#Closest living relative of the dodo

[amnhnyc]

Did you know? This colorful bird might be one of the Dodo’s closest living relatives! Meet the Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica). This bird lives in forest or mangrove habitats on islands, such as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Like some other birds and reptiles, it has a gizzard stone in its stomach that helps break down tougher foods in its diet, like the hard exteriors of seeds and nuts.

Photo: Mykola Swarnyk, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

[all-iridescent-birds]

Strutting in as our next bird; the Nicobar pigeon.

The nicobar pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica) is a pretty good sized pigeon from India! The bird, while known for its fantastic, beaming rainbow iridescent feathers is also known for being the closest living relative of the dodo (yes, the dodo was a pigeon!) and also near threatened. It is also the only living member in its genus. Amazing!

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

This animal was requested! It is the closest living relative of the dodo.

[microwsoftpaint]

0.006 the nicobar pigeon is the closest living relative of the dodo

[critter-captures]

Nicobar pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica), family Columbidae (doves and pigeons)

The closest living relative of the dodo and the Rodrigues solitaire.

Avifauna, taken July 2024

[golden-eye-ramblings]

Agito Tyrone Headcanon Dump Part 1

This was mostly spurred from how little content and context there is of this guy so I’m sharing these as a way to ignite the signal flare, enjoy y’all. Gif credit to @fallinblossoms

————

Agito Tyrone

Height: 6’2/188cm

Age: 22

Birthdate: February 21st

Sign: Pisces

Gender: AMAB

Pronouns: He/It

Sexuality: It’s Complicated

• Chosen by Artemis. Goddess of the wild, the hunt, vegetation and of chastity. Although he rarely calls upon her or uses his thirds due to how unstable she is.

• Vegetarian. Fish and eggs are fine but he detests eating any regular meat or meat product. Save for when he’s getting groceries to feed his pets.

• Aside from Hippo-tan, he also owns a domesticated dodo he rescued from an illegal dodo trade. Dodos have no natural predators so they become too accustomed to the presence of humans to be released into the general wild, so he adopted one and has plans on relocating the rest to a proper environment.

• Lives in a relatively cozy house(read incredibly lonely feel, I’m talking single chair for one person at the dinner table, couch and minimal decorations save for pet items he bought for Hippo-tan and the dodo. His bedroom has a similar lonely feel although he has a dresser and closet with all his favorite torture instruments on display).

• Contrary to popular belief, Hippo-tan is not just a pet dragon. I like to believe he’s actually a special kind of service animal used to regulate Agito’s magic. Similar(ish) to Tsurara, Agito’s magic is rather unstable. So Hippo-tan acts as a familiar in order to balance and control the output(hence how he’s able to seemingly transform and control his size and attacks at will, also free emotional support dragon).

• Early bird. Regardless of how late he stays up he will get up at 6am on the dot.

• Frequent church goer. Occasionally stays after sermons to help out and do charity work. Although were it not for his status as a Divine Visionary, his presence usually isn’t welcomed.

• During his time in the Bureau of Magic he helped set up a menagerie/zoo of exotic and endangered magical creatures. And yes he does volunteer when he can, it’s always a surreal surprise for the other staff when they see him.

• Despite his rather quiet demeanor and the rumors surrounding him(and his unique proclivities), he’s actually quite nice. Although most of his kind acts around the bureau go unnoticed, he’s ok with that.

• In terms of closeness to the other Divine Visionaries, he is closest with Renatus and most friendly towards Tsurara. He’s on amicable terms with Sophina, neutral with Kaldo and Orter, and negative terms with Ryoh. He’s yet to properly approach Rayne, but it seems the two are content with keeping their distance from each other(although he is curious about the rabbit rumors…).

• His mother and father are both alive and well, though it seems he’s not on good terms with them…

• Aside from regular tomatoes, his favorite dish is bouillabaisse.

• Favorite drink is water. Yes, just water. If he has to attend the Bureau of Magic drinking parties he’ll settle for a cheap ale or wine as to not get egged on by his coworkers. He’s not a very exuberant person.

[izzycats06]

Nicobar pigeon - Caolenas nicobarica 

Near threatened

The nicobar pigeon lives on the Andaman and Nicobar islands in India, east through the Malay archipelago to the Solomons and Palau. They consume primarily seeds, fruit, buds, and occasionally insects. These birds are the closest living relative to the dodo. They are grayish-blue in color, with an iridescent body in many different colors.

They are primarily threatened by hunting and deforestation.

[bird-hours]

I would like an order of dodo, kelenken (terror bird) OR two of the Galapagos finches.

Idk if you want bird facts along side my order but you don't get a choice:

The closest living relative to the Dodo is a type of pigeon (Nicobar pigeon).

The kelenken's skull is 28 inches (71cm) long and like other terror birds (and to my knowledge modern birds like shoebills) could make a deep and resinating clacking sound with it's hollow beak. Unlike modern birds because it was so big the sound could be heard for miles and miles.

The reason why there are so many different Galapagos finches is because each one had to adapt to the different food sources on the islands. Including one known as the vampire finch which does literally drink the blood of other birds (when its usual seeds and insects are scarce).

