Bird
Rodrigues Solitaire
Pezophaps solitariaAlso known as Solitaire
Rodrigues solitaires were large, territorial ground doves that defended strictly defined breeding territories using bony, musket-ball-like knobs on their wrists. Monogamous pairs cooperated closely to incubate a single egg on a palm-frond nest and fiercely repelled intruders of their own sex with rapid, drum-like wing rattles. Forest clearing and nest predation by invasive feral cats and pigs drove the island population to extinction by the mid-18th century.
FlightlessIsland Endemic
—observations
—countries
—peak records
ExtinctConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXExtinctRed List categories, explained →
Diet & preyFallen palm fruits, Seeds, Leaves
Predators
- Feral cats
- Feral pigs
- Humans
ThreatsIntroduced mammalian predators (cats, pigs, rats), forest clearance, hunting
HabitatsDense coastal and lowland tropical forests
Life span15–25 years (estimated)
Classification
- FamilyColumbidae
- SpeciesPezophaps solitaria
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Extinct species; safe to observe in museum collections.
Responsible observation
- Museum Collections: Observe subfossil skeletons and cast reconstructions in natural history museums.
- Historical Accounts: Review the detailed 18th-century field journals written by explorer François Leguat.
Island Neighbor Robert Mintern (1840–1908) / Public domain · cc0
Image unavailableIsland Neighbor 
Close Relative BazzaDaRambler / CC BY 2.0 · cc-by
Closest Living Relative "Nicobar Pigeon Portrait" by Steve Wilson - over 10 million views Thanks !! is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/. · cc-by
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