The Brolga is a bird in the crane family. When first described in
1810, the Brolga was misclassified as Ardea, the genus that includes
the herons and egrets. It is in fact a member of the Gruiformes; the
order that includes the crakes, rails, and cranes, and as a member of
the genus Grus. The bird was then given the name Australian crane in
1865 by John Gould. In 1926 the Royal Australasian Ornithologists
Union managed to make Brolga, a popular name derived from native
tongue, the official name of the bird. It is a common wetland
congregating bird species in tropical and eastern Australia, well
known for its intricate mating dance.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brolga
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1472:
James III of Scotland annexed the Orkney and Shetland Islands from
Denmark-Norway.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkney_Islands)
1810:
Andreas Hofer, a Tyrolean patriot and the leader of a rebellion
against Napoleon's forces, was executed.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Hofer)
1913:
King O'Malley drove in the first survey peg to mark the commencement
of work on the construction of Canberra, Australia.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Canberra)
1959:
The Avro Arrow supersonic jet fighters programme in Canada was
cancelled by the Diefenbaker government.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Arrow)
1965:
The Ranger 8 spacecraft successfully transmitted 7,137 photographs of
the moon in the final 23 minutes of its mission before crashing in
Mare Tranquillitatis.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_8)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"All in all is all we are." -- Kurt Cobain
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Cobain)