Rare, One-of-a-Kind Black Flamingo Spotted in Cyprus

A rare black flamingo has been spotted earlier this week in Cyprus, near a British base. This one of a kind bird has been last sighted in Israel back in 2014, and it is believed that it is the same one which has been seen in Cyprus:



Source: www.theweathernetwork.com...

These majestic birds are usually pink, a colour caused by their alimentation - the shrimps they eat contain the pigment. But it would seem that this particular individual has melanism, a condition which is the exact opposite of albinism - that is, melanism is characterized by the over-production of black pigment.

In the footage above the bird can be seen feeding along with its fellow pink flamingos.

a reply to: swanne

Definitely the black sheep, erm uh flamingo.

"Hey! That guy is black, not like us"

"So what?...He's still a flamingo"

1st rule of Flamingos!

Jude11

a reply to: swanne

That is pretty awesome!

Its a Flamingcrow!

God I am terrible today! Seriously though, coolest looking one out of the whole flock if you ask me! Stealth Flamingo for the win!

I wonder if he get's singled out by majority pink flamingo cops...

originally posted by: jude11
"Hey! That guy is black, not like us"

"So what?...He's still a flamingo"

1st rule of Flamingos!

Jude11

He's lucky. Other animals aren't so nice to the weirdos because they stand out. It has to do with whether or not the black/white individuals are in an animal population that values being able to hide I think.

I know I've read that albino white tailed deer tend to not be accepted by the others.

a reply to: swanne

Dont mean to bust anyones bubbe but could that Flamingo have been painted or sprayed black?

It is possible.

On the other hand, if it is indeed black flamingo, this reminds me of the Film 'Black Swan' which is a good Film btw.

a reply to: TruthxIsxInxThexMist

Melanistic animals do occur. There is a small town up in our neck of the woods that advertises its black squirrels. They have an entire population of melanistic red squirrels. Also, melanistic leopards/jaguars are relatively common.

You just hear about melanism less than albinosm, probably because it tends to stand out less.

a reply to: TruthxIsxInxThexMist
I don't know much about flamingos, but most birds are subject to periodic molting and feather loss, so it probably would have lost its black feathers if they were painted on

Valued at....OMG where is my gun? I sure hope they didn't say where this was filmed.

originally posted by: TrueBrit

Its a Flamingcrow!

Ooh, nice one mate!