THE DODO. The very la
st Dodo was killed in 1681. It
lived on the island nation of Mau
ritius, just off the coast of Madagasca
r. This flightless bird had never encount
ered humans before, or the pigs, cats and
rats that came along for the ride in 1638, wh
en the Dutch arrived. It turns out the Dodo wa
s quite tasty, to both humans and these new pre
dators. It was bigger than a turkey, about 50 pound
s. During the brief time it was known to humans, it
was thought to be fat and clumsy. The Dodo simply di
dn't know enough to run away and hide, because there we
ren't any predators on the islands. Its name became an insul
t, meaning stupid, partly because of this behavior, but Lewis Caroll's depiction of
a Dodo in "Alice in Wonderland" certainly didn't help. It is one of the first exampl
es of human-induced extinction, that is, when people started becoming aware of suc
h a thing, that there might be some sort of limit to Nature's Bounty. Interestingly, the
Dodo is related to the Pigeon, so it was doubly sad when one of its cousins, Martha, a
Passenger Pigeon, died in 1914. She was held captive half a world away in a zoo in Cinc
innati, Ohio, and was the last representative of her species. Here is a list of other birds
that have gone extinct since the Dodo: 1690 Mascarene Teal 1690 Réunion Sheldgoose
1700 Elephant Bird 1700 Leguat's Rail 1700 Mauritian Barn Owl 1700 Réunion Sol
itaire 1722 Labat's Conure 1750 Guadeloupe Amazon 1750 Martinique Amazon 17
60 Lesser Antillean Macaw 1765 Jamaican Yel low-headed Macaw 1776 Réunion
Fody 1777 Society Parakeet 1780 Bay Thrush 1780 Mysterious Starling 1780 Ro
driguez Solitaire 1793 Oceanic Eclectus Parr ot 1800 Amsterdam Island Duc
k 1800 Dominican Green-and-yellow Mac aw 1800 Moorea Sandpiper 180
0 Painte d Vulture 1800 Reunion Rin g-necked Parakeet 1800 Rodrigu
es Parro t 1800 Tahiti Sandpiper 1800 Tanna Ground Dove 1800 To
nga Tabu Tahiti Flycatcher 1801 Norfolk Pigeon 1825 Oahu
‘Ōma’o 18 26 Pi geon Hollandaise 1827 Kusaie Mou
ntain Starling 1828 Kittlitz's Thrush 1830 Bo
nin Grosbeak 1830 Kangaroo Island Em
u 1830 White Gallinule 1837 Oahu O-O
1840 Dieffenbach's Rail 1840 Mascaren
e Parrot 1842 Jamaican Green and Yellow
Macaw 1844 Great Auk 1850 Black-front
ed parakeet 1850 Commerson's Scops Owl 1850 Giant Mo
a 1850 Kioea 1850 Kittlitz's Rail 1850 Moa 1850 Rodriguez Little Owl
1850 Steller's Spectacled Cormorant 1850 Tasma nian Emu 1851 Norfolk kākā 18
53 Lord Howe Island Pigeon 1859 Jamaican Pauraque 1860 New Caledonean Lorikeet 186
4 Cuban Red Macaw 1868 New Zealand Quail 1868 Réunion Crested Starling 1869 Red-fronted
Parakeet 1870 Himalayan Mountain Quail 1873 Samoan Wood Rail 1874 Coues's Gadwall 1875 Labrado
r Duck 1879 Bonin Night Heron 1880 Macquarie Island Banded Rail 1880 Rodrigues Ring-necked Parakeet
1881 Jamaican Wood Rail 1881 Seychelles Parakeet 1884 Sandwich Rail 1887 Ryukyu Kingfisher 1890 Comoro Sc
ops Owl 1890 Macquarie Island Parakeet 1890 Oahu Nukupu'u 1890 Tristan Gallinule 1891 Lesser Koa-finch 1892 Gu
adalupe 1892 Puerto Rican Conure, a parrot 1892 ʻUla-ʻAi-hawane 1894 Kona Grosbeak 1894 Lana'i 'Akioloa 1894 Lya
