The canvasback is a diving duck that is found only in North America. It is 18.9-22.1 inches (48-56 cm) in length with a wingspan of 31.1-35.0 inches (79-89 cm).
It has a long, sloping forehead and a long, pointed black bill. The male has a grayish-white body, a black chest and tail, a copper-colored head and neck, and red eyes.
The female has a speckled gray body with a brown head and neck and brown eyes.
During the breeding season, the canvasback is found in freshwater marshes, prairie potholes, and swamps. It winters on lakes, bays, and estuaries.
The canvasback is a diving duck and eats green aquatic vegetation. One of its favorite foods is wild celery (Vallisneria americana); in fact, that is where it gets its Latin name.
It also eats pondweeds, water lilies, sedges, mollusks, small crustaceans, small fish, and insects.
Male and female canvasbacks form mating pairs before they reach their breeding grounds. The female lays 7-10 olive-green eggs in a nest of reeds and grass lined with down. The nest is made in the marsh and is attached to dense vegetation.
The female incubates the eggs and cares for the young. The eggs hatch in about 24 days, and the ducklings fledge when they are 56-70 days old.
The canvasback has a lifespan of 10 to 19 years in the wild. The oldest canvasback on record lived to be 22 years, 7 months old before a hunter shot him.
During the non-breeding season, canvasbacks gather in large flocks or rafts on the water. The canvasback is a very good flyer and can reach speeds of up to 70 mph (112.7 kph). When they are migrating, they fly in large V-shaped formations.
The canvasback has to take a running start on the surface of the water before it becomes airborne.
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Canvasbacks can be found in New Hampshire during the winter, primarily in large bodies of water like estuaries and bays.
They can be seen along the coast and in the Great Bay..
The canvasback breeds from Alaska south and east to Nebraska and Minnesota.
It winters on the Great Lakes, on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf Coasts, and in Mexico.
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