Tim Martel, age 11, of Providence, R.I., for his question:

WHY DO WE CALL IT A CANVASBACK DUCK?

A canvasback is a large duck of North America that dives under water to get the plants it eats from the bottoms of ponds and lakes. The canvasback gets its name from the canvas colored body of the male bird.

In addition to the canvas colored body, the male has a reddish brown head and black collar around his breast. The female is gray and brown.

The canvasback makes its home from Nevada east to Nebraska, and north as far as Alaska. In winter it flies to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States.

The canvasback is a large bird. It measures from 20 to 24 inches in length and weighs from two to three pounds.

The birds usually build their nests in clumps of weeds and grass in marshes. They line the nests with gray down and lay seven or more greenish or olive gray eggs.

Canvasbacks cannot fly while they are growing new feathers after the nesting season. At other times they can fly high and fast, often traveling in v shaped lines. The ducks have a fine flavor and hunters prize them.