Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)
About the Canvasback
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.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 11 recordings for this species: 9 CC BY-NC-SA · 2 CC BY-NC-ND. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in United States in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Common PochardAythya ferinarecording
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collarisrecording
- Tufted DuckAythya fuligularecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.