Most People See A Black Crow In This Picture – But What Is It Really?

Aug 13, 2019 by apost team

A new picture has been making the rounds on the Internet. It’s a simple picture of what seems to be somebody’s pet crow standing on the floor in their house.

The funny thing is that it isn’t a crow. In fact, it’s not even a bird.

Robert Maguire found the picture on Reddit and then posted it on Twitter in October 2018. Over time, it gained over 164,000 likes and 58,000 retweets. Thousands of people wondered what the creature was. It was jet-black and had a single yellowish eye. It also seemed to have a beak – except that it didn’t look quite right for a crow’s beak.

Crows all belong to the genus Corvus, which includes over 40 species. They can be found in every continent except South America and Antarctica. Some species, like the Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides), do indeed have yellowish eyes.

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Thousands of people posted their speculations as to what the “crow” was. Maguire finally posted the answer.

The picture didn’t depict a bird at all, but a solid black cat that had twisted its head upside down and at an angle.

The oddly shaped “beak” is actually one of the cat’s ears. The cat-as-crow illusion was further aided by the composition of the picture that didn’t include the cat’s tail – which would have given away the game completely. People thus saw what seemed to be a bird with glossy black feathers and guessed they were looking at a crow.

Optical illusions have a long history, and they seem to be enjoying another heyday thanks to the Internet. They can be fun, and the more elaborate ones are impressive. They can also encourage people to pay closer attention to their surroundings and to not jump to conclusions.

Sharpening one’s observation skills can increase the chances of seeing something interesting and of improving one’s relationships with others. People do appreciate it when others notice changes in their lives.

Have you seen this particular optical illusion before? What animal did you see first? Please tell us about other fun optical illusions you might know and don't forget to pass this one along to your friends and family.