Aythya valisineria

The canvasback duck is a true "pochard," a diving duck with legs set far back and far apart. They run on top of the water when taking off.

The name canvasback comes from the old market hunting days on the Chesapeake and Delaware bays on the East Coast.

Canvasbacks were a predominant duck on the big bays. Market hunters packed them in canvas sacks with "Canvas Back" stenciled on the sides, meaning they wanted the sacks back after they were taken to market. Chefs thought it was the name of the duck inside the sack, since they have a pale gray back, sides and white on the belly.

They breed in prairie potholes and winter on ocean bays. They are distinguished from redheaded and other ducks from the sloping profile of their head to the tip of their mandible.

The canvasback population has fluctuated widely. Their numbers hit a low in the 1980s when they were listed as a species of special concern.

They rebounded in the 1990s with great increases in population. Currently, the ponds around the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area Nature Center are loaded with canvasbacks.

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* BILL FENIMORE is owner of the Layton Wild Bird Center (www.wildbird.com/layton).

Join the Wild Bird Center's free bird walk Saturday at the Stokes Nature Center in Logan Canyon at 1 p.m. The walk will be followed by a book signing with Bill Fenimore on his Backyard Birds of Utah Guide.