canvasback

noun

can·​vas·​back ˈkan-vəs-ˌbak 

: a North American wild duck (Aythya valisineria) that has a reddish-brown head, black breast, and whitish body and is characterized especially by the elongate sloping profile of the bill and head

Examples of canvasback in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Like the hen redhead, the female canvasback is drab. —M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 30 Nov. 2023

Canvasback Duck Habitat While canvasbacks are omnivorous, their diet primarily consists of vegetative material, namely wild celery. —M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 8 Nov. 2023

In the Pacific Flyway, the Columbia River sees its share of canvasbacks, as does the San Francisco Bay. —M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 8 Nov. 2023

Five Iceland gulls and a king eider at Black Rock Beach in Cohasset, a canvasback and three tree swallows at Beaver Pond in Franklin and a black vulture at Blue Hills Reservation. —Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Mar. 2023

The daily bag limit in each zone can include no more than four mallards (of which two may be hens), three wood ducks, two canvasbacks, two redheads, two black ducks and one pintail. —Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2023

My ancient canvasback holds eight lines. —T. Edward Nickens, Field & Stream, 17 Dec. 2020

Worcester County: Two sandhill cranes at Dexter Drumlin in Lancaster, a canvasback at Coachlace Pond in Clinton, 30 tree swallows in South Grafton, seven black vultures at Roosevelt Park in Blackstone and four continuing trumpeter swans in the vicinity of Riverdale Street in Northbridge. —Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Mar. 2023

Single cackling geese on Great Pond in Hatfield and Paradise Pond at the Smith College campus, a canvasback at the Oxbow Marina in Northampton and two rusty blackbirds at the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. —Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1782, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for canvasback

• almanac
• camelback
• cardiac
• carryback
• cluniac
• diamondback
• lumberjack
• maniac
• paperback
• piggyback
• quarterback
• saddleback

Kids Definition

canvasback

noun

can·​vas·​back -ˌbak 

: a North American wild duck with a reddish brown head and black breast