ll's Wren 1895 Chatham Island Fernbird 1896 Greater Koa-finch 1896 Maui Nui 'Akialoa 1898 Hawaii Mamo 1899 Culebra
Island Amazon 1900 Antiguan Burrowing Owl 1900 Bonin Wood Pigeon 1900 Guadalupe Rufous-sided Towhee 1900 Guadel
oupe Burrowing Owl 1900 Martinique Wren 1900 Modest Rail 1900 North Island Bush Wren 1900 North Island Laughing Owl 19
00 Queleli 1900 Saint Kitts Puerto Rican Bullfinch 1900 South Island Laughing Owl 1900 Tahiti Rail 1901 Greater Amakihi 1904 Molo
kai ‘ō‘ō 1906 Chatham Island Bellbird 1906 Guadalupe Flicker 1907 Black Mamo 1907 Huia 1908 Alejandro Selkirk Firecrown 1910 Ca
rolina Parakeet 1910 Choiseul Crested Pigeon 1910 New Zealand merganser 1910 Slender-billed grackle 1911 Guadalupe Storm Petrel
1914 Forest Spotted Owlet 1914 Passenger Pigeon (Martha!) 1916 Korean Crested Shelduck 1918 Carolina Parakeet 1918 Lānaʻi Hookbi ll, a ho
neycreeper 1920 Delalande's Madagascar Coucal 1920 Laysan Millerbird 1920 Lord Howe Island Flycatcher 1920 Lord Howe Island Vino us-tinted Blackbird 192
3 Iwo Jima Rail 1923 Laysan 'Apapane 1923 Lord Howe Island Fantail 1923 Pink-headed Duck 1925 Lord Howe Island Starling 1927 Para dise parrot 1928 Spotted green
pigeon 1929 Bering cackling goose 1930 Oʻahu ʻAkepa 1931 Lanai ʻōmaʻo 1932 Glaucous macaw 1932 Heath Hen 1934 Hawaiʻi ʻōʻō 1936 Molokai ʻōmaʻo 1937 Lana'i 'Alauahi
o 1937 ʻUla-ʻai-hawane 1940 Hawaiʻi ʻAkialoa 1940 Oahu 'Akioloa 1941 Arabian Ostrich 1944 Laysan Rail 1945 Wake Island Rail 1950 Grand Cayman Oriole 1950 Imperial Woodpec
ker 1950 Madagascar Serpent Eagle 1950 New Caledonian White-throated Eared-nightjar 1952 Niceforo's Pintail 1959 Rennell Island Teal 19 63 Kākāwahie, a honeycreeper 1964 Kor
ean Crested Shelduck 1965 Fiji Bar-winged Rail 1965 Kauaʻi Nukupuʻu 1965 New Zealand Bush Wren 1969 Kauai Akialoa 1970 Molokai 'Alauahio 1971 St. Lucia Wren 1980 Bachman
's Warbler 1980 Eskimo Curlew 1980 Mariana Mallard 1985 Alaotra Grebe 1987 Kauai Oo 1988 Maui 'Akepa 1990 Atitlán grebe 1990 Borreo's Cinnamon Teal 1990 Dusky Seaside Spa
rrow 1990 Hooded Seedeater 1990 O'ahu 'Alauahio 1990 'O'u 1995 Maui Nukupu'u 1998 Kauai Nukupu'u 2000 Siau scops owl 2004 Pernambuco pygmy owl 2004 Po'ouli 2007 Cozumel
thrasher 2007 Cryptic treehunter, an ovenbird 2007 South Island kōkako 2011 Alagoas foliage-gleaner 2014 Bermuda flicker 2014 Bermuda hawk 2014 Bermuda night-heron 2014 Berm
uda saw-whet owl 2014 Christmas Sandpiper 2014 Finsch’s duck 2014 Hodgen’s waterhen 2014 Mauritius turtle-dove 2014 North Island Snipe 2014 Oceanic Parrot 2014 Rodrigues blue-
pigeon 2014 South Island snipe 2014 Tristan Moorhen 2023 Kauaʻi ʻōʻō Well, it looks like there are not quite enough birds to fill up this shape! As you have been standing here readin
g this, though, if you are a quick reader, just over 9.5 million birds have flown straight into the side of a building and died. That's 1 billion birds a year, just in the United States. And
we're only talking about birds hitting windows. I can recall seeing a hummingbird bang up against the screen porch, BAM! It fell to the ground, but fortunately, before I could atte
mpt to rescue it, it managed to recover and fly away. Want to talk about cats? 1.3 to 4 billion birds per year. Vehicle collisions: 890 to 350 million. Power lines or electrocution: 8
