Woman Snaps Photo Of Endangered Bird And Realizes She's Captured The Strangest Optical Illusion

Franziska Speck knew she needed to take some pictures as a flock of Eastern curlew came to land on the sand at Oyster Point in Queensland, Australia. Being able to observe and record these big shorebirds is undoubtedly a rare opportunity, especially considering that they only spend a limited amount of time in Australia each year.

According to Speck, “the Eastern curlew visits our mudflats and sandy beaches during the summer.”

The birds were in the midst of a feeding frenzy, with an emphasis on the frenzy, making it difficult to snap pictures. Speck tried her best, nevertheless, and hoped she had taken a few decent images. She was happy to find that most of the pictures turned out well as she went through them, but then she came across one that told a completely different tale.

“About 50 to 60 birds were coming in to land, so I took a few pictures and, when I looked at the pictures, I said, ‘Wow,'” Speck said.

The Eastern curlew in the picture appears to have two beaks—one in the front and one in the back—at first glance. It’s such an odd and intriguing picture, and the timing was hilarious.

It appears that another bird had either landed or was flying by behind the subject of the photograph, and somehow, Speck managed to capture the moment when the second bird was precisely positioned behind the first, with only his beak remaining visible. When Speck first saw the picture, she couldn’t stop laughing because it is an extremely uncommon, once-in-a-lifetime shot.