellers to the island, and the anatomy of the dodo is investigated from the bone records kept by anatomists and naturalists from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The mythology surrounding the dodo has grown ever since it became extinct. Lewis Carroll's use of the dodo in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland elevated the bird to iconic status and sparked a spate of Dodo characters in newspapers, adverts and cartoons.
"Dead as a dodo." We think not! The dodo may long be extinct, but its presence in our culture and hearts lives on. Our knowledge of the dodo as an actual living creature may be limited, but in popular culture it is one of the best known creatures and rands with tigers, penguins, elephants, and dinosaurs as an animal that most children will recognize. Lewis Carroll's inclusion of the dodo in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and certainly Sir John Tenniel's infamous accompanying illustration of Alice and the dodo, forever elevated this curious bird to fantastical status. From cartoon characters to the very icon of extinction, the mythology surrounding the dodo has grown to universal celebrity. From personal accounts from travelers to the Island of Mauritius, to the bird's prominence in literature and the arts, this droll presentation is the most comprehensive illustrated guide to an intriguing inhabitant of natural history and the arts.
It took less than a hundred years of human influence in Mauritius to wipe out the Dodo. The delicate balance of nature was suddenly tipped and became a threat to the survival of the Dodo, which had reigned supreme on this island for thousands of years. For nearly two hundred years after its extinction, the Dodo was forgotten, and there were some doubts as to whether it actually lived at all. It seemed that these strange birds had only been part of the imagination and exaggeration of sailors. Today, the once remote island of Mauritius is home top over a million people of European, African, Indian and Chinese origin. It can boast of being one of the most stable democratic countries in the worl...
Describes the physical characteristics and habits of the extinct dodo, a large flightless bird that lived on the islands of Mauritius and Reunion in the Indian Ocean.
Why have island ecosystems always suffered such high rates of extinction? In our age, with all the world's landscapes, from Tasmania to the Amazon to Yellowstone, now being carved into island-like fragments by human activity, the implications of this question are more urgent than ever. Over the past eight years, David Quammen has followed the threads of island biogeography on a globe-encircling journey of discovery.
A brilliantly funny story about dodos, a dinosaur, and being VERY careful what you wish for, from the creator of Nine Lives Newton. Jack doesn’t just like dodos, he LOVES them. So when his dearest wish for a pet dodo comes true, surely Jack will be the happiest he’s ever been, EVER. Unless, of course, Jack wishes for more and more dodos and his new pets cause complete chaos, and no one believes that the dodos did it because dodos don’t exist and everyone blames Jack for everything. Maybe it's time for Jack to think about wishing for something completely different . . .
Leni LOVES birds. So when two feather-brained professors visit her island home on a mission to bring back the dodo, she jumps at the chance to help them. But the famous bird has been extinct for over 300 years - and Sugar King Benny Chouchou will stop at nothing to keep it that way. Can Leni and the squabbling professors achieve the impossible?