No kidding. A friend sent me a photo of an old museum specimen he
wonders just might be a young Labrador duck. Specimens--of any age or
sex--of this extinct species number only in double digits, as far as I
know. My friend is an earnest seeker after the rare and unusual among
birds, and I pay attention to what he says. I am totally unqualified to
assess the photo, as I'm sure are nearly all the folks reading this
post, but it reminded me of some of the other excursions into
cryptozoology inspired by birds. You can see one in the Spring 2006 Ohio
Cardinal (index online at
http://ohiobirds.org/the-ohio-cardinal-archived-issues/ ) about the
"Washington eagle".
        Actually there are many photos, drawings, specimens, and descriptions
said to represent the Labrador duck.  Audubon wrote the 'Pied Duck' up
(just as he did the eagle), and you can read a modern demurral at
http://www.macroevolution.net/labrador-duck.html .  This article
features many photos of specimens and depictions of the Labrador duck,
and even offers $5 via PayPal for any false statement it may contain.
Something for when you're snowed in...
Bill Whan

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.


You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]