The black stork (Ciconia nigra) is a large bird in the stork family,
Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition
of his Systema Naturae. Measuring on average 95 to 100 cm (37 to
39 in) from beak tip to end of tail with a 145-to-155 cm
(57-to-61 in) wingspan, the adult black stork has mainly black plumage,
with white underparts, long red legs and a long pointed red beak. A
widespread, but uncommon, species, it breeds in scattered locations
across Europe (predominantly in Spain, and central and eastern Europe)
and Asia. It is a long-distance migrant, with European populations
wintering in tropical Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asian populations in the
Indian subcontinent. Unlike the closely related white stork, the black
stork is a shy and wary species. It is seen singly or in pairs, usually
in marshy areas, rivers or inland waters. It feeds on amphibians, small
fish and insects, generally wading slowly in shallow water to stalk its
prey.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_stork>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1608:
Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi debuted his second opera
L'Arianna, now one of his lost works, at a royal wedding in Mantua.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Arianna>
1830:
U.S. President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act
into law, authorizing him to negotiate with Native Americans for their
removal from their ancestral homelands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Removal_Act>
1977:
A fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky,
killed 165 patrons.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills_Supper_Club_fire>
2010:
A train derailment and collision in the Paschim Medinipur
district of West Bengal, India, caused the deaths of at least 148
passengers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jnaneswari_Express_train_derailment>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pyroballogy:
(weaponry, obsolete, rare) The study of artillery; the practice of using
artillery as a weapon.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pyroballogy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
This country-right-or-wrong business is getting a little out-of-
date. Today we are fighting Communism. Okay. If I’d been alive fifty
years ago, the brand of Conservatism we have today would have been damn
near called Communism and we should have been told to go and fight that.
History is moving pretty quickly these days and the heroes and villains
keep on changing parts.
--Ian Fleming
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ian_Fleming>