Dodo kuşunun (dodo bird) ingilizce olarak özellikleri, neslinin tükenmesi, tanıtımı. Dodo kuşunun ingilizce tanıtımı, ingilizce bilgiler.
Dodo Kuşu İngilizce Tanıtımı
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DODO BIRD
The dodo bird lived on the island of Mauritius, which is off the coast of the continent of Africa. The dodo birds were gray in color. They were about 3 feet tall, and they weighed 22-40 pounds. The dodo birds are known for their very large hooked beaks, which were either pale yellow or green in color.
Dodo birds had very small wings, but they couldn’t use them to fly. Dodo birds were flightless birds because they did not have any predators (animals or human) on the island of Mauritius and didn’t need to fly. Therefore, they ate fruits, nuts, and seeds on the ground. Even though they couldn’t fly, they could run very fast. They also went into the water and ate crabs or shellfish.
Reasons for Extinction and Consequences
In the 1500s, explorers from Portugal (the first humans on the island) arrived on Mauritius. We know a lot about the dodo birds from the findings of the Portuguese explorers. They hunted the dodo birds and used them for food. They also introduced other animals like pigs, monkeys, and rats to the island. These animals hunted the dodo birds for food too. As a result, the number of dodo birds began to decrease significantly. Within 100 years after the first humans came to the island, the dodo bird started to become a rare bird on Mauritius. It is believed that the last dodo bird was killed in 1681.
Interesting Dodo Facts:
- Dodo was able to reach 3.3 feet in height and 23 to 47 pounds of weight.
- Color of dodo’s plumage is still a mystery. Based on the old sketches of amateur naturalists, many researchers believe that dodo was gray or brownish colored.
- First complete skeleton of dodo was discovered in the cave on Mauritius in 2007. Until that time, dried heads and legs were the only fossils of dodo.
- Dodo had large head, 9-inches-long, hooked beak, stout body, stubby wings and thick legs.
- Dodo was able to run very fast (based on the anatomy and size of its legs).
- Dodo was ground-dwelling bird. It had lost ability to fly because it lived in areas with plenty of food, without natural enemies (it didn’t have to fly to find food or to escape from a danger).
- Dodo was an omnivore. Its diet was based on the fruit, nuts, seed, roots, bulbs, shellfish and crabs.
- Extinction of dodo resulted in the near extinction of dodo tree, plant whose seed can germinate only after exposure to dodo’s digestive enzymes.
- Dodo was ground-nesting bird. Females probably laid only one egg per season. Scientists believe that chicks were unable to fend for themselves until they reach maturity (they depended on their mothers until that time).
- Despite popular belief, people didn’t hunted dodo as a source of food (its meat was described as tough and distasteful).
- Dodo was symbol of stupidity in the past because it didn’t hesitate to approach people even when they were armed with clubs. Lack of natural enemies (rather than lack of brain) is more logical explanation for this behavior. Dodo is portrayed as very smart bird in the Lewis Carroll’s book “Alice in the Wonderland”.
- Entire tourism on the Mauritius is based on dodo, despite the fact that it doesn’t exist for centuries. Pictures of dodo can be found all over the island.
- Dodo is on the emblem of Mauritius.
- Dodo is symbol of extinction, eco-terrorism and conservation all over the world today.
- Lifespan of dodo is unknown. Based on the weight of this bird, researchers estimate that average lifespan was 17 (females) to 21 (males) years.
