Home
Bird Names List
Identify Birds by Colour Different types of Birds Groups Other Bird Topics Site Info About Us

Birds of North America

Labrador Duck

Camptorhynchus labradorius


Labrador Duck,picture of Labrador Duck

This specimen of an extinct Labrador Duck was photographed at the warehouse of the Canadian Museum of Nature near the Pink Road, in Aylmer, Quebec, courtesy of the Canadian Museum of Nature, Canada.



Life, Habitat & Picture of the Labrador Duck

Click on the bird name below to see the habitat and range map 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

Return Labrador Duck back to Birds of North America


Classic Collection of North American Birds

CCNAB