 In 1856 , William Coker announced the discovery of a 17th @-@ century " Persian " painting of a white dodo among waterfowl , which he had been shown in England . The artist was later identified as Pieter Withoos , and many prominent 19th @-@ century naturalists subsequently assumed the image depicted the white solitaire of Réunion , a possibility originally proposed by ornithologist John Gould . Simultaneously , several similar paintings of white dodos by Pieter Holsteyn II were discovered in the Netherlands . In 1869 , the English ornithologist Alfred Newton argued that the Withoos ' painting and engraving in Bontekoe 's memoir depicted a living Réunion dodo that had been brought to Holland , while explaining its blunt beak as a result of beak trimming to prevent it from injuring humans . He also brushed aside the inconsistencies between the illustrations and descriptions , especially the long , thin beak implied by one contemporary account . 
 In 1856 , William Coker announced the discovery of a 17th @-@ century " Persian " painting of a white dodo among waterfowl , which he <a href='been_done' title='1'><mark>had</mark></a> been shown in England . The artist was later identified as Pieter Withoos , and many prominent 19th @-@ century naturalists subsequently assumed the image depicted the white solitaire of Réunion , a possibility originally proposed by ornithologist John Gould . Simultaneously , several similar paintings of white dodos by Pieter Holsteyn II <a href='uninflect' title='2'><mark>were</mark></a> discovered in the Netherlands . In 1869 , the English ornithologist Alfred Newton argued that the Withoos <a href='null_genetive' title='3'><mark>'</mark></a>painting and engraving in Bontekoe <a href='null_genetive' title='4'><mark>'s</mark></a>memoir depicted a living Réunion dodo <a href='null_relcl' title='5'><mark>that</mark></a><a href='been_done' title='6'><mark>had</mark></a> been brought to Holland , while explaining its blunt beak as a result of beak trimming to prevent it from injuring humans . He also brushed aside the inconsistencies between the illustrations and descriptions , especially the long , thin beak implied by one contemporary account . 
In 1856 , William Coker announced the discovery of a 17th @-@ century " Persian " painting of a white dodo among waterfowl , which he done been shown in England . The artist was later identified as Pieter Withoos , and many prominent 19th @-@ century naturalists subsequently assumed the image depicted the white solitaire of Réunion , a possibility originally proposed by ornithologist John Gould . Simultaneously , several similar paintings of white dodos by Pieter Holsteyn II was discovered in the Netherlands . In 1869 , da English ornithologist Alfred Newton argued dat tdaWithoos  painting and engraving in Bontekoe  memoir depicted a living Réunion dodo done been brought to Holland , while explaining its blunt beak as a result of beak trimming to prevent it from injuring humans . He also brushed aside the inconsistencies between the illustrations and descriptions , especially thdaong , thin beak implied by one contemporary account .