The great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) is a medium-sized woodpecker with pied black and white plumage and a red patch on the lower belly. Males and young birds also have red markings on the neck or head. This species is found across Eurasia and parts of North Africa, in all types of woodlands. Some individuals have a tendency to wander, leading to the recent recolonisation of Ireland. Great spotted woodpeckers chisel into trees to find food or excavate nest holes, and also drum for contact and territorial advertisement; they have anatomical adaptations to manage the physical stresses from the hammering action. They can extract seeds from pine cones and insect larvae from inside trees, and will eat eggs and chicks of other birds. Both parents incubate the clutch of four to six eggs and continue to feed the chicks for about ten days after they fledge. The species has a large population and is not threatened.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_spotted_woodpecker
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1892:
Scottish-American preservationist John Muir founded the environmental organization Sierra Club in San Francisco, California. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir
1901:
Mozaffar ad-Din, the shah of Persia, granted exclusive rights to prospect for oil in the country to William Knox D'Arcy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Arcy_Concession
1987:
Mathias Rust, a West German aviator, flew his Cessna 172 from Helsinki, Finland, through Soviet air defences, landing illegally near Red Square in Moscow. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathias_Rust
2010:
A train derailment and collision in the West Midnapore 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:
Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all. --George Washington https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Washington