The new Labrador Duck theory: Unlikely
John James Audubon's portrait of female and male Labrador Ducks. From Oak Harbor, Ohio, Kenn writes: A scientist recently published a new theory about the Labrador Duck, and it's drawing a lot of attention from birders and from the general public. The interest is understandable. Labrador Duck is one of the most mysterious North American birds. Never a very common bird, it has been considered extinct since the late 1800s, and very little is known about it. There's no doubt that it existed at one time: there are still specimens in various museums, all from birds shot along the northeastern coast of North America during the fall, winter, and spring seasons in the 1700s and 1800s. But we don't know where it went for the summer (the name "Labrador" is just conjecture) and we don't know why it became extinct. Adding to the general interest in the Labrador Duck, a possible sighting of this legendary bird is a plot element in the new feature A Birder...