Guys, guys, come back – the black flamingo fails to blend in with the crowd (AP Photo/Pavlos Vrionides)

Ever feel like the odd one out? Then, spare a thought for the very rare black flamingo.

The black, er, bird of the family stood out like a sore thumb earlier this week while feeding with its pink feathered buddies by a salt lake in southern Cyprus.

Its extremely rare dark feathers are apparently caused by a genetic condition known as ‘melanism’. The condition means the bird produces more melanin than usual, turning its feathers black.

The flamingos were spotted at the lake next to the British RAF base at Akrotiri, close to the resort city of Limassol.


They’re believed to have stopped off on the Mediterranean island on their way back to summer breeding grounds in Turkey – to feed on brine shrimp.

Spot the odd one out (AP Photo/Pavlos Vrionides)

Alexia Perdiou, the RAF base’s assistant environment officer, said it was a one-of-a-kind spot.



‘Of course we are all very excited because we believe it could be the only flamingo of its kind in the world and very little is known about it,’ she said.

‘We are expecting a lot of visitors over the next few days.’

Experts think it may be the same flamingo spotted in Israel in 2014.

Martin Hellicar, from the conservation group BirdLife Cyprus said that while the black-coloured flamingo wasn’t unique, none have been spotted in Cyprus in recent memory.

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