Odd looking Drake mallard

[ducksdogsdownriggers]

Picked up this "guy" over the weekend.  Feel like I've read something about this before, but can't find any info.  Any thoughts?

[Goldeneye]

Eclipse plumage.

[bornhunter]

Cross dresser

[daddysprad]

Mom was a pintail.

[plugger]

killed a few like that over the years, we call the hen drakes, but I like the cross dresser comment. Might have to use that.

[bucksnort]

don't ask don't tell

[crazywednesday]

Transgender

Its in transition. Next will be sexual reassignment surgery.

[Blacktail135]

 Don't "mount" it!!!!!!

[AWS]

It's kind of a "Left Coast" thing.

[DOUBLELUNG]

Used to call them hermaphrodites, I guess intersex is the preferred lingo now.  Unusual to see a full green head on one, usually just the top and back of the head.  When I was growing up in New England mallard x black duck hybrids were pretty common, I don't expect that is what that is on this coast though. 

[jagermiester]

That is cool. Could you tell if it had meat and potatoes??

[outdooraddict]

so do you count that in the drake limit or the hen limit, or finish the limit and then decide where you need to count it lol

[singleshot12]

Picked up this "guy"

Did you just assume it's gender?

I've been seeing more of these types of ducks out there. There could be some truth to the fact that maybe "the water is turning the frogs gay"

[npaull]

I wonder if it's a genetic chimera:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimera_(genetics)

Notice how there's that patch on the left breast that has male-type plumage, and then a sharp border into female-type plumage. Makes me think it may be composed of totally different cell lines. It's a pretty cool phenomenon, read the wiki article.

[curtdiesel]

That is a lot more interesting looking than all of the Eclipse drakes I see people posting pictures of