THE phrase “dead as a dodo” is proverbial for anything lifeless or extinct.

But now visitors to World Museum Liverpool can get an idea of what the flightless bird looked like after a rare dodo skeleton was put on display.

The skeleton is made up of large numbers of bones found in a swamp on the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean.

While the dodo has been extinct for more than 300 years, the mounted skeleton is believed to have been kept under wraps in the museum’s collection for 40 years.

It is now on display for a month as part of the Hidden Treasures series.

Dr Clem Fisher, the museum’s curator of vertebrate zoology, said: “This is the only mounted skeleton of a dodo anywhere in the world. All others are reconstructions, using goose feathers.

“The skeleton is quite complete, although we recently discovered the foot bones were skilfully carved from wood.”

Dodos were about 3ft tall and were decimated by the arrival of sailors in Mauritius.

The skeleton was put together from the bones of different dodos found in a swamp on the island.