Turdus Solitarius (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for ''solitary thrush'') was a

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

created by French astronomer

Pierre Charles Le Monnier Pierre Charles Le Monnier (; 23 November 1715 – 3 April 1799) was a French astronomer. His name is sometimes given as Lemonnier. Biography Le Monnier was born in Paris, where his father Pierre (1675–1757), also an astronomer, was professor ...

in 1776 from stars of Hydra's tail. It was named after the

Rodrigues solitaire The Rodrigues solitaire (''Pezophaps solitaria'') is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Rodrigues, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Genetically within the family of pigeons and doves, it was most closely relate ...

, an extinct

flightless bird Flightless birds are birds that through evolution lost the ability to fly. There are over 60 extant species, including the well known ratites (ostriches, emu, cassowaries, rheas, and kiwi) and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the In ...

that was endemic to the island of

Rodrigues Rodrigues (french: Île Rodrigues, link=yes ; Creole: ) is a autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which include Mauritius and Réunion. Rodr ...

East of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. It was replaced by another constellation, Noctua (the Owl), in ''

A Celestial Atlas ''A Celestial Atlas'', full title: ''A Celestial Atlas: Comprising A Systematic Display of the Heavens in a Series of Thirty Maps Illustrated by Scientific Description of their Contents, And accompanied by Catalogues of the Stars and Astronomical ...

'' (1822) by the British amateur astronomer

Alexander Jamieson Alexander Jamieson (1782–1850) was a Scottish writer and schoolmaster, now best known as a rhetorician. He has been described as effectively a professional textbook writer. After the failure of his school, he worked as an actuary. Life Some o ...

, but neither was adopted by the International Astronomical Union among its 88 recognized constellations.

References

External links

* http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/solitaire.htm * http://www.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/obsolete_pages/turdus_solitarius.htm Former constellations 1776 in France {{astronomy-stub