The flightless bird from Mauritius that was famously hunted and driven to extinction was the dodo.
The dodo, Raphus cucullatus, was an island bird related to pigeons and doves, not a close relative of ostriches or other giant flightless birds. It evolved on Mauritius, east of Madagascar, where abundant food and few terrestrial predators favored a large, flightless body. Dutch sailors first recorded it in 1598.
People often say the dodo was hunted to extinction by 1681, but the history is more complicated. Sailors did kill dodos, and settlers destroyed forest habitat, yet introduced pigs, rats, dogs, cats, and macaques probably caused major damage by eating eggs and young birds. The last widely accepted sighting was in 1662, while later reports may have confused dodos with the red rail. Some analyses estimate extinction around 1693, so 1681 is a traditional but disputed date.
The dodo’s image as a helpless, oversized bird is also misleading. Modern reconstructions suggest it was well adapted to Mauritius, and its extinction followed rapid human-driven ecological change.