Bizarre illusion divides the internet: Do you see a cat or a crow?

What image do you see first? Photo / Twitter

A simple picture of a pet owner's cat has become the subject of a vigorous debate after it went viral on social media overnight.

At first glance, the image shared by Twitter user Robert Maguire, appears to show the side profile of a crow on a tiled floor.

However, as the uploader pointed out this isn't the case. Captioning the image he wrote: "This picture of a crow is interesting because … it's actually a cat."

On closer inspection, you can clearly see the image shows a black cat looking up at the camera with its head tilted so its ear looks like a bird's beak.

This picture of a crow is interesting because...it's actually a cat pic.twitter.com/dWqdnSL4KD

— Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) October 28, 2018

Mr Maguire's picture has now prompted more than 123,000 reactions and more than 42,000 shares by baffled Twitter netizens.

"My mind has been blown," wrote one user.

"I had to do a double take," wrote another.

Others pointed out similarities to another famous optical illusion, the duck or the hare, which can say a lot about your brain depending on what you see.