The Pied Currawong is a medium-sized black passerine bird native to
eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. One of three currawong species
in the genus Strepera, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and
Australian Magpie of the family Artamidae. Six subspecies are
recognised. It is a robust crow-like bird averaging around 48 cm
(19 in) in length, black or sooty grey-black in plumage with white
undertail and wing patches, yellow irises, and a heavy bill. The male
and female are similar in appearance. Known for its melodious calls,
the species' name currawong is of indigenous origin. Within its range,
the Pied Currawong is generally sedentary, although populations at
higher altitudes relocate to lower areas during the cooler months. It
is omnivorous, with a diet that includes a wide variety of berries and
seeds, invertebrates, bird eggs and juvenile birds. It is a predator
which has adapted well to urbanization and can be found in parks and
gardens as well as rural woodland. The habitat includes all kinds of
forested areas, although mature forests are preferred for breeding.
Roosting, nesting and the bulk of foraging take place in trees, in
contrast with the ground foraging behaviour of its relative the
Australian Magpie.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied_Currawong>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1638:
The Massachusetts Bay Colony expelled Anne Hutchinson from its ranks
for dissenting from Puritan orthodoxy.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Hutchinson>
1736:
Under orders from Shah of Iran Nader Shah to plunder Delhi, India,
Persian troops killed at least 20,000 Indians, forcing Mughal Emperor
Muhammad Shah to beg for mercy.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nader_Shah>
1913:
Phan Xich Long, the self-proclaimed Emperor of Vietnam, was arrested
for organising a revolt against the colonial rule of French Indochina,
which was nevertheless carried out by his supporters the following day.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phan_Xich_Long>
1984:
In what would be the longest and costliest criminal trial in United
States history, teachers at the McMartin preschool in Manhattan Beach,
California, were falsely charged with satanic ritual abuse of
schoolchildren.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial>
1995:
Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov of the Soyuz programme returned from
the Mir space station after 437 days in space, setting a record for the
longest spaceflight.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
jiggery-pokery (n):
Trickery or misrepresentation; hanky panky or skulduggery
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jiggery-pokery>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
To communicate through silence is a link between the thoughts of man.
--Marcel Marceau
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marcel_Marceau>