Dodo Bird belongs in the dove and pigeon family

An article (from the National Geographic) talks about how the extinct bird is related to pigeons and doves that are currently existing. Scientists from the University of Oxford have done a research to determine on whether or not the extinct bird was related to pigeons or ostriches,. They claimed that the genus represents an example of extreme evolution, and the way to examine how life evolved would be to study the species that are extinct, as they are "often the best view of how things work".

A snippet from the article
Molecular analysis of DNA retrieved from a dodo specimen at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, England, confirms that the bird belongs firmly in the middle of the pigeon tree in evolutionary terms, reports a study published in the March 1 issue of the journal Science. Its closest living relative is the Nicobar pigeon, which lives in the Nicobar Islands and Southeast Asia, and it is part of a group of large island-dwelling birds that spend a great deal of time on the ground. Other modern representatives include the crowned pigeons of New Guinea and the tooth-billed pigeon of Samoa.


Here's the link to the full article.