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The Labrador duck became the first species unique to North America to go extinct. Before European settlers arrived in America, the duck was probably already rare, due to the fact that they only consumed small mollusks and other unique physical characteristic the duck possessed. The last Labrador Duck was seen in 1878 in Elmira New York. The duck species was black, with a white chest, head, and wings. Unlike most bird species today, the Labrador had a wide, flattened bill with soft tissue at the tip, to help it forage for prey in the sediment. It is considered a sea duck based on the specific bones in its feet.

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 and the common goldeneye (and even the American oystercatcher), a fact that has led to difficulties in researching this species. Both names refer to the male's striking white/black piebald coloration. Yet another common name was sand shoal duck, referring to its habit of feeding in shallow water.

The exact reason for the Labrador Duck extension is not exactly clear. European settlers didn’t really hunt the Labrador duck species because their meat went bad quickly. Their eggs, however, were readily harvested, and this could have caused the final decline in the species’ population. The closest evolutionary relatives of the Labrador duck are apparently the Scoters. There are five species of Scoters and the most popular in New England are the Black or American Scoter, the White Winged Scoter and the Surf Scoter. The Black Scoter is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN though the other two have generally healthy populations.

The Endangered Species Project: New England

Exhibition Dates: February 4 - April 14, 2019

Public Lecture and Closing Reception with the Artist: Saturday, April 13

Gallery Hours: M-F 10am - 8pm; Weekends 10am-5pm

Gallery 224 at the Ceramics Program, Office for the Arts at Harvard

224 Western Ave, Allston, Massachusetts 02134

Gallery 224 at the Ceramics Program, Office for the Arts at Harvard is pleased to present an exhibition of work from Montana-based potter Julia Galloway's most recent body of work, The Endangered Species Project: New England. Galloway works from each state's official list of species identified as endangered, threatened or extinct. She has created a series of covered jars, one urn for each species, illustrating the smallest Agassiz Clam Shrimp to the largest Eastern Elk.

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