Canvasback Aythya valisineria

Identification Tips:

• Length: 15 inches Wingspan: 34 inches
• Medium-sized diving duck
• Long sloping forehead and peaked crown produce distinctive profile
• Black bill
• Immature female similar to adult female, immature male is similar to female in autumn, but acquires alternate plumage during winter

Adult male alternate:

• Alternate plumage worn from fall through early summer
• Red eye
• Reddish head and neck
• Black breast
• Pale gray back and flanks
• White belly
• Black tail, upper- and undertail coverts

Adult male basic:

• Duller than alternate plumage, especially about the breast and back

Adult female:

• Brown eye
• Brown head and neck
• Pale gray back and flanks
• White belly

Similar species:

Adult male Redhead is similar in alternate plumage to adult male Canvasback, but has yellow eye, blue bill with black tip, much grayer back and different profile. Female-plumage Redheads also have blue-gray bill with black tip, brownish body plumage without contrast between the head and body and a different profile.

Length and wingspan from: Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc.

Above information used courtesy of United States Geological Survey.