The Inaccessible Island rail (Laterallus rogersi) is a bird found only on Inaccessible Island in the South Atlantic Tristan archipelago. This rail, the smallest extant flightless bird, was described by physician Percy Lowe in 1923. The adult has brown plumage, a black bill, black feet, and red eyes. It occupies most habitats on the island, from the beaches to the central plateau, feeding on a variety of small invertebrates and some plant matter. Pairs are territorial and monogamous; both parents incubate the eggs and raise the chicks. The rail's adaptations to living on a tiny island at high densities include a low basal metabolic rate, small clutch sizes, and flightlessness. Unlike many other oceanic islands, Inaccessible Island has remained free from introduced predators, allowing this species to flourish while many other flightless rails have gone extinct. The species is nevertheless considered vulnerable, due to the danger of a single catastrophe wiping out the small, isolated population.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inaccessible_Island_rail
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1943:
Second World War: The Royal Navy submarine HMS Seraph began Operation Mincemeat to deceive Germany about the upcoming invasion of Sicily. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mincemeat
1963:
A refusal by the Bristol Omnibus Company and the Transport and General Workers' Union to permit the employment of black bus crews led to a bus boycott in Bristol, England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Bus_Boycott
1975:
American forces completed a helicopter evacuation (aircraft and evacuees pictured) of U.S. citizens, South Vietnamese civilians and others from Saigon, just before North Vietnamese troops captured the city and ended the Vietnam War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Saigon
2021:
A crowd crush killed 45 people during the annual pilgrimage to the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Israel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Meron_crowd_crush
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
tchotchke: 1. A small ornament of minor value; a knick-knack, a trinket. 2. (figurative, dated) Chiefly in Jewish contexts: an attractive girl or woman. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tchotchke
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
If you have a glass full of liquid you can discourse forever on its qualities, discuss whether it is cold, warm, whether it is really and truly composed of H-2-O, or even mineral water, or saki. Meditation is Drinking it. --Taisen Deshimaru https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Taisen_Deshimaru