Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species was endemic to the island of Rodrigues, Mauritius, but was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. It was reported as rare and persisting in isolated parts of the island in 1761, but likely became extinct sometime in the 1760s.
Population justification
No extant population remains.
Trend justification
The species is known only from bones and contemporary accounts (Hume 2017). The species likely became extinct around the 1760s (Hume 2017). It was considered common in 1733 (Gennes 1735) but supposedly declines rapidly thereafter with 'most of the birds gone' by 1761 (Hume 2017).
Pezophaps solitaria was endemic to Rodrigues, Mauritius, from where it is known from numerous historical accounts (Cheke 1987), with those of Leguat in 1708 providing particularly rich detail (Hachisuka 1953), and many bones (Cowles 1987).
It is likely to have inhabited dry forest and perhaps scrubland. The species' diet reportedly comprised of hard seeds, and fallen fruit and leaves (Hume 2017).
The species was reportedly commonin 1733 (Gennes 1735) but supposedly declined rapidly after this time (Hume 2017). Reports suggest that Rodrigues harboured the densest population of Giant Tortoises in the world at the time, and as such was visited frequently by passing ships (Hume 2017). A turtle run was established to aid in the provision of meat to Réunion and the hospital on Mauritius (Cheke and Hume 2008). The species was undoubtedly harvested by the plethora of visitors (Hume 2017). Goats and cats were also introduced to the island sometime after 1726, and also likely contributed to the decline of the species (Hume 2017), through competition, disturbance, or nest or adult predation.
Text account compilers
Khwaja, N., Richardson, L., Brooks, T., Mahood, S.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Rodrigues Solitaire Pezophaps solitaria. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/rodrigues-solitaire-pezophaps-solitaria on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.