Due to hunting and predation by introduced cats, the birds soon became scarce, and when [[Joseph François Charpentier de Cossigny|Cossigny]] attempted to get a specimen in 1755, none could be found:
Due to hunting and predation by introduced cats, the birds soon became scarce, and when [[Joseph François Charpentier de Cossigny|Cossigny]] attempted to get a specimen in 1755, none could be found:
<blockquote>"For 18 months I have been trying without success to procure a solitaire from Rodrigues Island... I have promised all one could want, in spirits or piastres, to whoever brings me at least one alive. It is claimed that cats, which have gone wild on this little island, have destroyed this speciesof bird that only has stumps for wings, but I am strongly inclined to believe that these cats are the men of the post who have eaten all those they have found, as they are god to eat. At last, I have been given hope of obtaining one, which, so it is said, has been spotted."<ref>LOST LAND OF THE DODO: An Ecological History of Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodrigues. Anthony Cheke and Julian Hume. 464 pp. Yale University Press, 2008</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>"For 18 months I have been trying without success to procure a solitaire from Rodrigues Island... I have promised all one could want, in spirits or piastres, to whoever brings me at least one alive. It is claimed that cats, which have gone wild on this little island, have destroyed this species of bird that only has stumps for wings, but I am strongly inclined to believe that these cats are the men of the post who have eaten all those they have found, as they are god to eat. At last, I have been given hope of obtaining one, which, so it is said, has been spotted."<ref>LOST LAND OF THE DODO: An Ecological History of Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodrigues. Anthony Cheke and Julian Hume. 464 pp. Yale University Press, 2008</ref></blockquote>
The Rodrigues Solitaire probably became [[extinct]] sometime in the 1730s or maybe 1760s. The exact date is somewhat difficult to determine: there exist a few reports of "solitaires" from the Mascarenes without mention of which island these came from, and the term was also used for other [[species]] with "solitary" habits, such as the enigmatic ''[[Réunion Swamphen|oiseau bleu]]'' and the "[[Réunion Sacred Ibis|Réunion Solitaire]]". At one point it was even believed that Réunion was the home of not only a white dodo, but also a white solitaire.<ref>{{Cite book
The Rodrigues Solitaire probably became [[extinct]] sometime in the 1730s or maybe 1760s. The exact date is somewhat difficult to determine: there exist a few reports of "solitaires" from the Mascarenes without mention of which island these came from, and the term was also used for other [[species]] with "solitary" habits, such as the enigmatic ''[[Réunion Swamphen|oiseau bleu]]'' and the "[[Réunion Sacred Ibis|Réunion Solitaire]]". At one point it was even believed that Réunion was the home of not only a white dodo, but also a white solitaire.<ref>{{Cite book
}}</ref> In 1786, sub-sossil bones were discovered in a cave which confirmed Leguat's descriptions, but at this time no living residents of Rodrigues remembered having seen living birds. The star [[constellation]] [[Turdus Solitarius ]]was named after this bird.
}}</ref> In 1786, sub-sossil bones were discovered in a cave which confirmed Leguat's descriptions, but at this time no living residents of Rodrigues remembered having seen living birds. The star [[constellation]] [[Turdus Solitarius ]]was named after this bird.
== See also ==
== See also ==
* [[Extinct birds]]
* [[Extinct birds]]
Revision as of 23:14, 4 February 2012
Rodrigues Solitaire
Temporal range: Recent
Facsimile of the only known picture drawn by someone who saw the bird in life, François Leguat, 1708
The Rodrigues Solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria) was a flightless member of the pigeonorderendemic to Rodrigues, Mauritius. It was the size of a swan, and showed pronounced sexual dimorphism, with males being larger, and both sexes possessed large bony knobs on their wings. It was a close relative of the Dodo, and went extinct by the mid 1700s. It was first known from 18th century descriptions and a few illustrations, but physical remains were not discovered until after it had gone extinct.
Taxonomy
Skeletons of female and male
The dodo and the Rodrigues Solitaire, collectively termed didines, constitute what is best interpreted as a subfamily Raphinae in the pigeon family, although often, they are considered a full-fledged family Raphidae.
