Aythya valisineria
Silhouette: Gabriela Palomo-Munoz · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Canvasback sighting in Elk Island National Park on a given day, based on 114 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 79th most-seen of the 161 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Canvasback in Elk Island National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–March, July–August and November, the lowest months.
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.
Yes
Of the 23 parks where we can rate Canvasback sightings, Elk Island National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Riding Mountain National Park (Canada, about 10%) and Kluane National Park (Canada, about 10%).
Same genus: Aythya
The closest relatives of the Canvasback that you can see in Elk Island National Park (genus Aythya, Scaups, Pochards, and Allies) are Lesser Scaup (about 60%), Ring-necked Duck (about 30%) and Redhead (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 Elk Island National Park (114 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
