The red-billed tropicbird is a seabird, one of three species in the family Phaethontidae. Resembling a tern, it has mostly white plumage with some black markings on the wings and back, a black mask and a red bill. Most adults have tail streamers that are about two times their body length, and generally longer in males than in females. Described by Carl Linnaeus in his 10th edition of Systema Naturae (1758), this species ranges across the Indian Ocean, the tropical Atlantic, and the eastern Pacific. Nesting takes place in loose colonies. A single egg is laid, and incubated by both sexes for about six weeks. After a chick fledges, the parents will usually stop visiting the nest and the chick will leave. Red-billed tropicbirds of all ages feed on fish and squid, catching them by diving from the air into the water. The birds sometimes follow surface-feeding predators that drive prey to the surface, where they can be seized.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-billed_tropicbird
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1803:
Maratha troops were defeated by British forces at the Battle of Assaye, one of the decisive battles of the Second Anglo-Maratha War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Assaye
1868:
Ramón Emeterio Betances led the Grito de Lares, a revolt against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram%C3%B3n_Emeterio_Betances
1952:
In one of the first political uses of television to appeal directly to the populace, Republican vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon delivered the "Checkers speech", refuting accusations of improprieties with contributions to his campaign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkers_speech
2008:
A gunman shot and killed ten students at Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences in Kauhajoki, Western Finland, before committing suicide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kauhajoki_school_shooting
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
raunchiness: The characteristic of being raunchy; sleaze, titillation. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/raunchiness
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Poor man want to be rich Rich man want to be king And a king ain't satisfied Till he rules everything. I want to go out tonight I want to find out what I got. Well, I believe in the love that you gave me I believe in the faith that can save me I believe in the hope And I pray that some day it may raise me Above these badlands. --Bruce Springsteen https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bruce_Springsteen