Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Usage examples of "canvas-back".
New Orleans, or eaten himself ill, as we nearly did ourselves, on a generous mixture of clam-chowder, terrapin, soft-shelled crabs, Jersey peaches, canvas-backed ducks, Catawba wine, winter cherries, brandy cocktails, strawberry-shortcake, ice-creams, corn-dodger, and a judicious brew commonly known as a Colorado corpse-reviver.
Terrapin and canvas-backs, champagne, and Nesselrode pudding are all a jumble in his mind this minute.
But canvas-back ducks and terrapins are the great glories of Baltimore.
Not one of your silly, brainless chits who don't know the difference between lobster Newburg and canvas-back duck, and who prefer sweet champagne to dry.
When the boat was loaded with oysters, its principal cargo, the captain could usually find space on deck for a few last-minute barrels crammed with ducks: mallards, redheads, canvas-backs and, the juiciest of all, the black.
The only indication Jake caught that his partner was up to something came one dawn when he helped lift mallards and canvas-backs from Tim’s skiff.