Canvasback

Description: The male canvasbacks have a nutmeg, reddish colored head and neck with a black breast area, a gray back, and a black hind end with a dark tail. The sides, and stomach regions are white with wings that are gray with black feathers. The bill of the canvasback is dark and the legs and feet are blue or gray. The eyes are noticeably bright red in spring months, and less noticeable in the winter. Females have a head that is light brown with a matching neck, that fades to a darker brown chest and back. Her sides and underbelly are grayish brown and her bill is black with legs and feet that are also blue or gray.

Breeding: Canvasbacks will breed in the prairie regions of North America. They enjoy nesting areas that have water or prairie marshes that have a great deal of vegetation growing nearby, preferably tall reeds and cattails that will provide plenty of shelter and cover. They also breed in the river deltas of Alaska and Saskatchewan in Canada. The female canvasback will lay about 10 eggs. A female will often eat some of the eggs in her own nest.

Migrating and Wintering: Canvasbacks use the Mississippi Flyway for migration patterns to find their winter haven, usually in the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley and mid-Atlantic state in the US. Those living in western states will use the Pacific Flyway to find wintering areas on California’s coast. The Chesapeake Bay used to be a large concentration area for canvasbacks but much of the low lying aquatic vegetation has moved or been destroyed, so populations have moved south towards the Mississippi Alluvial Valley areas. They enjoy brackish estuaries, bays, marshes and areas that lots of vegetation and invertebrate animal life for food.

Population: The canvasback population is growing back to healthier numbers after notably low populations in the 1980’s and 1990’s which were caused by loss of habitat for feeding and nesting, as well as lead poisoning from eating lead shot while feeding. Lead shot has been banned so fewer birds are suffering from this condition.

Popularity: 1%