A Black Flamingo Spotted In Cyprus May Be The Only One Of Its Kind Ever Seen

The unique bird was seen in the Mediterranean island nation among a group of other flamingos.

A black flamingo that was spotted among its pink-colored friends may be the first of its kind ever seen, experts say.

The unique bird was seen last week at a salt lake at the Akrotiri Environmental Centre in Cyprus, Reuters reported.

Experts think there may have only been one other sighting of a black flamingo. That sighting was in Israel in 2014.

They say that this new sighting may be of the same bird that was seen in Israel, Reuters reported.

Scientists spot what could be the ONLY black flamingo in the whole world http://t.co/RSGcBLVpAp

The flamingo is likely afflicted with a condition called melanism.

The condition leads to an overproduction of melanin, which darkens the bird's skin.

"A melanistic individual is a very, very rare sighting ... basically its the opposite of an albino when the individual produces more melanin than normal," Pantelis Charilaou, the head of the environmental department of the British Sovereign Bases, told Reuters.

Skip to footer