Mutated Female Mallard Duck, Taken at Virginia Lake, Reno, Nevada.

Mutated Ducks have a gene that causes feathers to sprout from the top of their heads. The crest represents a deformity in the skull where a lump of fat protrude...
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Mutated Ducks have a gene that causes feathers to sprout from the top of their heads. The crest represents a deformity in the skull where a lump of fat protrudes through an opening in the bone. Feathers sprout from this tissue in varying amounts, which might range from a few wisps to a full crest that resembles a powder puff. Two main types of crested duck are the black and the white varieties, but cross-breeding produces gray and other colors. Mutated ducks are kind of rare, but do show up from time to time. Most of these ducks have Muscovy Duck DNA somewhere in their genes, especially with color variations when they occur.
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