CANVASBACK 155 



In the east the Canvasback is the most highly prized of all the 

 ducks ; for its habit of feeding on wild celery makes it of prime flavor. 

 Largely because of its eastern reputation it is also considered the best 

 of the game ducks almost everywhere in the west. Tlie hunter with 

 a bag of Canvasbacks is always the hero of the day. As a matter of 

 fact the west coast Canvasback does not ordinarily surpass the Mallard, 

 and is sometimes less desirable. A few days' diet on shellfish makes 

 an inferior table bird of either duck. When killed in the interior or 

 on mountain lakes, however, the Canvasback is invariably reported to 

 be of fine flavor. Its large size coupled with its aristocratic reputation 

 makes it bring the highest price on the market. In early days many 

 were netted by Italian fishermen and the drowned ducks were sold in 

 the markets for twenty-five cents a pair. In the season of 1910-1911 

 the price paid by market men of San Francisco for this duck ranged 

 from four to nine dollars a dozen, averaging about six dollars. The 

 Mallard brought about the same price. Heermann (1859, p. 70) 

 reports having seen a single Canvasback sold for twelve dollars in tlie 

 "boom" times of 1849. 



The Canvasback is a much hunted duck throughout its winter 

 range. On Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, where it used to congregate in 

 vast numbers it has been decimated by excessive shooting. Now it 

 seldom appears in any quantity on this body of water. In California, 

 also, the numbers on our waters have conspicuously dwindled of late 

 years. In times past "Cans" were killed in very large numbers on 

 the Sonoma marshes. There is one record of two hundred and sixty- 

 eight drake Canvasbacks to a double-barreled gun in one day (Beitch, 

 1912, p. 13). Occasionally, at the present time, one will hear of a 

 limit (25) killed at the rate of a bird a minute, such being reported as 

 recently as 1912. This is the exception, however, though the rarity 

 of the occurrence gives the report such wide circulation that people are 

 led to believe it common. 



The numbers appearing in the state vary greatly from year to 

 year, as this is a bird which shifts its movements according to the 

 abundance of food supply. A common saying among sportsmen is 

 to the effect that every fourth year is a good ' ' Can ' ' year. A typical 

 migrant, passing through two states before reaching California, and 

 hunted everywhere it goes, the Canvasback is subjected to a con- 

 siderable depletion in its ranks before returning to its northern breed- 

 ing grounds. The danger of great depletion in the numbers of this 

 species lies in its popularity as a table bird, and in its consequent high 

 market value. Where there is sale of game the rate of destruction 

 for any game species is largely determined by the market demand 

 for it. 



