The barn owl (Tyto alba) is the most widely distributed species of owl,
and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is found in most parts
of the world, with one major lineage in the New World, one in
Australasia, and another in Eurasia and Africa. The 28 subspecies,
between 33 and 39 cm (13 and 15 in) in length, have wingspans ranging
from 80 to 95 cm (31 to 37 in). Their colours vary, but most have
mottled grey or brown plumage and paler underparts, with a white, heart-
shaped face. The barn owl relies on acute hearing to detect small
mammals and other prey, hunting almost exclusively at night. It does not
hoot, but utters an eerie, drawn-out shriek. It mates for life unless
one of a pair dies, when a new pair bond may be formed. The nest is in a
hollow tree, old building or cliff; the female does all the incubation,
and she and the young chicks rely on the male for food. When large
numbers of small prey are available, barn owl populations can expand
rapidly. Globally, the species is not threatened, except for some
subspecies with restricted ranges.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_owl>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
706:
In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang interred the final bodies in
the Qianling Mausoleum, which remained unopened until the 1960s.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianling_Mausoleum>
1816:
The French frigate Méduse ran aground off the coast of
today's Mauritania, with the survivors escaping on a makeshift raft,
which was depicted in Théodore Géricault's painting The Raft of the
Medusa (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raft_of_the_Medusa>
1950:
A mentally ill Buddhist monk set fire to the Golden Pavilion at
Kinkaku-ji, destroying what is now one of the most popular tourist
destinations in Japan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkaku-ji>
1976:
More than a year after the end of the Vietnam War, North and
South Vietnam officially united under communist rule to form the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam>
2002:
American aviator Steve Fossett became the first person to fly
solo nonstop around the world in a balloon, completing an almost 14-day
trip after landing in Queensland, Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Fossett>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
devoir:
(archaic, often in plural) Duty, business; something that one must do.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/devoir>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I do not consider myself less ignorant than most people. I have
been and still am a seeker, but I have ceased to question stars and
books; I have begun to listen to the teachings my blood whispers to me.
My story is not a pleasant one; it is neither sweet nor harmonious, as
invented stories are; it has the taste of nonsense and chaos, of madness
and dreams — like the lives of all men who stop deceiving themselves.
Each man's life represents the road toward himself, and attempt at such
a road, the intimation of a path. No man has ever been entirely and
completely himself. Yet each one strives to become that — one in an
awkward, the other in a more intelligent way, each as best he can.
--Hermann Hesse
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hermann_Hesse>