The Labrador duck (''Camptorhynchus labradorius'') is an
extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
North American
duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
species. It has the distinction of being the first known
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
North American bird species to become extinct after the
Columbian Exchange
The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the New World (the Americas) in the Western Hemisphere, and the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) in the Eastern Hemis ...
, with the last reported sighting occurring in 1878 in
Elmira, New York
Elmira () is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. ...
,
and the last preserved specimen was shot in the fall of 1875 in
Long Island, New York
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
by J.G. Bell. It was already a rare duck before European settlers arrived, and as a result of its rarity, information on the Labrador duck is not abundant, although some, such as its habitat, characteristics, dietary habits and reasons behind its extinction, are known. There are 55 specimens of the Labrador duck preserved in museum collections worldwide.
Taxonomy

The Labrador duck was also known as the pied duck and skunk duck, the former being a vernacular name that it shared with the
surf scoter
The surf scoter (''Melanitta perspicillata'') is a large sea duck native to North America. Adult males are almost entirely black with characteristic white patches on the forehead and the nape and adult females are slightly smaller and browner. S ...
and the
common goldeneye
The common goldeneye or simply goldeneye (''Bucephala clangula'') is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus ''Goldeneye (duck), Bucephala'', the goldeneyes. Its closest relative is the similar Barrow's goldeneye. The genus name is derived from th ...
(and even the
American oystercatcher
The American oystercatcher (''Haematopus palliatus''), occasionally called the American pied oystercatcher, is a member of family Haematopodidae. Originally called the "sea pie", it was renamed in 1731 when naturalist Mark Catesby claimed that h ...
), a fact that has led to difficulties in interpreting old records of these species. Both names refer to the male's striking white/black piebald colouration. Yet another common name was sand shoal duck, referring to its habit of feeding in shallow water.
The Labrador duck is considered a sea duck. A basic difference in the shape of the process of
metacarpal
In human anatomy, the metacarpal bones or metacarpus, also known as the "palm bones", are the appendicular bones that form the intermediate part of the hand between the phalanges (fingers) and the carpal bones ( wrist bones), which articulate ...
I divides the sea ducks into two groups:
#''
Bucephala'' and the
merganser
''Mergus'' is the genus of the typical mergansers ( ) fish-eating ducks in the subfamily Anatinae. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny the Elder and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird.
The common merganser (''Mer ...
s
#The
eider
The eiders () are large seaducks in the genus ''Somateria''. The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.
The down feathers of eider ducks and some other ducks and geese are used to fill pillows and qu ...
s,
scoter
The scoters are stocky seaducks in the genus ''Melanitta''. The drakes are mostly black and have swollen bills, the females are brown. They breed in the far north of Europe, Asia, and North America, and bird migration, winter further south in te ...
s, ''
Histrionicus
The harlequin duck (''Histrionicus histrionicus'') is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin (Italian ''Arlecchino'', French ''Arlequin''), a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin ...
'', ''
Clangula
The long-tailed duck (''Clangula hyemalis'') or coween, is a medium-sized sea duck that breeds in the tundra and taiga regions of the arctic and winters along the northern coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is the only member of ...
'', and ''Camptorhynchus''
The position of the nutrient foramen of the
tarsometatarsus
The tarsometatarsus is a bone that is only found in the lower leg of birds and some non-avian dinosaurs. It is formed from the fusion of several bird bones found in other types of animals, and homologous to the mammalian tarsus (ankle bones) a ...
also separates the two groups of sea ducks. In the first group, the foramen is lateral to the long axis of the lateral groove of the hypotarsus; in the second, the foramen is on or medial to the axis of that groove.
The closest
evolution
Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
ary relatives of the Labrador duck were thought to be the scoters (''Melanitta''). However a mitogenomic study of the placement of the Labrador duck found the species to be closely related to the
Steller's eider
Steller's eider (''Polysticta stelleri'') is a migrating Arctic diving duck that breeds along the coastlines of eastern Russia and Alaska. It is the rarest, smallest, and fastest flying of the eider species.
Due to the extensive contraction of i ...
as shown below.
Description

The female plumage was grey. Although weakly patterned, the pattern was scoter-like. The male's plumage was black and white in an eider-like pattern, but the wings were entirely white except for the primaries. The
trachea
The trachea (: tracheae or tracheas), also known as the windpipe, is a cartilaginous tube that connects the larynx to the bronchi of the lungs, allowing the passage of air, and so is present in almost all animals' lungs. The trachea extends from ...
of the male was scoter-like. An expansion of the tracheal tube occurred at the anterior end, and two enlargements (as opposed to one enlargement as seen in scoters) were near the middle of the tube. The bulla was bony and round, puffing out from the left side. This asymmetrical and osseus bulla was unlike that of scoters; this bulla was similar to eiders and harlequin duck's bullae. The Labrador duck has been considered the most enigmatic of all North American birds.
The Labrador duck had an oblong head with small, beady eyes. Its bill was almost as long as its head. The body was short and depressed with short, strong feet that were far behind the body. The feathers were small and the tail was short and rounded. The Labrador duck belongs to a monotypic genus.
Habitat
The Labrador duck migrated annually, wintering off the coasts of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
and
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
in the eastern
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, where it favored southern sandy coasts, sheltered bays, harbors, and inlets, and breeding in
Labrador
Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...
and northern
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
in the summer.
[
] John James Audubon
John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American Autodidacticism, self-trained artist, natural history, naturalist, and ornithology, ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornitho ...
's son reported seeing a nest belonging to the species in Labrador. Some believe that it may have laid its eggs on the islands in the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
The Gulf of St. Lawrence is a gulf that fringes the shores of the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, in Canada, plus the islands Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, possessions of France, in ...
. The breeding biology of the Labrador duck is largely unknown.
Diet

