Bird
Canvasback
Aythya valisineria
A winter visitor to Louisiana, found in all 64 parishes and 10 habitats.
- Here
- Winter
- Nesting
- Not known to nest here
- Range
- All 64 parishes
- Habitats
- 10

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- Winter
- Nesting
- Not known to nest here
- Range
- All 64 parishes
- Habitats
- 10
- Habitat models
- Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in Louisiana 10
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.
Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.
Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)
Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.
Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.
Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.
Salt and brackish open water of sounds, bays and estuaries, with the mud and sand flats and seagrass beds that tides cover and uncover; the vegetated marsh is salt and brackish marshes.
Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.
Other habitats in its models (39)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Louisiana. Those recorded in Louisiana first, the rest by region.
Elsewhere in the South (20)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
- Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Winter.
- Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Winter.
- Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
- South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Winter.
- South-Central Interior Large Floodplain Winter.
- Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
- Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Winter.
Northeast (1)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Winter.
Land cover and other classes (18)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Winter.
- Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter, only within 30 m of water.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Winter.
- Open Water (Aquaculture) Winter.
- South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Winter.
- South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Winter.
- Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Winter.
- Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Winter.
- Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Winter.
- Unconsolidated Shore Winter.
- Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Winter.
Seasons in Louisiana
- Winter: does not nest here, in all 64 parishes.
Food plants
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.
Native plants in these genera 68
- Sago PondweedStuckenia pectinata
- Broadleaf ArrowheadSagittaria latifolia
- Broad Leaf Arrow HeadSagittaria latifolia var. latifolia
- Bull-tongue ArrowheadSagittaria lancifolia
- Chapman's ArrowheadSagittaria chapmanii
- Delta ArrowheadSagittaria platyphylla
- Grassy ArrowheadSagittaria graminea
- Longbeak ArrowheadSagittaria australis
- Delta BulrushSchoenoplectus deltarum
- California BulrushSchoenoplectus californicus
- Canby's BulrushSchoenoplectus etuberculatus
- Common Three Square BulrushSchoenoplectus pungens
- Olney's ThreesquareSchoenoplectus americanus
- Softstem BulrushSchoenoplectus tabernaemontani
- Clasping-leaf PondweedPotamogeton perfoliatus
- Leafy PondweedPotamogeton foliosus
- Longleaf PondweedPotamogeton nodosus
- Ribbonleaf PondweedPotamogeton epihydrus
- Small PondweedPotamogeton pusillus
- Spotted PondweedPotamogeton pulcher
- Waterthread PondweedPotamogeton diversifolius
- American EelgrassVallisneria americana
- Cryptic FlatsedgeCyperus cephalanthus
- Cyperus digitatusCyperus digitatus
Plant genera in its diet records (11)
- Stuckenia Roots and leaves. 8 diet records. 1 native plant in Louisiana
- Sagittaria Roots. 5 diet records. 7 native plants in Louisiana
- Schoenoplectus Seeds and roots. 3 diet records. 6 native plants in Louisiana
- Potamogeton Seeds. 2 diet records. 7 native plants in Louisiana
- Vallisneria Flowers and leaves. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Louisiana
- Chara Leaves. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Louisiana
- Cyperus Roots. 1 diet record. 32 native plants in Louisiana
- Lemna Leaves. 1 diet record. 6 native plants in Louisiana
- Polygonum Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Louisiana
- Ruppia 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Louisiana
- Scirpus Seeds. 1 diet record. 5 native plants in Louisiana
Also found in its main habitats
Its main habitats in Louisiana, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Birds 124
- Black-chinned HummingbirdArchilochus alexandri
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- Bell's VireoVireo bellii
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- AnhingaAnhinga anhinga
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
Plants 267
- Elliott's BlueberryVaccinium elliottii
- Possumhaw HollyIlex decidua
- Cherrybark OakQuercus pagoda
- Shagbark HickoryCarya ovata
- PondberryLindera melissifolia
- Blunt Broom SedgeCarex tribuloides
- Louisiana SedgeCarex louisianica
- Smooth Hedge-nettleStachys tenuifolia
- Common Cup-plantSilphium perfoliatum
- Heartleaf NettleUrtica chamaedryoides
- Clustered FescueFestuca paradoxa
- American BladdernutStaphylea trifolia
Coastal dunes and beaches
Birds 139
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Marbled GodwitLimosa fedoa
- Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseus
- Sooty TernOnychoprion fuscatus
- Black RailLaterallus jamaicensis
- Horned LarkEremophila alpestris
- Nelson's Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus nelsoni
- Purple MartinProgne subis
- Red KnotCalidris canutus
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
- Seaside SparrowAmmodramus maritimus
Plants 84
- Beach Morning-gloryIpomoea imperati
- Southern Seaside SpurgeEuphorbia bombensis
- Mound-lily YuccaYucca gloriosa
- Northern Seabeach OrachAtriplex mucronata
- Dune Marsh-elderIva imbricata
- Pinewoods FingergrassEustachys petraea
- Sea OatsUniola paniculata
- Beach Evening-primroseOenothera drummondii
- Saltwater False-willowBaccharis angustifolia
- Gulf CrotonCroton punctatus
- CamphorweedHeterotheca subaxillaris
- Cottony Golden-asterChrysopsis gossypina
Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Birds 179
- Black TernChlidonias niger
- Black-chinned HummingbirdArchilochus alexandri
- BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorus
- Bronzed CowbirdMolothrus aeneus
- Black RailLaterallus jamaicensis
- Chestnut-sided WarblerDendroica pensylvanica
- DickcisselSpiza americana
- Magnolia WarblerDendroica magnolia
- Nelson's Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus nelsoni
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Rufous HummingbirdSelasphorus rufus
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
Plants 20
- Slender FimbryFimbristylis autumnalis
- Purple SpikerushEleocharis atropurpurea
- Blue MistflowerConoclinium coelestinum
- BagpodGlottidium vesicarium
- Tropical FlatsedgeCyperus surinamensis
- Blunt Spike RushEleocharis obtusa
- False DaisyEclipta prostrata
- Bristly SedgeCarex comosa
- Shortbeak BeaksedgeRhynchospora nitens
- Southern Marsh YellowcressRorippa teres
- Sensitive FernOnoclea sensibilis
- Ditch FimbryFimbristylis schoenoides
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for Canvasback
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001), modeled by watershed; migratory gives no dates
- NatureServe Explorer (CC BY 4.0), habitat names
- US Census TIGER/Line counties
- Names follow the USGS Gap Analysis Project (2001)
- Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab) (CC0 1.0), diet records by plant genus


































































