The Dodo and Kindred Birds or The Extinct Birds of the Mascarene Islands

Description:

First edition. Edition limited to 485 copies (this copy un-numbered). This important work deals with the lost birds of the Mascarenes, three small volcanic island - Mauritius, Rodriguez, and Réunion - lying to the east of Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean. No other part of the world in the opinion of the author contained such an extraordinary avifauna; nowhere, as this book shows, was destruction more rapid and complete. The book deals with the different species of Dodo and Solitaire, reviewing the historical and pictorial evidences, detailing the remains of specimens, recounting the story of extermination, and describing in detail the appearance and habits of these amazing birds.

Some thirty-six other species of extinct birds are also described, including the interesting examples as the Great Water Hen (six feet in height), The Almost Flightless Heron, and Leguat's Starling which the author considers the rarest bird in the world, since it is only known by one skin, the discovery and identification of which is a fascinating story in itself.

Condition

4to, orig. buckram, gt, teg. Fine in dust-jacket (price-clipped; in clear, removable protective sleeve). Loosely inserted is a reprint of Lord Rothschild's 'On One of the Four Original Pictures from Life of the Réunion or white Dodo' (The Ibis, 1919: 78-79, 1 plate).