A rare black flamingo amazed bird watchers when it was spotted feeding among a group of the traditionally pink birds in Cyprus . The migratory bird was spotted at a salt lake near the British RAF base at Akrotiri on the island 's south coast close to the resort city of Limassol . Normally , the graceful birds have a pink hue caused by the levels of beto-Carotene in their diet . Scroll down for video . Ruffling feathers : The unusual black flamingo was spotted near the coastal city of Limassol on Cyprus by birdwatchers . Alexia Perdiou , the base 's assistant environment officer , said it could be one-of-a-kind . '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 . ' A black flamingo was reportedly last spotted in Israel in 2014 and aside from its colour , it is no different to the hundreds of pink flamingos which flock to the salt lakes of Cyprus every spring . Experts believe a rare genetic irregularity known as `` melanism '' can generate more melanin than usual , turning a flamingo 's feathers a dark colour . Migrating : The bird looked very healthy despite its unusual hue and is believed to be heading to Turkey to breed . Martin Hellicar of the conservation group BirdLife Cyprus said the black-coloured flamingo was not unique , though acknowledged they were uncommon in the Mediterranean . He said it was probably migrating to its breeding area in Turkey after spending the winter elsewhere . He added that the flamingo stopped on its journey in the salt lake to feed on brine shrimp .
Bird watchers photographed the rare bird near British RAF base at Akrotiri on the island 's south coast . The last recorded sighting of a black flamingo was in Israel in 2014 . Dark colouring thought to be caused by genetic irregularity where it can generate more melanin than usual .