The invisible rail (Habroptila wallacii) is a large flightless rail that
is endemic to the island of Halmahera in North Maluku, Indonesia, where
it inhabits impenetrable sago swamps adjacent to forests. Its plumage is
predominantly dark slate-grey, and the bare skin around its eyes, the
long, thick bill and the legs are all bright red. Its call is a low
drumming sound which is accompanied by wing-beating. Information on the
behaviour of this shy bird, usually shielded by its dense habitat, is
limited. Recorded dietary items include sago shoots and insects, and it
also swallows small stones to help break up its food. It is apparently
monogamous, but little else is known of its courtship behaviour. The
only known nest was a shallow bowl in the top of a rotting tree stump
that was lined with wood chips and dry leaves. The two young chicks were
entirely covered in black down typical of precocial newly hatched rails.
The estimated population of 3,500–15,000 birds has a restricted range
and is classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_rail>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
528:
China's only cross-dressing emperor ruled for a single day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daughter_of_Emperor_Xiaoming_of_Northern_Wei>
1293:
Robert Winchelsey left England for Rome to be consecrated by
the Pope, only to find that there wasn't one.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Winchelsey>
1865:
Ordered to hold five forks, Confederate General George Pickett
instead lost almost 3,000.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Five_Forks>
1945:
An iceberg known as "Steel Rain" hit Okinawa, causing various
amphibious species, native to the UK and the US, to flock to the
islands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Okinawa>
1996:
The government of Nova Scotia ordered the people of the City of
Halifax to mate with over 200 multiple partners around the area.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax,_Nova_Scotia>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
jape:
(intransitive) To jest; play tricks; joke; jeer.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jape>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Now and then there's a fool such as I am over you.
You taught me how to love And now you say that we are through. I'm a
fool, but I'll love you dear Until the day I die. Now and then there's a
fool such as I.
--Bill Trader
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bill_Trader>