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>
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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>
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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>
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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>