Birds of North AmericaLabrador DuckCamptorhynchus labradorius
Life, Habitat & Picture of the Labrador Duck
Written by; Bruce Di Labio French: Canard du Labrador The last recorded specimen of the Labrador Duck was collected on Long Island in the fall of 1875. Details of its life history are limited to its winter range along the north-eastern seaboard of Canada and the United States, from Labrador to the southern tip of Long Island.
The reasons for its extinction remain speculative and largely unknown. There are no definite records of breeding, but they probably nested along the Gulf of St. Lawrence and coastal Labrador; possibly on Ungava Peninsula and the western Canadian Arctic.
Reasons for extinction are many including food (though not a popular bird) or breeding grounds may have been localized, and thus more vulnerable to attack. The most interesting theory of extinction is that the Labrador Duck was a specialized feeder. If feeding requirements were diminished due to environmental changes, this possibly could be a reason for its rapid decline and extinction. Return Labrador Duck back to Extinct Birds of North America Classic Collection of North American Birds
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