Didus ineptus; Print; The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius; east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest genetic relative was the also-extinct Rodrigues solitaire; the two forming the subfamily Raphinae of the family of pigeons and doves. The closest living relative of the dodo is the Nicobar pigeon. A white dodo was once thought to have existed on the nearby island of R閡nion; but this is now thought to have been confusion based on the R閡nion ibis and paintings of white dodos.; 1700-1880