CRESTED DOMESTIC DUCKS 



R. W. Shufeldt 

 Washington, D. C. 



VARIOUS species of ducks in na- 

 ture are crested, their crests be- 

 ing, as a rule, composed of 

 elongate, soft, feathers, directed back- 

 wards, and only partially raised dvn"ing 

 certain moods of the bird. Mandarin 

 ducks of the Orient possess such a 

 crest, as does, to some extent, our 

 own wood duck. However, no wild 

 duck known to me has such a crest 

 as the one shown in the illustration. 

 I brought this bird home alive from 

 Center Market. Washington. D. C. 

 early in November. 1922. it being a 

 drake mallard of great size, doubtless 

 due to the fact that it came from a 

 stock into which had been bred other 

 species noted for that character. 



At the middle point at the back of 

 the head of this mallard was a soft, 

 roundish ball of feathers, which has 

 generallv been referred to as a 

 "crest;" though, as a matter of fact, 

 it is no such crest as we meet with 

 among wild ducks or their near allies, 

 such as the hooded merganser and 

 those anserine species that possess soft 

 and drooping crests. Many ducks are 

 exposed for sale in the Center Market 

 at all times of the year, and I pass, 

 almost daily, the place where a great 

 many of them may be seen in crates ; 

 but I may say that in the course of a 

 year or so I have not observed more 

 than three or four having such a crest 

 as is here shown in the figure. I 

 borrowed the bird from the dealer, 

 made the photograph of which the 

 accompanying figure is a reproduction, 

 and returned the loan. 



Now comes the question as to how 

 such a crest could have originated in 

 a line of ducks, either ferine or do- 

 mesticated, when thev are noted for 



being especially devoid of such a fea- 

 ture. No mallard in nature ever ex- 

 hibited such a crest — nor does any 

 other species, in so far as I am 

 aware. Breeders of domestic ducks 

 appear to be entirely ignorant of its 

 origin ; they say it is a "freak." which 

 means nothing. The statement fails 

 to explain anything ; and. freak or no 

 freak, it must have arisen somehow. 



In referring to this particular char- 

 acter. Darwin made the statement that 

 in some ducks "a tuft of feathers on 

 the head is by no means a rare occur- 

 rence ; namely, in the true tufted breed, 

 the hook-billed, the common farmyard 

 duck, and in a duck having no other 

 peculiarity which was sent to me from 

 the Malayan Archipelago. The tuft 

 is onlv so far interesting as it af- 

 fects the skull, which is thus rendered 

 slightly more globular, and is perfo- 

 rated by numerous apertures."* This 

 statement in no way explains the 

 origin, or probable origin, of such a 

 crest ; and it further complicates the 

 question through announcing what is 

 to be found in the skull of ducks pos- 

 sessing such a crest. 



Up to the present time I have not 

 examined the skull of a duck having 

 one of these feathery topknots — in 

 any event it is quite secondary to the 

 matter of the presence of the crest 

 and the manner of its origin. I note 

 that Darwin did not take up that 

 matter ; and so far as I know, he 

 left no explanation as to how such 

 a crest came about. 



Should any reader of The Journal 

 of Heredity possesses information on 

 this point. I would be very glad to 

 know about it. 



* Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I, p. 339. 



227 



