Editing Rodrigues solitaire (section)

===Contemporary descriptions===
[[File:Leguat1891solitaire.jpg|thumb|alt=Engraving of a female Rodrigues solitaire in front of a bush|1708 drawing by [[François Leguat]], the only known illustration of this species by someone who observed it alive<ref name="HumeSteel2013"/>]]
Apart from Leguat's rather simple depiction, the life appearance of the Rodrigues solitaire is only known from a handful of descriptions; no soft-tissue remains survive.<ref name="HumeWalters2012p137"/> Leguat devoted three pages of his memoirs to the Rodrigues solitaire, and was clearly impressed by the bird.<ref name="ChekeHume2008p45">{{cite book| last1= Cheke| first1= A. S.| last2= Hume| first2= J. P.| year= 2008| title= Lost Land of the Dodo: an Ecological History of Mauritius, Réunion & Rodrigues| publisher= T. & A. D. Poyser| location= New Haven and London| isbn= 978-0-7136-6544-4| page=45}}</ref> He described its appearance as follows:
{{blockquote|Of all the Birds in the Island the most remarkable is that which goes by the name of the solitary, because it is very seldom seen in company, tho' there are abundance of them. The Feathers of the Males are of a brown grey Colour: the Feet and Beak are like a Turkey's, but a little more crooked. They have scarce any Tail, but their Hind-part covered with Feathers is roundish, like the Crupper [rump] of a horse; they are taller than Turkeys. Their Neck is straight, and a little longer in proportion than a Turkey's when it lifts up his Head. Its Eye is Black and lively, and its Head without Comb or Cop. They never fly, their Wings are too little to support the Weight of their Bodies; they serve only to beat themselves, and flutter when they call one another. They will whirl about for twenty or thirty times together on the same side, during the space of four or five minutes. The motion of their Wings makes then a noise very like that of a Rattle; and one may hear it two hundred Paces off. The Bone of their Wing grows greater towards the Extremity, and forms a little round Mass under the Feathers, as big as a Musket Ball. That and its Beak are the chief Defence of this Bird. 'Tis very hard to catch it in the Woods, but easie in open Places, because we run faster than they, and sometimes we approach them without much Trouble. From March to September they are extremely fat, and taste admirably well, especially while they are young, some of the Males weigh forty-five Pounds.<ref name="Rothschild1907p177"/>}}

Several of Leguat's observations were later confirmed through study of subfossil Rodrigues solitaire remains. The curved contour lines of the pelvis also support the roundness of its hind parts, which he compared to that of a horse. Also, a ridged surface appears at the base of the beak, indicating the position of the caruncular ridge, which Leguat described as a "[[widow's peak]]".<ref name="NewtonNewton1869"/> Before fossils of the carpal knob were found, Strickland noted that the keel of the sternum of the Rodrigues solitaire was so well-developed as to almost indicate it had possessed the power of flight; however, since the [[humerus]] was very short he inferred that this was instead related to Leguat's claim that they used their wings for defence.<ref name="StricklandMelville1848p46"/>

Leguat continued with an elaborate description of the female Rodrigues solitaire, which also appears to be the sex depicted in his illustration of the bird:
{{blockquote|The Females are wonderfully beautiful, some fair, some brown; I call them fair, because they are the colour of fair Hair. They have a sort of Peak, like a Widow's upon their Breasts [beaks], which is of a dun colour. No one Feather is straggling from the other all over their Bodies, they being very careful to adjust themselves, and make them all even with their Beaks. The Feathers on their Thighs are round like Shells at the end, and being there very thick, have an agreeable effect. They have two Risings on their Craws [crop] and the Feathers are whiter than the rest, which livelily represents the fine neck of a Beautiful Woman. They walk with so much Stateliness and good Grace, that one cannot help admiring them and loving them; by which means their fine Mein often saves their Lives.<ref name="Rothschild1907p177"/>}}
It has been proposed that Leguat's comparison between the crop of the female Rodrigues solitaire and the "beautiful [[bosom]] of a woman" (changed to "fine neck" in some editions of his memoirs) was out of longing for female companionship.<ref name="ChekeHume2008p45"/><ref name="Fuller2002"/>

Leguat's statements were confirmed by another description by Julien Tafforet, who wrote in 1726:
{{blockquote|The solitaire is a large bird, which weighs about forty or fifty pounds. They have a very big head, with a sort of frontlet, as if of black velvet. Their feathers are neither feathers nor fur; they are of light grey colour, with a little black on their backs. Strutting proudly about, either alone or in pairs, they preen their plumage or fur with their beak, and keep themselves very clean. They have their toes furnished with hard scales, and run with quickness, mostly among the rocks, where a man, however agile, can hardly catch them. They have a very short beak, of about an inch in length, which is sharp. They, nevertheless, do not attempt to hurt anyone, except when they find someone before them, and, when hardly pressed, try to bite him. They have a small stump of a wing, which has a sort of bullet at its extremity, and serves as a defence.<ref name="Rothschild1907p177"/>}}