Dodo Bird (Raphus cucullatus)

• This animal was about 3.3 feet (1 meter) tall.
• The bird´s average weight was between 22 and 40 pounds (10 to 18 kilograms).
• It couldn´t fly or swim!
• Most descriptions of the Dodo say that it was was grey or brown and that it had lighter, curly feathers on its tail.
• It had a beak that was green, black, and yellow.
• Its face was gray.
• It had short yellow muscular legs with black claws.
• This bird was endemic (restricted) to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, approximately 700 miles ( 1126.5408 km) east of Madagascar.

• Dutch sailors and settlers to Mauritius in 1598 were probably the first humans to see these birds.
• The Dodo Birds main food source was believed to be fruit.
• Before the appearance of humans on the island of Mauritius the Dodo bird  prospered; its habitat had no predators, plenty of food sources, and a mild climate.
• Having no predators before humans arrived, these birds had no fear of the people who came to their island to kill them.
• Contributing to the Dodo bird's rapid extiction is the fact that the females laid one egg at a time and that the settlers of Mauritius along with the animals they brought with them, especially the pig, used the eggs as a food source. 
• This flightless bird was native to the island of Mauritius near Madagascar.