Legautia grandiflora and Avis indica

The giant legautia, a mysterious bird from the island of Mauritius, has sparked much controversy among researchers. Associated with the travels of the Huguenot François Legaut, its existence was questioned for centuries until new facts were discovered by Parisian librarians in 1926. Despite this, much remains unknown about this peculiar species, which is believed to have disappeared after Legaut left the island. Questions about the causes of its extinction and the lack of traces of its presence combine to create an intriguing story that still awaits resolution.

Many scholars claimed that the French Huguenot fugitive Francois Legaut and his Travels and Adventures of Francois Legaut and His Retinue Through the Islands of the Indian Ocean (1708) were a forgery worthy of Baron Munchausen and the fictional Sir John Mandeville. However, in 1926, two Parisian librarians, J. Vivielle and H. Deherain, uncovered new evidence confirming the authenticity of Legaut's journey. However, this new information did not end the doubts surrounding the mysterious traveler or the very tall, long-extinct bird native to the island of Mauritius named in his honor.

This bird appears in the journal under the name Le Geant . The bird, Legautia Gigantea (Greater Legautia), received its Latin name in 1858 from the German explorer Heinrich Schlegl. It is believed that the bird was related to, or belonged to, the water rail ( Rallus ). When Legaut was in Mauritius, these birds were abundant, but they later became extinct because other travelers no longer saw them.This peculiar bird, about 1.8 meters tall, closely resembles another mysterious bird, depicted in an engraving by Adriaan Collaaert, bearing the imprecise signature Avis Indica ( Indian Bird ).

Both depict a tall bird with long legs, a long beak, enormous paws, a short, white-tipped tail, and small wings. They resemble the water moorhen, well-known to zoologists.

If we assume that Legautia is an unknown, distinct species of bird, then several questions arise: Why did the bird become completely extinct shortly after Legautia left the island of Mauritius? Why are there no traces of its presence?

Until we find answers to these questions, the Great Legautia will remain in the ornithological purgatory of mysterious cases, where it has been for three centuries