The Atlantic Puffin is a species of seabird in the auk family and is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean. It has a black crown and back, pale grey cheek patches and white underparts and its broad, boldly marked red and black beak and orange legs contrast with its otherwise sombre plumage. The Atlantic Puffin spends the autumn and winter at sea, mainly in the North Atlantic, and returns to land at the start of the breeding season in late spring. Its breeding range includes the coasts of north west Europe, the Arctic fringes and eastern North America. It nests in clifftop colonies, each pair of birds choosing or digging a burrow in which a single white egg is laid. Incubation takes about six weeks and the chicks are fully fledged a similar time later. They then make their way at night to the sea, not returning to land for several years. Colonies are mostly on islands where there are no terrestrial predators, but both adult birds and newly fledged young are at risk of attacks from the air by gulls and skuas. The Atlantic Puffin's striking appearance, large colourful bill, waddling gait and appealing behaviour have given rise to nicknames such as "clown of the sea" and "sea parrot". It is the official bird symbol for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Puffin
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1755:
A naval fleet led by Commodore William James of the East India Company captured the fortress Suvarnadurg from the Marathas. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suvarnadurg
1801:
War of the Second Coalition: British forces led by Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated the Dano-Norwegian fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Copenhagen
1885:
North-West Rebellion: Led by Wandering Spirit, young Cree warriors attacked the village of Frog Lake, North-West Territories (now in Alberta), where they killed nine settlers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frog_Lake_Massacre
1973:
The Liberal Movement broke away from the Liberal and Country League in South Australia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Movement_(Australia)
1982:
Argentine special forces invaded the Falkland Islands, sparking the Falklands War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_invasion_of_the_Falkland_Islands
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
prosopagnosia: A form of visual agnosia characterised by difficulty with face recognition despite intact low-level visual processing. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prosopagnosia
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Man is free; yet we must not suppose that he is at liberty to do everything he pleases, for he becomes a slave the moment he allows his actions to be ruled by passion. The man who has sufficient power over himself to wait until his nature has recovered its even balance is the truly wise man, but such beings are seldom met with. --Giacomo Casanova https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Giacomo_Casanova