 Subfossil remains show the dodo was about 1 metre ( 3 ft 3 in ) tall and may have weighed 10 @.@ 6 – 21 @.@ 1 kg ( 23 – 47 lb ) in the wild . The dodo 's appearance in life is evidenced only by drawings , paintings , and written accounts from the 17th century . Because these vary considerably , and because only some illustrations are known to have been drawn from live specimens , its exact appearance in life remains unresolved . Similarly , little is known with certainty about its habitat and behaviour . It has been depicted with brownish @-@ grey plumage , yellow feet , a tuft of tail feathers , a grey , naked head , and a black , yellow , and green beak . It used gizzard stones to help digest its food , which is thought to have included fruits , and its main habitat is believed to have been the woods in the drier coastal areas of Mauritius . One account states its clutch consisted of a single egg . It is presumed that the dodo became flightless because of the ready availability of abundant food sources and a relative absence of predators on Mauritius . 
