“The Manumea is a big forest pigeon, about the size of a chicken, with an amazingly large bright red beak. Photos tend to show a crouched, bulky, brooding bird that looks like a cross between a vulture and a dinosaur. The little dodo is characterized by a sharply curved beak with two tooth-like structures on the bottom, a blue head and chest, and dark-red wings. Shapiro speculates that the Manumea could have evolved over 60 million years ago, noting that “pigeons as a whole are a very old group, and the timing of their diversification is not well known.” “It shared a common ancestor with all the other individuals in that group-and was the earliest to diverge from that common ancestor.” “ is the most ancestral (least derived) member of this group,” Beth Shapiro, the lead author of the study, explains. The number of names reveals its distinctiveness: the Manumea is the only surviving member of the genus Didunculus, which in Latin means “little dodo.” A genetics study in 2002, found that the little dodo or Manumea is the most basal member of the dodo’s relatives, both living and extinct. Globally, it’s also known as the tooth-billed pigeon and has even been called the “dodlet.” Not to mention, of course, its Latin name: Didunculus strigirostris.Ī juvenile Manumea found in December of last year. Locally, it’s known as the Manumea and despite its cryptic, almost invisible nature, the species is Samoa’s state bird, even appearing on its currency. The little dodo actually goes by many names. A closer look using binoculars and we knew we had found it, the rare Manumea.” I started taking as many pictures as I could before the bird flew off. We got our binoculars and camera, and started looking for the hooked bill which is the bird’s distinguishing feature. He looked up to the tree and saw a bird sitting up high on one of the tree branches. “One of the team, Fialelei, went outside to hang his wet clothes on the line and heard a noise that attracted his attention. Now we know it is still alive,” added Moeumu Uili with the Samoan Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE). “Everyone had questioned whether the bird still existed. “This is the first time breeding has been recorded in over 10 years,” says biologist Rebecca Stirnemann, who has been working with Samoa’s birds birds since 2010 and is spearheading efforts to learn more about the imperiled species using wildlife drones and the latest in tagging technology. In other words: there is still time to save the species from extinction so long as conservationists are able to raise the funds needed. Not only was this an important sighting of a nearly-extinct species, but even more so it proved the species is still successfully breeding. But conservation efforts were buoyed this December when researchers stumbled on a juvenile little dodo hanging out in a tree. Recently, conservationists estimated that fewer than 200 survived on the island and maybe far fewer frustratingly, sightings of the bird have been almost non-existent in recent years. Worse still, this truly bizarre bird is on the verge of extinction, following the fate of its much more famous relative, the dodo bird. Painting by: © Michael Rothman 2013.Īlmost nothing is known about the little dodo, a large, archaic, pigeon-like bird found only on the islands of Samoa. Little dodo baby found: conservationists boosted by discovery that species is breedingĭetail of new painting highlighting the Manumea or little dodo.
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