The King Vulture is a large Central and South American bird in the New
World vulture family Cathartidae. This vulture lives predominantly in
tropical lowland forests stretching from southern Mexico to northern
Argentina, though some believe that William Bartram's Painted Vulture
of Florida may be of this species. It is the only surviving member of
the genus Sarcoramphus, though fossil members are known. It is large
and predominantly white, with gray to black ruff, flight, and tail
feathers. Its head and neck are bald, with the skin color varying,
including yellow, orange, blue, purple, and red. The King Vulture has a
very noticeable yellow fleshy caruncle on its beak. This vulture is a
scavenger and it often makes the initial cut into a fresh carcass. It
also displaces smaller New World Vulture species from a carcass. King
Vultures have been known to live for up to 30 years in captivity. King
Vultures were popular figures in the Mayan codices as well as in local
folklore and medicine. Though currently listed as Least Concern by the
IUCN, they are declining in number, due primarily to habitat loss.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Vulture>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1791:
French inventor Claude Chappe and his brothers first demonstrated the
semaphore line, a signaling system of conveying information by means of
visual signals, using towers with pivoting shutters, also known as
blades or paddles.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/semaphore_line>
1836:
Texas Revolution: At a convention in Washington-on-the-Brazos, the
Mexican state of Texas adopted a declaration of independence from
Mexico, establishing the Republic of Texas.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Declaration_of_Independence>
1865:
Second Taranaki War: Protestant missionary Carl Sylvius Völkner died at
the hands of Hauhau militants in Opotiki for working as an agent for
George Grey, Governor-General of New Zealand.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkner_Incident>
1943:
World War II: Australian and American air forces attacked and destroyed
a large convoy of the Japanese Navy at the Battle of the Bismarck Sea
in the Bismarck Sea north of the island of Papua New Guinea.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bismarck_Sea>
1962:
American basketball player Wilt Chamberlain (pictured), then playing
for the Philadelphia Warriors, scored 100 points in a game against the
New York Knicks at Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, still a
record in the National Basketball Association today.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain%27s_100-point_game>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
hirsute (adj):
Covered in hair or bristles; hairy
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hirsute>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I'm telling you this 'cause you're one of my friends.
My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!
... So, on beyond Z!
It's high time you were shown
That you really don't know
All there is to be known.
--Dr. Seuss
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dr._Seuss>