About Cache & Park:
This Series Is In The Critterville Park In Richlands Va. All Caches In The Series Are Near The Walking Trail. Bring Your Own Pen. This Is A High Muggle Area So Be Cautious When Retrieving And Replacing The Caches. Please Place Back As you Found So Everyone Can Have The Same Experience As You. Enjoy Feel Free To Message Me If You Need Help.
Placed with permission of Town Parks dept.
About Bird:
Canvasback Aythya valisineria
ORDER: Anseriformes
FAMILY: Anatidae
BASIC DESCRIPTION
Often called the aristocrat of ducks, the Canvasback holds its long sloping forehead high with a distinguished look. Males stand out with a rusty head and neck and a gleaming whitish body bookended in black. Females are pale brown overall, but that Canvasback head shape still gives them away. This diving duck eats plant tubers at the bottom of lakes and wetlands. It breeds in lakes and marshes and winters by the thousands on freshwater lakes and coastal waters.
- Cool Facts
- The species name of the Canvasback, valisineria, comes from Vallisneria americana, or wild celery, whose winter buds and stems are the duck’s preferred food during the nonbreeding period.
- In the world of ducks, females abide by the saying, “don't put all your eggs in one basket.” Female Canvasbacks sometimes lay eggs in another Canvasback's nest; and Redheads and Ruddy Ducks sometimes lay their eggs in a Canvasback's nest.
- The oldest recorded Canvasback was a male, and at least 22 years, 7 months old when he was shot in California in 1991. He had been banded in the same state in 1969.