Can you spot the real owl in this optical illusion?
This optical illusion has stunned bird-lovers – but only one bird is real. Can you tell which one it is?
You’ll need eagle-eyed focus to solve this “bird” search.
Internet birdwatchers are straining their peepers trying to spot the real owl among the stuffed ones in this tricky IRL “I spy”, the New York Post reports.
[Warning: Spoilers below]
“It’s fine with people looking at it and getting used to being admired by the public already,” keeper Trystan Williams, 50, told SWNS of the sneaky bird, which was bred at the Scottish Owl Centre in West Lothian.
On its face, the owl-ptical illusion appears to show a line-up of stuffed hooters of various species with the bona fide Hedwig nowhere in sight. However, upon closer inspection, viewers can pick out the real deal, which is the third bird to the right on the top shelf, and is denoted by its fluffy white countenance and black mask.
The predator in question is a five-week-old chick of a spectacled owl, the largest owl in the Amazon rainforest and the only kind to live there permanently.
“The little one is very sweet-natured,” gushed Williams. “It’s quite curious about the world but very gentle and chilled out.
“Letting people see it will help it stay chilled out and make it the perfect owl ambassador,” he added. This is especially important as the species is currently on the decline, SWNS reported.
Scientists won’t know the baby’s sex until it’s 12 weeks old, at which point its white feathers will turn black and it will develop dark circles around the eyes – hence the species’ name.
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“We would have to get a DNA test done or see how big it is as girls are usually bigger,” the keeper explained, adding that “they grow and change so quickly”.
The centre reportedly boasts four specimens in total, including the aforementioned chick’s parents and big brother, who was reportedly born there in 2020.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
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