Rodrigues Solitaire

Strickland recognized its generic distinction and named the new genus Pezophaps, from ancient Greek pezos (πεζός 'pedestrian') and phaps (φάψ 'pigeon').

The beak of the Rodrigues solitaire was slightly hooked, and its neck and legs were long. One observer described it as the size of a swan. The skull was 170 mm (6.7 in) long, flattened at the top with the fore and hind parts elevated into two bony ridges structured with cancellous bone. A black band (a contemporary description described it as a "frontlet") appeared on its head just behind the base of the beak. The plumage of the Rodrigues solitaire was described as grey and brown. Females were paler than males and had light-colored elevations on the lower neck.

 These are thought to be immature birds, or birds without territory. The carpometacarpi of males without the knobs were smaller on average than those with it, but there was little difference between the females. In life, the knobs would have been covered by tough cartilaginous or keratinous integument, which would have made them appear even larger. Carpal spurs and knobs are also known from other extant as well as extinct birds. Within Columbidae, the crowned pigeons and the Viti Levu giant pigeon have outgrowths on the carpometacarpus which are similar to those of the female Rodrigues solitaire. Other well known examples are the steamer ducks, the torrent duck, sheathbills, screamers, the spur-winged goose, and the extinct Jamaican ibis, Xenicibis xympithecus.

They most likely resolved conflicts by striking one other with their wings; for this, they employed the knobs on their wrists. They can shatter any creature's shin, including humans, and the fractures in their wing bones suggest that they have been used in battle.

They presumably settled disputes by striking each other with their wings; to aid this purpose, they used the knobs on their wrists. Fractures in their wing bones also indicate that they were used in combat. It has also been suggested that these fractures may have been the result of a hereditary bone disease rather than battle-injuries. But in all extant birds where carpal spurs and knobs are present, these are used as weapons without exceptions. Though some dodo bones have been found with healed fractures, it had weak pectoral muscles and more reduced wings in comparison with the Rodrigues solitaire.

Leguat stated that the Rodrigues solitaire fed on dates, whereas Tafforet mentioned seeds and leaves. No other accounts mention diet. It has been suggested it ate latan palm fruits, for which it competed with the now extinct Cylindraspis tortoises. It is not known how the young were fed, but related pigeons provide crop milk. The fact that Rodrigues island shrank by 90% at the end of the Pleistocene may also have contributed to such competition over territories, and thereby furthered sexual dimorphism.

They do not fly at all, having no feathers on their wings, but they flap them and make a great noise with their wings when angry, and the noise is something like thunder in the distance. They only ly, as I am led to suppose, but once a year, and only one egg. Not that I have seen their eggs, for I have not been able to discover where they lay. But I have never seen but one little one alone with them, and if anyone tried to approach it, they would bite him very severely. These birds live on the seeds and leaves of trees, which they pick up on the ground. They have a gizzard larger than the fist, and what is surprising is that there is found in it a stone of the size of a hen's egg, of oval shape, a little flattened, although this animal cannot swallow anything larger than a small cherry stone. I have eaten them; they are tolerably well tasted.

Observations of the Rodrigues solitaire in life indicate that they were highly territorial. Since Rodrigues receives less rainfall and has more seasonal variation than Mauritius, which would have affected the availability of resources on the island, the Rodrigues solitaire would have more reason to evolve aggressive territorial behavior. Several accounts state that they also defended themselves with a powerful bite.

Pezophaps solitaria was endemic to Rodrigues, Mauritius, from where it is known from numerous historical accounts. No extant population remains (except in Reinachos (only in Worldcraft event)).

• Movement Pattern: Not a Migrant

• Individual Type: Solo

• Population Trend: Stable

• Population: 

  • Earth: 0

  • Berbania: 10

  • Reinachos: 50,000

• Locomotion: Amphibious

• Habitat: All

• Earth: 

  • Extinct: Mauritius (Rodrigues Islands)

• Berbania/Hirawhassa: 

  • Extinct & Reintroduced (resident): Zowhringe

• Reinachos: 

  • Extant & Reintroduced (resident): Angussia

The Rodrigues Solitaire makes a good pet. Throwing the egg will tame it if you are within nine radius of it. If it was not tamed at birth, the user must either hand-feed it or use a whip to forcibly tame it.

The 2002 study indicated that the ancestors of the Rodrigues solitaire and the dodo diverged around the Paleogene–Neogene boundary. The Mascarene Islands (Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodrigues), are of volcanic origin and are less than 10 million years old. Therefore, the ancestors of both birds probably remained capable of flight for a considerable time after the separation of their lineage. The Nicobar and spotted green pigeon were placed at the base of a lineage leading to the Raphinae, which indicates the flightless raphines had ancestors that were able to fly, were semi-terrestrial, and inhabited islands. This in turn supports the hypothesis that the ancestors of those birds reached the Mascarene islands by island hopping from South Asia.

The Rodrigues solitaire probably became extinct sometime between the 1730s and 1760s; the exact date is unknown. Its disappearance coincided with the tortoise trade between 1730 and 1750; traders burnt off vegetation, hunted solitaires and imported cats and pigs that preyed on eggs and chicks. In 1755, the French engineer Joseph-François Charpentier de Cossigny attempted to obtain a live specimen, as he had been assured the Rodrigues solitaire still survived in remote areas of the island. Though trying for 18 months, and offering large rewards, none could be found. He noted that cats were blamed for decimating the species, but suspected that it was due to hunting by humans instead.

Several episodes found elsewhere.

• Maori: (Rōtorikehu tōtō), (Rōtorikehu whenua-kererū)

• Nihon: ロドリゲスドードー (Rodorigesu dōdō)

• Finnish: Rodriguezindodo

• Punjabi: ਵੱਡਾ ਕਬੂਤਰ (Vaḍā kabūtara)

• Nepali: ठूलो परेवा (Ṭhūlō parēvā)

• Czech: Dronte samotářský

• French: Dronte de Rodrigues, Solitaire de Rodrigues

• Spanish: Solitario de Rodrigues, También dodo de Rodrigues, dodo blanco

• Mauritian Creole: Solitar

• Coming soon

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigues_solitaire

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22690062/93259685

• https://www.inspiringquotes.us/quotes/BNpj_Gad9x0y4

• https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Pezophaps_solitaria

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Rodrigues-Solitaire-924799757