Aythya valisineria
Silhouette: Gabriela Palomo-Munoz · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The canvasback (Aythya valisineria) is a species of diving duck, the largest found in North America. Scottish-American naturalist Alexander Wilson described the canvasback in 1814. The genus name is derived from Greek aithuia, an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors, including Hesychius and Aristotle.
The species name valisineria comes from the wild celery Vallisneria americana, whose winter buds and rhizomes are the canvasback's preferred food during the nonbreeding period. The celery genus is itself named for seventeenth century Italian botanist Antonio Vallisneri.
The duck's common name is based on early European inhabitants of North America's assertion that its back was a canvas-like color. In other languages it is just a white-backed duck; for example in French, morillon à dos blanc, or Spanish, pato lomo blanco. In Mexico it is called pato coacoxtle.
It ranges from 48–56 cm (19–22 in) in length and weighs 862–1,588 g (1.900–3.501 lb), with a wingspan of 79–89 cm (31–35 in). It is the largest species in the genus Aythya, and the largest diving duck in North America. Canvasbacks are similar in size to a mallard but with a heavier and more compact... Wikipedia →
Call0:04
United States · 2014
© Paul Driver · XC169224 · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Ecomuseum Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Slimbridge Wetland Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 8 | Saint Louis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Franklin Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Cologne Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 11 | Queens Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Bramble Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Bird Park Steinen | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 14 | Tracy Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Florida Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Cologne Zoo Aquarium | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 17 | Zooparque Itatiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Canvasback sighting in Mesa on a given day, based on 275 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 141st most-seen of the 268 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Canvasback in Mesa on a given day, against under 5% in February to December, the lowest months. That is one of Mesa's wettest months, with about 35 mm of rain against almost none in June.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Canvasback sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
11th of 32
Of the 32 cities where we can rate Canvasback sightings, Mesa ranks 11th at under 5%. The best odds are in Anchorage (United States, about 10%), León (México, about 10%) and Calgary (Canada, about 10%).
Same genus: Aythya
The closest relatives of the Canvasback that you can see in Mesa (genus Aythya, Scaups, Pochards, and Allies) are Ring-necked Duck (about 40%) and Lesser Scaup (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Canvasback is recorded against all the birds logged in Mesa (275 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
