Nature & Environment

Rare black flamingo spotted in Cyprus

By T.K. Randall
April 10, 2015 ·  14 comments

Flamingos often gather in flocks of several thousand. Image Credit: CC BY 2.0 Pedros Szekely The bird, which was observed feeding alongside other flamingos on the banks of a salt lake on Wednesday, could be the only one of its kind ever recorded. Its distinct black color is thought to be the result of a genetic condition known as melanism which causes it to generate too much of the pigment malanin.

Wildlife experts believe that the bird could be the same one that was spotted in Israel last year.

"A melanistic individual is a very, very rare sighting," said Pantelis Charilaou, head of the environmental department of the British Sovereign Bases in Cyprus.

"Basically its the opposite of an albino when the individual produces more melanin than normal."


Source: Reuters | Comments (14)

Tags: Flamingo, Cyprus