Pied Mallard?

[chickiepooh]

I noticed this Mallard drake and a hen in my pond this morning. I have never seen anything like this in the wild. Could it be a 'pet' that got away or does this kind of mutation happen in mallards often?

 

[DuckLady]

I have a drake that is a mallard something cross and while he is mostly black, his pattern is like the one you show.

Yours might be a mallard campbell cross
or (though it really doesn't look like it) the drake might be going into or out of his eclipse molt.

 

[Mike_Winters]

no thats just what happens when a domestic duck mates with a mallard

 

[Picco]

It could just be a natural color mutation, but he's likely a cross between a wild mallard and a domestic duck.