molin celoy

Canvas Back Duck

Average length: M 21”, F 20”
Average weight: M 2.7 lbs., F 2.5 lbs.

Description: Male canvasbacks have a chestnut-red head and neck, a black breast, grayish back, black rump and blackish-brown tail. The sides, flank and belly are white, while the wing coverts are grayish and vermiculated with black. The bill is blackish and the legs and feet are bluish-gray. The iris is bright red in the spring, but duller in the winter. Female canvasbacks have a light brown head and neck, grading into a darker brown chest and foreback. The sides, flanks and back are grayish-brown. The bill is blackish and the legs and feet are bluish-gray.

Population: The canvasback population is continuing to rebound from the low levels experienced in the late 1980s and early ’90s caused by loss of breeding/wintering habitat and lead poisoning due to ingestion of spent shot while feeding (this threat should gradually disappear with the lead shot ban). In 2009, a population survey by the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife showed an increase in canvasbacks from 488,000 to 662,000, after a hunting ban on the birds during the 2008-‘09 waterfowl season.

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This video is about 6 minutes long; it’s about the rapidly shrinking grasslands in the American Midwest and the importance of conserving it.

There are some ring-necked ducks really rocking out in here.

Importance To Waterfowl:

• Millions of ducks and geese pass through the grasslands each spring, nesting in the grass
• Nest success and hen mortality during breeding are the most important factors responsible for change in mid-continent mallard populations
• Provides important breeding habitat for pintails, mallards, gadwall, blue-winged teal, shovelers, canvasbacks, and redheads

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Northern Pintail Ducks

Average length: M 25”, F 21.4”
Average weight: M 2.26 lbs., F 1.91 lbs.

Description: Northern pintails are long, slender ducks with long, narrow wings, earning them the nickname “greyhound of the air.” Pintails are named for their elongated central tail feathers, which constitute one-fourth of the drake’s body length. Male northern pintails have a chocolate-brown head with a white stripe on each side of the neck extending up from the white breast and belly. The back is blackish-gray and the rump has a white patch on each side. Two of the long central tail feathers are black while the others are gray margined by white. In flight, an iridescent greenish-black speculum is displayed. The bill is blue-gray with a black stripe along the center to the tip, and the legs and feet are slate-gray. The male has a mellow whistled “kwee” or “kwee-hee.” Female northern pintails have a dark-brown upper body with a buff or gray head and lower body. The speculum is a dull brown or bronze. The bill is blue-gray blotched with black, and the legs and feet are slate-gray. Female vocalization is a hoarse, muffled “quack.”

Population: Pintails once were one of the most abundant ducks in North America but have suffered a disturbing decline since the 1950s. In 2009, the breeding population was estimated at 3.2 million birds, substantially below the North American Waterfowl Management Plan objective of 5.5 million. More than any other North American waterfowl species, the northern pintail population has suffered from persistent drought and loss of grassland habitat in the Prairie Pothole Region.

Food habits: Pintails dabble and up-end to feed on the seeds and nutlets of moist-soil and aquatic plants. They also make extensive use of waste grain.

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