 The Rodrigues solitaire probably became extinct sometime between the 1730s and 1760s ; the exact date is unknown . Its disappearance coincided with the tortoise trade between 1730 and 1750 ; traders burnt off vegetation , hunted solitaires and imported cats and pigs that preyed on eggs and chicks . In 1755 , Joseph @-@ François Charpentier de Cossigny attempted to obtain a live specimen , as he had been assured the Rodrigues solitaire still survived in remote areas of the island . Though trying for 18 months , and offering large rewards , none could be found . He noted that cats were blamed for decimating the species , but suspected that it was due to hunting by humans instead . Alexandre Guy Pingré did not encounter any solitaires when he visited Rodrigues to observe the 1761 transit of Venus , although he had been assured they survived . His friend Pierre Charles Le Monnier named the constellation Turdus <unk> after the bird to commemorate the journey . Although the Rodrigues solitaire is the only extinct bird to have a former constellation named for it , celestial mapmakers did not know what it looked like and star maps depict other birds . 
