The ring ouzel (Turdus torquatus) is a medium-sized thrush, breeding
mainly in Europe. Males are mostly black with a white crescent across
the breast, females are browner and duller than males, and young birds
may lack chest markings. A high-altitude bird, it breeds in open
mountain areas with some trees or shrubs, often including heather or
juniper. It is migratory, wintering in southern Europe, northern Africa
and Turkey, often in mountains with juniper. A typical clutch of three
to six brown-flecked pale blue or greenish eggs is incubated by the
female and hatches after 13 days. The downy chicks fledge in another 14
days. The thrush is omnivorous, eating invertebrates, particularly
insects and earthworms, some small vertebrates, and a wide range of
fruit. Most animal prey is caught on the ground. With an extensive range
and a large population, the ring ouzel is evaluated as a least-concern
species by the IUCN. There are declines in several countries, perhaps
due to climate change or human disturbance.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_ouzel>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1888:
One of the first music recordings ever made, of Arthur
Sullivan's "The Lost Chord" (audio featured), was played at a press
conference introducing Thomas Edison's phonograph in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Chord>
1941:
After a secret meeting in Newfoundland, British prime minister
Winston Churchill and U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the
Atlantic Charter, establishing a vision for a post–World War II
world.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Charter>
1971:
The English rock band the Who released Who's Next, the group's
only album to top the UK charts.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_Next>
2013:
Egyptian security forces raided two camps of ousted president
Mohamed Morsi's supporters in Cairo, leading to at least 595 deaths and
forcing the government to declare a state of emergency.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_2013_Rabaa_massacre>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
en masse:
In a single body or group; as one, together.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/en_masse>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
God save the pennon, ragged to the dawn, That signs to moon to
stand, and sun to fly; And flutters when the weak is overborne To stem
the tide of fate and certainty. That knows not reason, and that seeks
no fame — So! Undismayed beneath the serried clouds, Raise up the
banner of forlorn defence — A jest to the complacency of crowds —
Bright-haloed with the one diviner sense: To hold itself as nothing to
itself; And in the quest of its imagined star To lose all thought of
after-recompense!
--John Galsworthy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Galsworthy>
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