The Labrador duck fed on small
molluscs
Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...
, and some fishermen reported catching it on fishing lines baited with mussels.
[ The structure of the bill was highly modified from that of most ducks, having a wide, flattened tip with numerous ]lamellae
Lamella (: lamellae) means a small plate or flake in Latin, and in English may refer to:
Biology
* Lamella (mycology), a papery rib beneath a mushroom cap
* Lamella (botany)
* Lamella (surface anatomy), a plate-like structure in an animal
* Lame ...
inside. In this way, it is considered an ecological counterpart of the North Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
/North Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
n Steller's eider. The beak was also particularly soft and may have been used to probe through sediment for food.[
Another, completely unrelated, duck with similar (but even more specialized) bill morphology is the Australian ]pink-eared duck
The pink-eared duck (''Malacorhynchus membranaceus'') is a species of duck found in Australia.
Description
The pink-eared duck has a large spatulate bill like the Australasian shoveler, but is smaller at 38–40 cm length. Its brown back ...
, which feeds largely on plankton, but also mollusks; the condition in the Labrador duck probably resembled that of the blue duck
The blue duck (''Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos'') or whio is a member of the duck, goose and swan family (biology), family Anatidae endemic to New Zealand. It is the only member of the genus ''Hymenolaimus''. Its exact taxonomic status is still ...
most in outward appearance.
Its peculiar bill suggests it ate shellfish and crustaceans from silt and shallow water. The Labrador duck may have survived by eating snails.
Extinction
The Labrador duck is thought to have been always rare, but between 1850 and 1870, populations waned further.[ The exact reasons for its extinction is still not fully known. The IUCN recognized the last year the species was seen as 1875. It was last seen in Canada, in 1874 on ]Grand Manan
Grand Manan is a Canadian island in the Bay of Fundy, part of the province of New Brunswick. Grand Manan is also the name of an incorporated village, which includes the main island and numerous nearby islands; White Head Island, small islands n ...
.
Although hunted for food, this duck was considered to taste bad, rotted quickly, and fetched a low price. Consequently, it was not sought much by hunters. However, the eggs may have been overharvested
Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...
, and it may have been subject to depredations by the feather trade in its breeding area, as well. Another possible factor in the bird's extinction was the decline in mussel
Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...
s and other shellfish on which they are believed to have fed in their winter quarters, due to growth of population and industry on the Eastern Seaboard. Although all sea ducks readily feed on shallow-water molluscs, no Western Atlantic bird species seems to have been as dependent on such food as the Labrador duck.
Another theory that was said to lead to their extinction was a huge increase of human influence on the coastal ecosystems in North America, causing the birds to flee their niches and find another habitat. These ducks were the only birds whose range was limited to the American coast of the North Atlantic, so changing niches was a difficult task.["All About Birds". Labrador Duck. Cornell University, 2007. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/conservation/extinctions/labrador_duck/document_view.] Whatever the causes may be, the Labrador duck became extinct in the late 19th century.
See also
* List of extinct birds
About 216 species of birds have become Extinction, extinct since 1500, with increasing extinction rates due to human-caused influences such as Habitat destruction, habitat loss, the introduction of invasive species, and climate change. Current ...
* List of extinct animals
This page features lists of species and organisms that have become extinct. The reasons for extinction range from natural occurrences, such as shifts in the Earth's ecosystem or natural disasters, to human influences on nature by the overuse of n ...
References
Further reading
* Chilton, Glen (2009): ''The Curse of the Labrador Duck: My Obsessive Quest to the Edge of Extinction''. Simon and Schuster, .
* Cokinos, Christopher (2000): ''Hope is the Thing with Feathers''. New York: Putnam, pp. 281–304.
*
* 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.
* Madge, Steve & Burn, Hilary (1988): ''Waterfowl. An identification guide to the ducks, geese and swans of the world.'' Boston: Houghton Mifflin, pp. 265–266.
* Dutcher, William. The Labrador Duck:- A Revised List of the Extant Specimens in North America, with Some Historical Notes. 1891.
External links
BirdLife Species Factsheet
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071124165848/http://www.qc.ec.gc.ca/faune/oiseaux_menaces/html/eider_labrador_e.html Environment Canada
Swans, Geese, and Ducks of Canada
University of East Anglia, UK
{{Taxonbar, from=Q578813
Ducks
Merginae
Bird extinctions since 1500
Extinct animals of the United States
Birds described in 1789
Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin
Extinct birds of North America
Extinct animals of Canada
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