 First mentioned during the 17th century , the Rodrigues solitaire was described in detail by François Leguat , the leader of a group of French Huguenot refugees who were marooned on Rodrigues in 1691 – 1693 instead of being taken to their intended destination , Réunion . It was hunted by humans and introduced animals , and was extinct by the late 18th century . Apart from Leguat 's account and drawing , and a few other contemporary descriptions , nothing was known about the bird until a few subfossil bones were found in a cave in 1789 . Thousands of bones have subsequently been excavated . It is the only extinct bird with a former star constellation named after it , Turdus Solitarius . 
