dodo bird
Mauritius's lost fowl
The dodo was a large flightless bird native to Mauritius, hunted to extinction by the late 17th century.
Its inability to fly or flee made it easy prey for sailors and introduced animals.
The dodo survives mainly as a symbol of obsolescence and extinction: dead as a dodo, going the way of the dodo.
Calling someone a dodo suggests they're stupid or behind the times.
Incapable of aerial travel
- MauritiusIndian Ocean island nation
- overhuntingExcessive wildlife killing
- habitat destructionEliminating natural living spaces
- invasive speciesHarmful non-native organism
pigs · rats · monkeys · passenger pigeon · great auk · moa · thylacine · quagga
Fantasy tale of curious girl
- idiomFixed phrase, opaque meaning
- obsoleteNo longer in use
- outdatedNo longer in use
- symbolRepresentational mark or sign
Lewis Carroll · mascot · cartoon · logo · Oxford · Natural History Museum · reconstruction · illustration
Stable and realistic
- winglessHaving no wings
- terrestrialRelating to land
- earthboundConfined to terra firma
- ostrichLargest living bird
Native to one area
- islandWater-bounded land mass
- Indian OceanSea south of Asia
- Dutch East India CompanyHistoric colonial trading corporation
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
Portuguese · volcanic · coral reefs · biodiversity · Rodrigues · Réunion · coat of arms · national symbol
Agreeably fat, well-filled
- heavyOf great mass
- waddleSwaying, clumsy gait
- hooked beakBent bird mouthpart
- featheredCovered with plumage
ungainly · rotund · squat · portly · distinctive · peculiar · comical · bulbous nose
flightless
Incapable of aerial travel
- MauritiusIndian Ocean island nation
- overhuntingExcessive wildlife killing
- habitat destructionEliminating natural living spaces
invasive species · pigs · rats · monkeys · passenger pigeon · great auk · moa · thylacine · quagga · conservation
Alice in Wonderland
Fantasy tale of curious girl
Lewis Carroll · symbol · mascot · cartoon · logo · Oxford · Natural History Museum · reconstruction · illustration · popular culture
grounded
Stable and realistic
- winglessHaving no wings
- terrestrialRelating to land
- earthboundConfined to terra firma
ostrich · emu · kiwi · penguin · cassowary · rhea · evolved · island
endemic
Native to one area
- islandWater-bounded land mass
- Indian OceanSea south of Asia
- Dutch East India CompanyHistoric colonial trading corporation
colonization · Portuguese · volcanic · coral reefs · biodiversity · Rodrigues · Réunion · coat of arms · national symbol · tourism
plump
Agreeably fat, well-filled
- heavyOf great mass
- waddleSwaying, clumsy gait
- hooked beakBent bird mouthpart
feathered · ungainly · rotund · squat · portly · distinctive · peculiar · comical · bulbous nose
- extinctionmass extinction, extinct, extinction event, extinction rate, dinosaur extinction
- Extinct Animalsdinosaur, dinosaurs, tyrannosaurus, mammoth, triceratops
- obsolete thingspassenger pigeon, dinosaurs, mammoth, woolly mammoth, saber-tooth tiger
- Prehistoric Animalsdinosaur, dinosaurs, T-Rex, Velociraptor, Brachiosaurus
- Victorian odditiesphrenology, freak shows, cabinet of curiosities, human zoos, resurrection men
- extinct megafaunawoolly mammoth, mammoth, mastodon, saber-toothed cat, saber-tooth tiger
dodo birdsurvivor
One still alive after
cockroach · rat · living fossil · coelacanth · horseshoe crab
dodo birdfox
Cunning wild canine
wise owl · clever clogs · sharp cookie · Einstein · genius
dodo birdhouse sparrow
Small songbird near buildings
crow · raven · seagull · Canada goose · starling