Comparison of mitochondrialcytochrome b and 12S rRNAsequences isolated from a femur of a Rodrigues Solitaire and tarsal of a Dodo confirms their close relationship.[2] It has also been interpreted to show that the Nicobar Pigeon is their close living relative.[3]
But at least the cytochrome b gene sequence is not well suited to resolve the phylogeny of the Australian, Pacific and Southeast Asian pigeons—the very group to which the Nicobar Pigeon belongs.[4]Biogeography suggests that the ancestors of the dodo and solitaire indeed derived from some ancient form in the Indo-Australian pigeon lineages, but until genes are sequenced that give a less ambiguous picture, the evolutionary connection between the Raphinae and the Nicobar Pigeon must remain a hypothesis not too well supported by the available data.
For a long time, the dodo and the Rodrigues Solitaire, collectively termed "didines", were placed in a family of their own, the Raphidae. This was because their relationships to other groups of birds, such as rails, was unresolved. Recently, it has been suggested that the didine group should be dissolved and the dodo and solitaire placed in the existing subfamily Raphinae within the Columbidae[5]
Solitaires are distinguished by an unusual large, gnarled knob of bone at the base of the thumb. In life this knob would have been covered by a thick layer of skin and used as a weapon, similar to the smaller thumb knob seen in Canada geese. The males were considerably larger than the females, and this size dimorphism is perhaps the greatest in any carinate bird.[6]
Legaut described the Rodrigues Solitaire as follows:
"Of all the Birds in the Island the most remarkable is that which goes by the name of the solitary, because it is very seldom seen in company, tho’ there are abundance of them. The Feathers of the Males are of a brown grey Colour: the Feet and Beak are like a Turkey’s, but a little more crooked. They have scarce any Tail, but their Hind-part covered with Feathers is roundish, like the Crupper of a horse; they are taller than Turkeys. Their Neck is straight, and a little longer in proportion than a Turkey’s when it lifts up his Head. Its Eye is Black and lively, and its Head without Comb or Cop. They never fly, their Wings are too little to support the Weight of their Bodies; they serve only to beat themselves, and flutter when they call one another. They will whirl about for twenty or thirty times together on the same side, during the space of four or five minutes. The motion of their Wings makes then a noise very like that of a Rattle; and one may hear it two hundred Paces off. The Bone of their Wing grows greater towards the Extremity, and forms a little round Mass under the Feathers, as big as a Musket Ball. That and its Beak are the chief Defence of this Bird. ‘Tis very hard to catch it in the Woods, but easie in open Places, because we run faster than they, and sometimes we approach them without much Trouble. From March to September they are extremely fat, and taste admirably well, especially while they are young, some of the Males weigh forty-five Pounds.
The Femals are wonderfully beautiful, some fair, some brown; I call them fair, because they are the colour of fair Hair. They have a sort of Peak, like a Widow’s upon their Breasts [Beaks], which is of a dun colour. No one Feather is straggling from the other all over their Bodies, they being very careful to adjust themselves, and make them all even with their Beaks. The Feathers on their Thighs are round like Shells at the end, and being there very thick, have an agreeable effect. They have two Risings on their Craws [crop]’ and the Feathers are whiter than the rest, which livelily represents the fine neck of a Beautiful Woman. They walk with so much Stateliness and good Grace, that one cannot help admiring them and loving them; by which means their fine Mein often saves their Lives."[7]
Behaviour
1707 illustration showing a settlement in Rodrigues, with tortoises, rats, crabs, a Rodrigues Solitaire and a lizard on a palm trunk. The tortoises are most likely the Domed Rodrigues Giant Tortoise
Observations of the solitaire indicate that breeding pairs were highly territorial; presumably they settled disputes by striking each other with the wings. To aid this purpose, the males especially had well-developed knobs on their wrists, up to the size of a musket bullet.[8]
The most detailed account of their habits is that of Legaut:
"Tho’ these Birds will sometimes very familiarly come up near enough to one, when we do not run after them, yet they will never grow Tame. As soon as they are caught they shed Tears without Crying, and refuse all sustenance till they die.
