ers; the other perfectly naked; of a whitish
hue, as if a transparent lawne had covered it; her bill is very
howked and bends downwards, the thrill or breathing place is in the
midst of it; from which part to the end, the colour is a light
greene mixt with a pale yellow; her eyes be round and small, and
bright as diamonds; her cloathing is of finest downe, such as ye
see in goslins; her trayne is (like a China beard) of three or
foure short feythers; her legs thick, and black, and strong; her
tallons or pounces sharp; her stomack fiery hot, so as stones and
yron are easilie digested in it; in that and shape, not a little
resembling the Africk oestriches: but so much, as for their more
certain dyfference I dare to give thee (with two others) her
representation."[62]

It is pretty certain that a living specimen was about the same time
exhibited in England. Sir Hamon L'Estrange tells us distinctly that he
_saw_ it. His original MS. is preserved in the British Museum, and with
some blanks caused by the injury of time, of no great consequence, reads
as follows:--

"About 1638, as I walked London streets, I saw the picture
of a strange fowl hong out upon a cloth.
vas and myselfe with one or two more Gen. in
company went in to see it. It was kept in a chamber, and was a
greate fowle somewhat bigger than the largest Turky Cock and so
legged and footed but stouter and thicker and of a more erect
shape, coloured before like the breast of a yong Cock Fesan and on
the back of dunn or deare coulour. The keeper called it a Dodo and
in the ende of a chimney in the chamber there lay an heap of large
pebble stones whereof hee gave it many in our sight, some as bigg
as nutmegs and the keeper told us shee eats them conducing to
digestion and though I remember not how farre the keeper was
questioned therein yet I am confident that afterwards shee cast
them all agayne."[63]

It is probable that this very specimen passed into the museum of
Tradescant, who, in the Catalogue of "The Collection of Rarities
preserved at Lambeth," dated 1656, mentions the following: "Dodar from
the Island Mauritius: it is not able to flie being so bigg." Willoughby
the ornithologist, a most unexceptionable testimony, says that he saw
this specimen in Tradescant's museum: it is mentioned also by
others;--as by Llhwyd