The Laysan Duck is one of the rarest ducks in the world.  Like the Laysan Finch, it was brought to the brink of extinction by human activities that radically changed the environment of its island home.  While guano was being mined on Laysan, the ducks were hunted for food and sport

  The diet of the Laysan Duck is based on the dense clouds of brine flies that live in the hypersaline lake in the center of the island.

  There are about 500 Laysan Ducks remaining in the wild, all of them on Laysan.

Laysan Duck Links
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• Bishop Museum's Hawaii Biological Survey page
  
  
• Nature Conservancy page
  
  
• University of Michigan site
  
  
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service page

Photo by Bruce Eilerts, USFWS