We find in the Gizzards of both Male and Female, a brown Stone, of the bigness of a Hen’s Egg, ‘tis somewhat rough, flat on one side and round on the other, heavy and hard. We believe this Stone was there when they were hatched, for let them be never so young, you meet with it always. They never have but one of ‘em, and besides, the Passage from the Craw to the Gizard is so narrow, that a like Mass of half Bigness cou’d not pass. It serv’d to whet our Knives better than any other Stone Whatsoever. When these Birds build their Nests, they choose a clean Place, gather together some Palm-Leaves for that purpose, and heap them up a foot and a half high from the Ground, on which they sit. They never lay but one Egg, which is much bigger than that of a Goose. The Male and Female both cover it in their turns, and the young is not hatch’d till at seven Weeks’ end : All the while they are sitting upon it, or are bringing up their young one, which is not able to provide itself in several Months, they will not suffer any other Bird of their Species to come within two hundred Yards round of the Place; But what is very singular, is, the Males will never drive away the Females, only when he perceives one he makes a noise with his Wings to call to the Female, and she drives the unwelcome Stranger away, not leaving it till ‘tis without her Bounds. The Female do’s the same as to the Males, whom she leaves to the Male, and he drives them away. We have observ’d this several Times, and I affirm it to be true.
The Combats between them on this occasion last sometimes pretty long, because the Stranger only turns about, and do’s not fly directly from the Nest. However, the others do not forsake it till they have quite driven it out of their Limits. After these Birds have rais’d their young One, and left it to itself, they are always together, which the other Birds are not, and tho’ they happen to mingle with other Birds of the same Species, these two Companions never disunite. We have often remark’d, that some Days after the young leaves the Nest, a Company of thirty or forty brings another young one to it, and the now fledg’d Bird, with its Father and Mother joyning with the Band, march to some bye Place. We frequently follow’d them, and found that afterwards the old ones went each their way alone, or in Couples, and left the two young ones together, which we call’d a Marriage. "[9]
Discovery and extinction
François Leguat's map of his settlement on Rodrigues. Rodrigues Solitaires can be seen sprinkled all over the map
The first record of the Solitaire of Rodrigues was made by François Leguat in 1708, the leader of a group of FrenchHuguenot refugees who colonised the island from 1691 to 1693. He described the bird in some detail, including its solitary nesting behaviour. The Huguenots praised the birds for their flavour, especially the young ones.[10] However, dodo-like birds had been mentioned as living on Dygarrois (Diego Ruis Island, the old name of Rodrigues) in 1683 and 1700, and it is believed these referred to the Solitaire as well.[11]
Due to hunting and predation by introduced cats, the birds soon became scarce, and when Cossigny attempted to get a specimen in 1755, none could be found:
"For 18 months I have been trying without success to procure a solitaire from Rodrigues Island... I have promised all one could want, in spirits or piastres, to whoever brings me at least one alive. It is claimed that cats, which have gone wild on this little island, have destroyed this species of bird that only has stumps for wings, but I am strongly inclined to believe that these cats are the men of the post who have eaten all those they have found, as they are god to eat. At last, I have been given hope of obtaining one, which, so it is said, has been spotted."[12]
The Rodrigues Solitaire probably became extinct sometime in the 1730s or maybe 1760s. The exact date is somewhat difficult to determine: there exist a few reports of "solitaires" from the Mascarenes without mention of which island these came from, and the term was also used for other species with "solitary" habits, such as the enigmatic oiseau bleu and the "Réunion Solitaire". At one point it was even believed that Réunion was the home of not only a white dodo, but also a white solitaire.[13] In 1786, sub-sossil bones were discovered in a cave which confirmed Leguat's descriptions, but at this time no living residents of Rodrigues remembered having seen living birds. The star constellationTurdus Solitarius was named after this bird.
^
Compare figures 3 and 5 in Johnson & Clayton (2000) to Shapiro et al., 2002, especially the placement of Treron and Goura.
^Janoo, Anwar (2005). "Discovery of isolated dodo bones [Raphus cucullatus (L.), Aves, Columbiformes] from Mauritius cave shelters highlights human predation, with a comment on the status of the family Raphidae Wetmore, 1930". Annales de Paléontologie. 91 (2): 167–180. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2004.12.002. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
^Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1993.tb02686.x, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1993.tb02686.x instead.
