Canvasback

Overview

Canvasback: Large, flashy diving duck with pale gray body and black breast, tail. Head is red-brown with long, sloping profile and long, dark bill. Eye is red. Legs and feet are gray. Feeds primarily on aquatic plants. Rapid direct flight with strong wing beats. Flies high, usually in V formations.

Range and Habitat

Canvasback: Breeds from Alaska south and east to Nebraska and Minnesota. Spends winters in coastal regions and interior west from British Columbia south and east from Massachusetts south to the Gulf coast and in Mississippi Valley. Nests on marshes; winters on lakes, bays, and estuaries.

INTERESTING FACTS

Because they strain many seeds with their bill out of bottom mud, they ingest much lead shot and are especially affected by lead poisoning in areas that are heavily hunted. One of the largest North American diving ducks, it gets its name from its pale gray back and white sides which are delicately dotted and lined in a wavelike pattern resembling canvas fabric. The Canvasback is a very good flier and can reach speeds of up to 70 mph. A group of ducks has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "flush", "paddling", "raft", and "team" of ducks.