Wooo!!!! This was a very nice ask ty bestie

You already know the story cuz I told you already, but this finch ended up being. Not actually native to the Galapagos islands

Through a mishap with Google images and a very misleading galapagos tourism website, I was lead to believe the double barred finch was a galapagos bird, only to realise after I was done drawing that I'd been played the fool.. this bird is native to australia 😔

As an apology take a scuffed kelenken below the cut

[corvidaemnit]

Hey so can i have some interesting bird facts? I'm writing a story with a character who loves birds and i would like to hear bird facts that i can make the character tell others

YOU ARE MY NEW FAVORITE PERSON THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING.

here are some of my favorites off the top of my head!!

- crows can remember faces and hold grudges! not only that, but they can also spread gossip amongst other crows which can be passed down generationally. if you wrong a crow, there’s a chance even its descendants will despise you

- hoatzins are born with small hooked claws on their wings to grab onto branches when they’re chicks! chicks will hold onto branches and, when faced with danger, they can and will drop themselves into water and SWIM to safety!! cool, right? however, as hoatzins mature they shed their claws and lose their ability to swim- as they have no need for those things anymore

- woodpeckers have long tongues that are supported by the ‘hyoid bone’, two thin strips that run through their tongue and wrap all the way around their skull. basically, woodpeckers have long ass tongues that touch their own skull. they also have been prone to using their tongues as self defense; their tongues are long and sticky so they stick it out at other birds to freak them out lmao

- bearded vultures have the strongest stomach acid of any animal in the world. around 90% of their diet consists of pure bone that they swallow and digest whole. on top of that, despite being born snow-white in color, bearded vultures in the wild are often seen with shades of red and orange painted onto their feathers. for purposes ornithologists have yet to understand, these vultures cover themselves in red dirt and other substances to make their feathers a more desirable color. the theory is that they use this to prevent feather degradation, but I like to think they just enjoy being fancy..

- frigatebirds are a huge subject of interest for scientists because nobody knows exactly how they manage to sleep while flying so much. these birds fly for extended periods of time over large bodies of water, and despite never coming in for a landing- they usually end up being fine. the hypothesis is that they actually take 10 second or so long power-naps while mid-flight, only resting part of their brain so that they can still operate their eyes and wings. neat, right?

- oilbirds, who get their name from the fact that historically people have been known to cook them as chicks for their oil, can echolocate like bats!! this fruit-eating little guy is also the only bird in its family, steatornis, which.. literally just translates to ‘fat bird.’ this is because, as chicks, oilbirds are born and raised to be significantly fatter than their parents. oh also, sometimes they scream so loudly and tragically that they’ve earned the nickname ‘guácharo’, roughly meaning “one who laments.”

- the closest living relative to the dodo is the nicobar pigeon! In fact, dodos are even considered a subset (raphinae) within the pigeon/dove family- columbidae. so… in short, dodos were basically big flightless pigeons. the more you know!

- kiwi eggs take up around 15% of their entire body weight, and are actually considered to be the largest eggs in relation to body weight of any other bird…. despite the fact that kiwis are super small. kiwis are also very reproductive, so females tend to lay a lot of eggs in their lifetime.. like.. close to 100. long story short: ouch.

- birds have knees and ankles and they bend pretty much just like ours!

roping back to corvids.. sorry they’re my favorite hehe

- jackdaws and rooks have been known to not only mate for life, but also choose their partners before they even reach sexual maturity. when eventually reaching maturity, as well, they stay by their partner’s side even if faced with continuous reproductive failure. they’ve also been observed keeping familial bonds and forming friendships!! very social and sweet members of the corvidae family

- the common raven has around 79 different vocalizations and scientists don’t even really understand half of them.

- crows have ACCENTS!!! ok so.. not in the way you’re probably thinking, but it’s the closest a bird can Get to an accent!! and it’s pretty damn cool!! depending on where they live, crows will have vocalizations catered specifically to their area’s murder. the vocalizations remain the same, but have a sliiiightly different tone to them. accents!!!!

- crows understand the concept of zero. this may not seem super revolutionary, but considering the fact it took our overall society to figure it out.. that’s pretty damn cool. (obviously societies preceding us like the mayans had an understanding of zero far before the rest of us did, but it’s still pretty neat!!)

SO YEAH!! THERE ARE YOUR BIRD FACTS!!!!! I never get to talk about this so sorry there’s so much— I got excited haha

I have a lot more but I condensed them to this little list of the ones I find the most interesting! hope this helps!!!!

[ouroborosreilig]

okok here’s some of them (also don’t worry I am also sleep deprived.. sigh)

Feather sea star (literal ALIEN!! It actually makes me kind uncomfortable bc of how it moves but it’s still funky)

Strawberry squid (a squid but like. golden sequins)

Leafy sea dragon (this is their world. we just live in it)

Tree kangaroos (kangaroos But.. theire a lot fluffier and kind of like tiny bears)

Barreleye fish (this one has a clear forehead, so be warned it is very very alien (well it’s an ocean animal so not surprising /aff) but still cool)

Volcano Snails (their shells… are made.. out of IRON.)

