The common starling is a medium-sized perching bird in the starling
family, Sturnidae. It is about 20 cm (8 in) long and has glossy black
plumage, which is speckled with white at some times of year. The legs
are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young
birds have browner plumage than the adults. It is a noisy bird,
especially in communal roosts, with an unmusical but varied song. The
starling has about a dozen subspecies breeding in open habitats across
its native range in temperate Europe and western Asia, and it has been
introduced elsewhere. This bird is resident in southern and western
Europe and southwestern Asia, while northeastern populations migrate
south and west in winter. The starling builds an untidy nest in a
natural or artificial cavity in which four or five glossy, pale blue
eggs are laid. These take two weeks to hatch and the young remain in the
nest for another three weeks. The species is omnivorous, taking a wide
range of invertebrates, as well as seeds and fruit. The starling's gift
for mimicry has been noted in literature including the medieval Welsh
Mabinogion and the works of Pliny the Elder and William Shakespeare.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_starling>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
628:
Li Shimin defeated and captured Dou Jiande in the Battle of
Hulao, leading to a Tang dynasty victory in the civil war that followed
the collapse of the Sui dynasty.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hulao>
1644:
English Civil War: Royalist troops allegedly slaughtered up to
1,600 people during their storm and capture of the Town of Bolton.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolton_Massacre>
1936:
English mathematician Alan Turing introduced the Turing machine
(model pictured), a basic abstract symbol-manipulating device that can
simulate the logic of any computer algorithm.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing>
1975:
Sixteen West African countries signed the Treaty of Lagos,
establishing the Economic Community of West African States to promote
economic integration.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Community_of_West_African_States>
2002:
An independent commission appointed by the English Football
Association voted, two-to-one, to allow Wimbledon F.C. to relocate from
London to Milton Keynes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relocation_of_Wimbledon_F.C._to_Milton_Keynes>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
crown molding:
(finish carpentry, interior decorating) A molding at the edge of a room
between ceiling and wall.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/crown_molding>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Possibly all art flowers more readily in silence. Certainly the
state of simplicity and humility is the only desirable one for artist or
for man. While to reach it may be impossible, to attempt to do so is
imperative.
--Patrick White
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Patrick_White>