The Curse of the Labrador DuckMy Obsessive Quest to the Edge of Extinction
by Glen Chilton
Simon & Schuster, 2009
In this memoir of a curious obsession, ornithologist Glen Chilton recounts his travels through North America and Europe as he tracks down every known specimen of the extinct Labrador Duck.
"I embarked on an adventure to examine and measure every stuffed Labrador Duck specimen, no matter where it was, without exception. I was determined to see where the ducks nested (Labrador would be a good start) and where they wintered (the shallow waters around New York City). Not allowing myself to stop for a breath, I would examine every Labrador Duck egg in every museum, and visit every spot on the planet where the ducks were known to have been shot."
Both a travelogue and a lesson on extinction, Chilton's book takes readers along on his low-budget globe-trekking adventure, describing his visits to museum after museum, encounters with curators, flirtations with women, and the spare remnant evidence of the Labrador Duck. The destinations include Labrador and Nova Scotia in Canada, London and Liverpool in England, Paris, and several small German towns and Russian villages.
The last Labrador Duck sighting reportedly occurred at Elmira, New York on December 12, 1878. It was a striking black and white eider-like sea duck, never seen in large numbers, but thought to breed in Labrador. It wintered from Nova Scotia to as far south as Chesapeake Bay.
The last preserved specimen was shot in 1875 on Long Island, shortly before the duck became the first bird extinction in North America after 1500.
The Curse of the Labrador Duck
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