Mauritius Mauritius has been the scene of mass extinction since its colonization by Europeans, which is thought to have begun in the early decades of 1600s. During the time of colonization, the forests were cleared and many endemic species disappeared, but as in so many islands, declines and eventual extinctions probably trace back to overhunting and predation by introduced mammals. Not long after the island lost the Dodo, the Broad-billed Parrot was lost, too. It was probably gone by around 1673-1674.
My painting is based on the descriptions of early travelers and photographs of fossils found on Mauritius. The head and jaws were the same size as today's largest parrots. The large bill appears to have been structurally capable of cracking palm and other forest-tree nuts.
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