Labrador Duck (Camptorhynchus labradorius)
Posted on 31 December, 1875 in Extinct
Year Last Seen:
1875
Comments:
This species was formerly distributed along the northeast coast of North America, but it is now Extinct as a result of hunting. There are no records since the collection of the last specimen, in 1875.
Habitat:
Birds presumably nested on sandbars and around sheltered bays and, in winter, foraged in shallow bays, harbours and estuaries (Chilton 1997).
Causes:
Shooting and trapping on the winter quarters were certainly proximate factors in the species' extinction. Overharvest of birds and eggs on the breeding grounds could also have been a factor (Chilton 1997), and it is likely that ecosystem-level effects following the arrival of Europeans reduced the supply of available food (Gourdin 2009).
Distribution:
Camptorhynchus labradorius probably bred along the Gulf of St Lawrence and coastal Labrador, Canada, wintering from Nova Scotia south to Florida, USA (Gourdin 2009). The last confirmed specimen was collected off Long Island, New York, in 1875 (Chilton 1997), or possibly 1878 (Madge and Burn 1988).