Dodos evolved in complete isolation on the island of Mauritius without native mammalian predators, leading to flightlessness, stout legs, and a fearless demeanor toward novel visitors. Breeding pairs nested directly on the ground in dense undergrowth, laying a single large egg that both parents likely defended using their heavy, hooked beaks. Histological evidence indicates they underwent dynamic seasonal molts and fat cycles, storing energy to survive harsh cyclonic winters before human arrival and introduced invasive species rapidly drove them to extinction in the seventeenth century.
