The white-rumped swallow (Tachycineta leucorrhoa) is a species of bird, the only one in its genus, in the family Hirundinidae. First described and given its scientific name by French ornithologist Louis Vieillot in 1817, it has no known population variations. It is black from the eyes to the nostrils, with a white streak just above. The ear coverts, tail, and wings are black, with white tips on the wings. The rest of the upperparts are a glossy blue. Its underparts and underwing-coverts are white, in addition to the rump, as the name suggests. It usually builds its nest in holes in trees or dead snags, and sometimes under eaves or in holes in fence posts. This swallow is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, pastureland, the edge of forests, and subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland. It is classified as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Its population is increasing, partly because of the increase in availability of man-made structures suitable for nest sites.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-rumped_swallow
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1794:
The Reign of Terror: Branded a traitor, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, a former royal tax collector with the Ferme générale, was tried, convicted, and guillotined on the same day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Lavoisier
1927:
French aviators Charles Nungesser and François Coli aboard the biplane L'Oiseau Blanc, attempting to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Paris to New York, disappeared after takeoff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Oiseau_Blanc
1945:
A parade to celebrate the end of World War II turned into a riot, followed by widespread disturbances and killings in and around Sétif, French Algeria. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9tif_and_Guelma_massacre
1970:
Construction workers in New York City attacked students and others protesting the Kent State shootings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Hat_Riot
1987:
A British Army Special Air Service unit ambushed a Provisional Irish Republican Army unit in Loughgall, Northern Ireland, killing eight IRA members and a civilian. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loughgall_ambush
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
macron: (orthography) A short, straight, horizontal diacritical mark (¯) placed over any of various letters. It usually is used to indicate that the pronunciation of a vowel is long; in Mandarin Pinyin (Chinese), it indicates the first tone, e.g., chūzūchē. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/macron
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The recognition of the insuperable limits to his knowledge ought indeed to teach the student of society a lesson of humility which should guard him against becoming an accomplice in men's fatal striving to control society — a striving which makes him not only a tyrant over his fellows, but which may well make him the destroyer of a civilization which no brain has designed but which has grown from the free efforts of millions of individuals. --Friedrich Hayek https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Hayek