EXTLXCT BIRDS 



59 



Extinct Birds 



THE DODO 



Restored from Old Duteh Paintings. 



Down the middle of the hall near the entrance are several cases con- 

 taining birds which have become extinct or nearly so. The 

 Labrador Duck, once a common visitor to our Long 

 Island shores, became extinct for no known reason. The Great Auk 

 and the Dodo were flightless species which bred in great numbers on 

 small islands and were easily and quickly killed off by men. The 

 Passenger Pigeon of North America lived by the million in such dense 

 flocks that vast numbers were slaughtered with ease, but the last 

 individual died in captivity Sept. 1, 1914. The Heath Hen formerly 

 had a good range on our Atlantic seaboard, but as a game bird it w-as 

 so continually persecuted, in and out of the breeding season, that it is 



