XXVI 



THE CANVAS-BACK 



FAMOUS is the canvas-back. Many sportsmen re- 

 gard him as first of all the water-fowl. Epicures 

 never tire of praising him. One of the largest of the 

 dacks, he is also very handsome. The head is a dark 

 chestnut red. The back is white, marked with nar- 

 row waved black lines, which give it the light-gray 

 appearance which suggested the name. The bill and 

 breast are black. Size, beauty, and table qualities are 

 here combined, and the canvas-back is rightly named 

 " the king of ducks." 



Although classified as a sea-duck, this bird is found 

 throughout North America, from the Atlantic to the 

 Pacific. I found the canvas-backs abundant in North 

 Dakota, where they arrive early in the autumn and 

 remain until the ponds and lakes are frozen over. 

 Herbert Job recently found many nests of these birds 

 on the same ground in the spring. Bendire found it 

 breeding in Oregon. It no doubt breeds at all suitable 

 places from Dakota to the Pacific Coast. Most of 

 these ducks, however, go farther north upon their 

 spring migration, 



The canvas-back is distinctly an American bird. No 

 other ducks resemble it excepting the red-head duck 

 and its analogue the pochard of Europe. Red-heads 



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