to 57 million. All-in-all, well over 5 billion birds per year die, just because of humans, in the United States. Throughout the world, perhaps tens of billions per year. So, as you ha
ve been reading this (thank you very much, by the way, not many people have your powers of concentration), anywhere from 50 to 100 million birds have died, in ju
st a mere five minutes. The source for this is mostly from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, circa 2021, though the info about cats is from Nature Communications
in 2013. Check it out if you don't believe me, it does seem sort of impossible. The way things are going, soon I will have more than enough extinct birds to fill the
Dodo shape, without repetition. Now, because we still need some filler, here is the list again, in reverse order: 2023 Kauaʻi ʻōʻō 2014 Bermu da flicker 2014 Ber
muda hawk 2014 Bermuda night-heron 2014 Bermuda saw-whet owl 2014 Christmas Sandpiper 2014 Finsch’s duck 2014 Hodgen’ s waterhen 201
4 Mauritius turtle-dove 2014 North Island Snipe 2014 Oceanic Parrot 2014 Rodrigues blue-pigeon 2014 South Island snipe 2014 Tristan Moor
hen 2011 Alagoas foliage-gleaner 2007 Cozumel thrasher 2007 Cryptic treehunter, an ovenbird 2007 South Island kōkako 2004 Pernambuco
pygmy owl 2004 Po'ouli 2000 Siau scops owl 1998 Kauai Nukupu'u 1995 Maui Nukupu'u 1990 Atitlán grebe 1990 Borreo's Cin namon
Teal 1990 Dusky Seaside Sparrow 1990 Hooded Seedeater 1990 O'ahu 'Alauahio 1990 'O'u 1988 Maui 'Akepa 1987 Kauai Oo 19 85 Alaotr
a Grebe 1980 Bachman's Warbler 1980 Eskimo Curlew 1980 Mariana Mallard 1971 St. Lucia Wren 1970 Molokai 'Alauahio
1969 Kauai Akialoa 1965 Fiji Bar-winged Rail 1965 Kauaʻi Nukupuʻu 1965 New Zealand Bush Wren 1964 Korean Crested Sh
elduck 1963 Kākāwahie, a honeycreeper 1959 Rennell Island Teal 1952 Niceforo's Pintail 1950 Grand Cayman Oriole 1950
Imperial Woodpecker 1950 Madagascar Serpent Eagle 1950 New Caledonian White-throated Eared-nightjar 1945 Wake
Island Rail 1944 Laysan Rail 1941 Arabian Ostrich 1940 Hawaiʻi ʻAkialoa 1940 Oahu 'Akioloa 1937 Lana'i 'Alauahio 193
7 ʻUla-ʻai-hawane 1936 Molokai ʻōmaʻo 1934 Hawaiʻi ʻōʻō 1932 Glaucous macaw 1932 Heath Hen 1931 Lanai ʻōmaʻo 1930
Oʻahu ʻAkepa 1929 Bering cackling goose 1928 Spotted green pigeon 1927 Paradise parrot 1925 Lord Howe Island Sta
rling 1923 Iwo Jima Rail 1923 Laysan 'Apapane 1923 Lord Howe Island Fantail 1923 Pink-headed Duck 1920 Delalande
's Madagascar Coucal 1920 Laysan Millerbird 1920 Lord Howe Island Flycatcher 1920 Lord Howe Island Vinous-tinte
d Blackbird 1918 Carolina Parakeet 1918 Lānaʻi Hookbill, a honeycreeper 1916 Korean Crested Shelduck 1914 Fores
t Spotted Owlet 1914 Passenger Pigeon (Martha!) 1911 Guadalupe Storm Petrel 1910 Carolina Parakeet 1910 Chois
eul Crested Pigeon 1910 New Zealand merganser 1910 Slender-billed grackle 1908 Alejandro Selkirk Firecrown
1907 Black Mamo 1907 Huia 1906 Chatham Island Bellbird 1906 Guadalupe Flicker 1904 Molokai ‘ō‘ō 1901 Gre
ater Amakihi 1900 Antiguan Burrowing Owl 1900 Bonin Wood Pigeon 1900 Guadalupe Rufous-sided Towhee