Luzon Bleeding-Heart (well yeah. looks like it has a bleeding chest. very cool)

Marine Iguana (can be described as a baby Godzilla)

Pikachu Nudibranch (sea slug pikachu. god I love sea slugs)

Tasselled wobblegong shark (it looks like if an ocean floor had a face)

Indonesian Autumn Adder (real life dragon, if we’re all being honest)

Nicobar pigeon (closest living relative to the dodo birds!!!)

Curl-crested Aracari (toucan with clearly hair)

Shoebill Stork (I love them…)

Bearded vultures (they’re just really cool…)

White spotted jellyfish (OH MY YOD THEYRE LIKE ETHEREAL)

Skeleton panda sea squirt (bro is just a little guy.)

Leaf sheep sea slug (SEA SLUG, BUT IT GETS BETTER… ONLY ANIMAL THAT CAN USE PHOTOSYNTHESIS!!!)

Acorn Weevil (please theyre litteraly silly. best way to explain them)

White mystery weevil (yet again, silly. Weevils are just silly)

Sorry I didn’t put images i don’t have them all rn.. but if u ever want more….. I hav more

AHHH these are all great i love them all....especially the luzon bleeding heart like man that has a special little place for me.... deep love for birds and marine life for reals

i also love this kind of sea squirt

so silly looking

also if u would like more freaks of the water i offer the blue bottle jellyfish and the pelican eel, two strange little alien looking guys :JJJ

[femmchantress]

hiiiiii cool bird(s) you think more people should know about? :3

JADE MY HERO, OUT HERE FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT OF BIRD KNOWLEDGE.

Nicobar pigeons (or “ma-kūö-kö” in Car, a language of the Nicobar Islands) is a beautiful and absolutely fascinating bird - and the closest living relative to the Dodo! They fly in single file columns (some scientists think that the pure white tail is to help facilitate this pattern of flight) and island hop throughout the Bay of Bengal and the Malay Archipelago - they’ve even been spotted as far south as mainland Australia recently! Their wingspan is almost two feet in length! Something I find really neat too is that they’ll sometimes rest or nest on uninhabited little rocky islets between island hops which I just think is so fascinating. Can you imagine coming across a little rocky spit of land in the ocean that you think is uninhabited and then there’s a bunch of beautiful, iridescent pigeons sleeping on it??? Amazing.

Despite being such strong flyers, they largely gather food on foot and off the ground (collecting fruits, seeds, etc).

They have deeper voices and are very chatty! Their calls are similar to the purr-like rumble of Rock Doves, but deeper and a little throatier. You can hear it here: https://youtu.be/WAbUsRRx_BM?si=eAeQwvMaWzITbyDx

They’re such good birds, Jade.

Such. Good. Birds.

[themesopelagiczone]

earth fact time. the closest living relative to the dodo is the nicobar pigeon! dodos are considered a subset of the dove/pigeon family, so essentially dodos were chonky flightless pigeons.

the guardian | ornithology.com

photos: larry lim | raphael lebrun

[timisntdeadyet]

can you tell me about birds

^this is a nicobar pigeon (isn't he gorgeous?)

Here are some fun facts:

• They're the closest known living relative of the dodo bird

• They have gizzard stones so hard they can crush nuts that human have to open with hammers

• Their gizard stones are sometimes made into jewelry

• They fly in single file columns, rather than random flocks

• They're the largest pigeons (but not the heaviest)

[whateverbringsyouthroughthenight]

The beautiful Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica) may be the closest living relative of the extinct Dodo (Raphus cucullatus)

[madamefluffnstuff]

Well, I work with birds, so...

Ornithology is the study of birds. Aviculture is the breeding/rearing of birds.

The closest living relative of the extinct Dodo is the Nicobar Pigeon.

Stellar's Sea Eagles are the largest eagles overall. The longest one is the Phillipine Eagle.

Blue Jays, Crows, and Ravens are all in the same family- Corvidae.

Bald Eagles do not "screech" like in movies. They chirp.

The bird call you hear in movies when there's a Bald Eagle is actually a Red Tailed Hawk.

[nullarysources]

Rethinking the Dodo

University of Southampton (UK) news release:

In a paper published today in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society researchers from the University of Southampton, Natural History Museum (NHM) and Oxford University Museum of Natural History have undertaken the most comprehensive review of the taxonomy of the Dodo and its closest relative, the Rodriguez Island Solitaire.

…

The researchers believe the popular idea of the Dodo as a fat, slow animal, predestined for extinction is flawed.

"Even four centuries later, we have so much to learn about these remarkable birds," says Dr Young. "Was the Dodo really the dumb, slow animal we've been brought up to believe it was? The few written accounts of live Dodos say it was a fast-moving animal that loved the forest."

Dr Gostling adds: "Evidence from bone specimens suggests that the Dodo's tendon which closed its toes was exceptionally powerful, analogous to climbing and running birds alive today. The dodo was almost certainly a very active, very fast animal."

The dodo defenders have logged on