Canvasback
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| Canvasback Conservation status: Lower risk (lc) | ||||||||||||||
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| Missing image Canvasback.arp.750pix.jpg Canvasback | ||||||||||||||
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| Aythya valisineria (Wilson, 1814) |
The Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) is a larger-sized diving duck.
The adult male has a black bill, a red head and neck, a black breast, red eyes and a whitish body. The adult female has a brown head and body and a black bill.
Their breeding habitat is North American prairie wetlands. The bulky nest is built from vegetation in a marsh and lined with down. Loss of nesting habitat has caused populations to decline. Canvasbacks usually take new mates each year, pairing in late winter.
They overwinter on the coasts of the United States, Great Lakes and British Columbia in saltwater bays, estuaries or lakes.
This strong migrant is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
These birds feed mainly by diving, sometimes dabbling. They mainly eat aquatic plants with some molluscs, aquatic insects and small fish. Wild celery, Valisneria americana, is a favourite food and is the origin of this bird's species name.