The African river martin (Pseudochelidon eurystomina) is a perching
bird, one of two members of the river martin subfamily of the swallow
family, Hirundinidae. First described by German zoologist Gustav
Hartlaub in 1861, the African river martin was not at first recognised
as a swallow, but was later placed in a separate subfamily shared with
the Asian white-eyed river martin. A large swallow with a variety of
unmusical calls, it is mainly black with a blue-green gloss to the head
and a greener tint to the back and wings, and has red eyes, a broad
orange-red bill and a square black tail. Young birds are similar in
appearance, but with browner plumage. It displays both in flight and on
the ground. The main breeding areas are in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo along the Congo River and its tributary, the Ubangi, in
habitats characterised by a mixture of tropical forest types including
swampy or seasonally flooded woodland. The African river martin is
migratory, wintering in coastal savanna in southern Gabon and the
Republic of the Congo. It nests in burrows in sand banks, and in winter
digs tunnels for night-time shelter.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_river_martin>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
628:
Khosrow II, the last great king of the Sasanian Empire, was
overthrown by his son Kavadh II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khosrow_II>
1570:
Pope Pius V issued the papal bull Regnans in Excelsis to
excommunicate Queen Elizabeth I and her followers in the Church of
England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regnans_in_Excelsis>
1870:
Representing Mississippi in the Senate, Hiram Rhodes Revels
became the first African American to serve in the United States
Congress.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Rhodes_Revels>
1956:
In his speech "On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences"
to the 20th Party Congress, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced
the personality cult and dictatorship of his predecessor Joseph Stalin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Cult_of_Personality_and_Its_Consequences>
1986:
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda were
ousted from power by the non-violent People Power Revolution, with
Corazon Aquino taking over the government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_Power_Revolution>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
satisfice:
(social sciences, intransitive) Of human behavior: to make a choice that
suffices to fulfill the minimum requirements to achieve an objective,
without special regard for utility maximization or optimization of one's
preferences.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/satisfice>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I look at you all — see the love there that's sleeping While my
guitar gently weeps.
--George Harrison
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Harrison>