1900 Guadeloupe Burrowing Owl 1900 Martinique Wren 1900 Modest Rail 1900 North Island Bush Wren 19
00 North Island Laughing Owl 1900 Queleli 1900 Saint Kitts Puerto Rican Bullfinch 1900 South Island Laug
hing Owl 1900 Tahiti Rail 1899 Culebra Island Amazon 1898 Hawaii Mamo 1896 Greater Koa-finch 1896
Maui Nui 'Akialoa 1895 Chatham Island Fernbird 1894 Kona Grosbeak 1894 Lana'i 'Akioloa 1894 Lyal
l's Wren 1892 Guadalupe 1892 Puerto Rican Conure, a parrot 1892 ʻUla-ʻAi-hawane 1891 Lesser Ko
a-finch 1890 Comoro Scops Owl 1890 Macquarie Island Parakeet 1890 Oahu Nukupu'u 1890 Trist
an Gallinule 1887 Ryukyu Kingfisher 1884 Sandwich Rail 1881 Jamaican Wood Rai
l 1881 Seychelles Parakeet 1880 Macquarie Island Banded Rail 1880 Rodrigues
Ring-necked Parakeet 1879 Bonin Night Heron 1875 Labrador Duck 1874
Coues's Gadwall 1873 Samoan Wood Rail 1870 Himalayan Mounta
in Quail 1869 Red-fronted Parakeet 1868 New Zealand Qua
il 1868 Réunion Crested Starling 1864 Cuban Red Macaw
1860 New Caledonean Lorikeet 1859 Jamaican Pa
uraque 1853 Lord Howe Island Pigeon 1851 Nor
folk kākā 18 50 Black-fronted parakeet
1850 Comm erson's Scops Owl 18
50 Giant Mo a 1850 Kioea 1850
Kittlitz's Ra il 1850 Moa 1850 Ro
driguez Li ttle Owl 185 0 Steller's Specta
cled Cormorant 1850 Tasmanian Emu 1844 Gre
at Auk 1842 Jamaican Green and Yellow Macaw 1840 Dief
fenbach's Rail 1840 Mascarene Parrot 1837 Oahu O-O 1830 Bonin
Grosbeak 1830 Kangaroo Island Emu 1830 White Gallinule 1828 Ki
ttlitz's Thrush 1827 Kusaie Mountain Starling 1826 Pigeon Holl
andaise 1825 Oahu ‘Ōma’o 180 1 Norfolk Pi
geon 1800 Amsterdam Island Duck 1800 Do
minican Green-and-y ellow Mac
aw 1800 Mo orea Sandpi per
1800 Painted Vu lture 1800 Re union Ring
-necked Parakeet 1800 Rodrigues Parrot 1800
Tahiti Sa ndpiper 1800 Tanna Ground Dove 1800
Tonga Tabu Tahiti Flycatcher 1793 Oceanic Eclectus Pa
rrot 1780 Bay Thrush 1780 Mysterious Starling 1780 Rodriguez
Sol itaire 1777 Society Parakeet 1776 Réunion Fody 1765 Jamai
can Yellow-headed Macaw 1760 Lesser Antille
an Macaw 1750 Gu adelo
upe Amazon 175
0 Martinique Amaz
on 1722 Labat's Co
nure 1700 Elephant Bird
1700 Leguat's Rail 1700 Mauritian Barn Owl 1700 Réunion Solitaire 1690 Mascarene Teal 1690 Réunion Sheldgoose 1681 Dodo.
These are the birds who have gone extinct since the Dodo. Thank you for reading. --Brian K. Johnson" + rowOutput + "
\n"; // Wrap each row in atag currentWidth = 0; // Reset currentWidth for the next row } tempSpan.remove(); // Remove the temporary span $('#typography-output').html(output); // Log the total number of characters actually used console.log('Total characters used: ' + totalCharactersUsed); }; }); // see if we can track the time? if (window.trackFinalTime) { trackFinalTime(); } }); function shuffleLines(data, delimiter = '|') { // Split the text into an array of lines by line breaks var lines = data.split(/\r\n|\n|\r/); // Shuffle the array of lines using the Fisher-Yates algorithm for (var i = lines.length - 1; i > 0; i--) { var j = Math.floor(Math.random() * (i + 1)); var temp = lines[i]; lines[i] = lines[j]; lines[j] = temp; } // Join the shuffled lines back into a single string with the specified delimiter return lines.join(delimiter); }