Mind-boggling optical illusion baffles the internet: Raven or rabbit?

A mind-boggling video reminiscent of a famous optical illusion has sparked a furious debate online - is it a raven or a rabbit? Photo / Twitter

A mind-boggling video reminiscent of a famous optical illusion has sparked a furious debate online — is it a raven or a rabbit?

Dan Quintana, a biological psychiatry researcher at the University of Oslo, shared a video on Twitter on Monday of him stroking an animal.

Rabbits love getting stroked on their nose pic.twitter.com/aYOZGAY6kP

— Dan Quintana (@dsquintana) August 18, 2019

"Rabbits love getting stroked on their nose," he captioned the post.

At first, it looks like he is scratching a raven's head, but the caption caused a hilarious discussion online as the video speaks similarly to the duck or rabbit phenomenon.

OH MY GOD. A real life version of the classic illusion illustration. pic.twitter.com/RX0Dfi4Z37

— Scott Matthewman 🏳️‍🌈🇪🇺🎭 (@scottm) August 19, 2019

pic.twitter.com/69qPk87yss

— Brainoscience 🧠 (@brainoscience) August 18, 2019

ok so I posted this on your fb too, but gotta make sure people appreciate it here too haha pic.twitter.com/zFl1uEvmDi

— Dani Crain studies whales (@DCrainium) August 18, 2019

pic.twitter.com/IeWEPVE5bW

— ShadowSpade (@ShadowSpadeXIV) August 19, 2019

However, some believed it was a raven, sharing ironic photos of their pet rabbits as well.

Here's my rabbit pic.twitter.com/KuSGNOAAQR

— 2020 - The Year The Earth Stood Still (@TourguideStan) August 18, 2019

My rabbit loves too. pic.twitter.com/EDkcHT50eu

— Cécile B (@cecile__b) August 19, 2019

The pet owner eventually eased the minds of those wondering what species it was, revealing it was indeed a raven.

"The animal is a bird, as you can see a translucent nictitating membrane when it blinks, which sweeps across the eye horizontally, he said.

"When it comes to the actual species of bird, I'm pretty confident that it is a white-necked raven."