Labrador duck

Labrador duck
The Labrador duck
Conservation status
Extinct  (IUCN 3.1)BirdLife International (2012). Camptorhynchus labradorius. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Subfamily:	Merginae
Genus:	Camptorhynchus
Binomial name
Camptorhynchus labradorius

The Labrador duck (Camptorhynchus labradorius) is an extinct duck that lived in North America.

Habitat

The Labrador duck lived along the sandy coasts and bays of New Jersey and New England. Audubon's son reported seeing a nest belonging to the species. Some believe that it may have laid its eggs on the islands in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It was a rare bird before European settlement, and the increase in humans probably finished it off.

Extinction

The duck became extinct after settlers became common along the eastern coast of North America. The reasons are not clear. The duck was eaten, although its flesh tasted bad. its eggs were probably harvested. It depended considerably on shellfish, which humans may have eaten in large quantities.

Sources

• Cokinos, Christopher 2000. Hope is the thing with feathers. New York: Putnam, pp. 281–304. ISBN 1-58542-006-9
• Forbush, Edward Howe 1912. A history of the game birds, wild-fowl and shore birds of Massachusetts and adjacent states. Boston: Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, pp. 411–416.
• Fuller, Errol 2001. Extinct birds. Comstock Publishing, pp. 85–87. ISBN 0-8014-3954-X