ORIGINAL: drgildy
I have raised migratory waterfowl under a federal propagation permit for many years (over 40 years) and see this all the time. It is merely an immature drake mallard as evidenced by the short tail curls. Thegreen on the head comes in in different ways on different drakes.
He's kind of a late bloomer ain't he? Do you think that it may be a young of the year bird that hatched late, or perhaps the product of a re-nest?? I've never seen a bird in eclipse (or anything close to it) after the season has started (bear in mind, I am in the south, my horizons are rather narrow).