STERLING, Conn. -- It's not unusual for calves to have markings on their foreheads, but a calf born a week ago at a farm in Sterling gives a new meaning to the term "unusual."

When the calf was first born, Brad Davis, the calf's owner, didn't see anything unusual about it.

Davis said, "At first we didn't notice his marking, until later in the day and his fur dried and then it went back into position and the hair straightened out. That's when we noticed we had something special here."

Something special indeed.

The calf, which is mostly brown, had an all-white cross in the middle of its forehead.

Davis said, "Well, I think it's maybe a message from up above. I'm not sure. We're still trying to figure that out."

Megan Johnson of Sterling said, "Well I wasn't surprised. I wasn't surprised at all because the dairy industry has needed a miracle for a long time and this is it. I think it's divine intervention, personally. I'm in the breeding business and I know about reproduction and genetics and I don't think this could happen again in a million cows."

Whatever the cause, the effect of the apparent cross on the calf's forehead has been a cause for conjecture and lots of affection.