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Nature experts believe this could be the world's only black flamingo captured on camera after pictures of the bizarre-looking bird were shot in Cyprus.

It is thought the bird could have an extremely rare genetic skin condition called known as melanism which affects the skin pigments.

The condition is so unusual no photographer has ever managed to capture a shot of a black flamingo and it is believed this bird could be the same one spotted by nature enthusiasts in Isreal last year.

The shots were taken at a salt lake near the British RAF base at Akrotiri on the island's south coast.

(Image: REUTERS/Marinos Meletiou)

The birds are usually a pink or reddish colour, largely because of their diet of animal and plant plankton

Pantelis Charilaou, head of the environmental department of the British Sovereign Bases, said: "A melanistic individual is a genetic anomaly, basically, it's the opposite of an albino, and it is a case when the individual produces more melanin than normal."