Diet
The Labrador Duck fed on small molluscs, and some fishermen reported catching it on fishing lines baited with mussels. The structure of the bill was highly modified from that of most ducks, having a wide, flattened tip with numerous lamellae inside. In this way it is considered an ecological counterpart of the North Pacific/North Asian Steller's Eider. The beak was also particularly soft, and may have been used to probe through sediment for food.
Another, completely unrelated, duck with similar (but even more specialized) bill morphology is the Australian Pink-eared Duck, which feeds largely on plankton, but also mollusks; the condition in the Labrador Duck probably resembled that in the Blue Duck most in outward appearance.
Read more about this topic: Labrador Duck
Famous quotes containing the word diet:
“Literary tradition is full of lies about povertythe jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“The pills are a mother, but better,
every color and as good as sour balls.
Im on a diet from death.”
—Anne Sexton (19281974)
“Newsmen believe that news is a tacitly acknowledged fourth branch of the federal system. This is why most news about government sounds as if it were federally mandatedserious, bulky and blandly worthwhile, like a high-fiber diet set in type.”
—P.J. (Patrick Jake)