This book was not published in Russian, although it was written quite a long time ago - in 2003. It is devoted to an interesting topic, which, unfortunately, is rarely touched upon in Russian popular science literature: the fate of strange and clumsy birds that open the “black list” of animal species that have become extinct due to the fault of man since 1600 - the dodo. But the author’s style of presentation differs significantly from the usual. Instead of a brief description of the biology of these birds, the author paints us a portrait of dodos “against the backdrop of the landscape,” talking about historical and cultural events that directly or indirectly affected the fate of these birds, most often, unfortunately, having a sharply negative impact on the birds themselves and their habitat . Readers of the book will learn about why the Portuguese ended up in the Indian Ocean and how they discovered the Mascarene Islands, how the dodo ended up in the menagerie of the alchemist Emperor Rudolf II, how the artist Rulandt Saverey captured this incredible bird on canvas, how the dodo became extinct for the second time in the minds of people, how much effort it took to prove that this bird really lived on Earth, and why it was completely forgotten in its native Mauritius. Quite a lot of time has passed since the book was published, and new discoveries were made regarding dodos, which for obvious reasons were not included in book. But the materials collected in the book have already become part of the history of science. This book will be read with equal interest by lovers of biology, history and fine arts.