THE DODO. The very last Dodo was killed in 1681. It lived on the island nation of Mauritius, just off the coast of Madagascar. This flightless bird had never encountered humans before, or the pigs, cats and rats that came along for the ride in 1638, when the Dutch arrived. It turns out the Dodo was quite tasty, to both humans and these new predators. It was bigger than a turkey, about 50 pounds. During the brief time it was known to humans, it was thought to be fat and clumsy. The Dodo simply didn't know enough to run away and hide, because there weren't any predators on the islands. Its name became an insult, 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 examples of human-induced extinction, that is, when people started becoming aware of such 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 Cincinnati, 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 Solitaire 1722 Labat's Conure 1750 Guadeloupe Amazon 1750 Martinique Amazon 1760 Lesser Antillean Macaw 1765 Jamaican Yellow-headed Macaw 1776 Réunion Fody 1777 Society Parakeet 1780 Bay Thrush 1780 Mysterious Starling 1780 Rodriguez Solitaire 1793 Oceanic Eclectus Parrot 1800 Amsterdam Island Duck 1800 Dominican Green-and-yellow Macaw 1800 Moorea Sandpiper 1800 Painted Vulture 1800 Reunion Ring-necked Parakeet 1800 Rodrigues Parrot 1800 Tahiti Sandpiper 1800 Tanna Ground Dove 1800 Tonga Tabu Tahiti Flycatcher 1801 Norfolk Pigeon 1825 Oahu ‘Ōma’o 1826 Pigeon Hollandaise 1827 Kusaie Mountain Starling 1828 Kittlitz's Thrush 1830 Bonin Grosbeak 1830 Kangaroo Island Emu 1830 White Gallinule 1837 Oahu O-O 1840 Dieffenbach's Rail 1840 Mascarene Parrot 1842 Jamaican Green and Yellow Macaw 1844 Great Auk 1850 Black-fronted parakeet 1850 Commerson's Scops Owl 1850 Giant Moa 1850 Kioea 1850 Kittlitz's Rail 1850 Moa 1850 Rodriguez Little Owl 1850 Steller's Spectacled Cormorant 1850 Tasmanian Emu 1851 Norfolk kākā 1853 Lord Howe Island Pigeon 1859 Jamaican Pauraque 1860 New Caledonean Lorikeet 1864 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 Labrador 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 Scops Owl 1890 Macquarie Island Parakeet 1890 Oahu Nukupu'u 1890 Tristan Gallinule 1891 Lesser Koa-finch 1892 Guadalupe 1892 Puerto Rican Conure, a parrot 1892 ʻUla-ʻAi-hawane 1894 Kona Grosbeak 1894 Lana'i 'Akioloa 1894 Lyall'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 Guadeloupe Burrowing Owl 1900 Martinique Wren 1900 Modest Rail 1900 North Island Bush Wren 1900 North Island Laughing Owl 1900 Queleli 1900 Saint Kitts Puerto Rican Bullfinch 1900 South Island Laughing Owl 1900 Tahiti Rail 1901 Greater Amakihi 1904 Molokai ‘ō‘ō 1906 Chatham Island Bellbird 1906 Guadalupe Flicker 1907 Black Mamo 1907 Huia 1908 Alejandro Selkirk Firecrown 1910 Carolina 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 Hookbill, a honeycreeper 1920 Delalande's Madagascar Coucal 1920 Laysan Millerbird 1920 Lord Howe Island Flycatcher 1920 Lord Howe Island Vinous-tinted Blackbird 1923 Iwo Jima Rail 1923 Laysan 'Apapane 1923 Lord Howe Island Fantail 1923 Pink-headed Duck 1925 Lord Howe Island Starling 1927 Paradise 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 'Alauahio 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 Woodpecker 1950 Madagascar Serpent Eagle 1950 New Caledonian White-throated Eared-nightjar 1952 Niceforo's Pintail 1959 Rennell Island Teal 1963 Kākāwahie, a honeycreeper 1964 Korean 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 Sparrow 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 Bermuda 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 reading 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 attempt 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 have 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 just 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 Bermuda flicker 2014 Bermuda hawk 2014 Bermuda night-heron 2014 Bermuda 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 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 Cinnamon Teal 1990 Dusky Seaside Sparrow 1990 Hooded Seedeater 1990 O'ahu 'Alauahio 1990 'O'u 1988 Maui 'Akepa 1987 Kauai Oo 1985 Alaotra 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 Shelduck 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 1937 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 Starling 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-tinted Blackbird 1918 Carolina Parakeet 1918 Lānaʻi Hookbill, a honeycreeper 1916 Korean Crested Shelduck 1914 Forest Spotted Owlet 1914 Passenger Pigeon (Martha!) 1911 Guadalupe Storm Petrel 1910 Carolina Parakeet 1910 Choiseul 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 Greater 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 1900 North Island Laughing Owl 1900 Queleli 1900 Saint Kitts Puerto Rican Bullfinch 1900 South Island Laughing 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 Lyall's Wren 1892 Guadalupe 1892 Puerto Rican Conure, a parrot 1892 ʻUla-ʻAi-hawane 1891 Lesser Koa-finch 1890 Comoro Scops Owl 1890 Macquarie Island Parakeet 1890 Oahu Nukupu'u 1890 Tristan Gallinule 1887 Ryukyu Kingfisher 1884 Sandwich Rail 1881 Jamaican Wood Rail 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 Mountain Quail 1869 Red-fronted Parakeet 1868 New Zealand Quail 1868 Réunion Crested Starling 1864 Cuban Red Macaw 1860 New Caledonean Lorikeet 1859 Jamaican Pauraque 1853 Lord Howe Island Pigeon 1851 Norfolk kākā 1850 Black-fronted parakeet 1850 Commerson's Scops Owl 1850 Giant Moa 1850 Kioea 1850 Kittlitz's Rail 1850 Moa 1850 Rodriguez Little Owl 1850 Steller's Spectacled Cormorant 1850 Tasmanian Emu 1844 Great Auk 1842 Jamaican Green and Yellow Macaw 1840 Dieffenbach's Rail 1840 Mascarene Parrot 1837 Oahu O-O 1830 Bonin Grosbeak 1830 Kangaroo Island Emu 1830 White Gallinule 1828 Kittlitz's Thrush 1827 Kusaie Mountain Starling 1826 Pigeon Hollandaise 1825 Oahu ‘Ōma’o 1801 Norfolk Pigeon 1800 Amsterdam Island Duck 1800 Dominican Green-and-yellow Macaw 1800 Moorea Sandpiper 1800 Painted Vulture 1800 Reunion Ring-necked Parakeet 1800 Rodrigues Parrot 1800 Tahiti Sandpiper 1800 Tanna Ground Dove 1800 Tonga Tabu Tahiti Flycatcher 1793 Oceanic Eclectus Parrot 1780 Bay Thrush 1780 Mysterious Starling 1780 Rodriguez Solitaire 1777 Society Parakeet 1776 Réunion Fody 1765 Jamaican Yellow-headed Macaw 1760 Lesser Antillean Macaw 1750 Guadeloupe Amazon 1750 Martinique Amazon 1722 Labat's Conure 1700 Elephant Bird 1700 Leguat's Rail 1700 Mauritian Barn Owl 1700 Réunion Solitaire 1690 Mascarene Teal 1690 Réunion Sheldgoose 1681 Dodo Thank you for reading. --Brian K. Johnson