The corn crake (Crex crex) is a bird in the rail family. It breeds in
Europe and Asia, and migrates to Africa for the northern hemisphere's
winter. It is a medium-sized crake with buff- or grey-streaked brownish-
black upperparts, chestnut markings on the wings, and blue-grey
underparts with rust-coloured and white bars on the flanks and
undertail. The male's call is a loud krek krek, from which the
scientific name is derived. The breeding habitat is grassland,
particularly hayfields; the female builds a nest of grass leaves in a
hollow in the ground and lays 6–14 cream-coloured eggs that hatch in
19 or 20 days. The bird is in steep decline across much of its former
breeding range because modern farming practices often destroy nests
before breeding is finished. It is omnivorous but mainly feeds on
invertebrates, the occasional small frog or mammal, and some seeds.
Natural threats include feral and introduced mammals, large birds, and
various parasites and diseases. Although numbers have declined steeply
in western Europe, the bird is classed as a species of least concern
because of its huge range and large populations in Russia, Kazakhstan
and western China.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_crake>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
869:
An earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck the area around
Sendai, Japan, leaving sand deposits up to 4 km (2.5 mi) inland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/869_Sanriku_earthquake>
1572:
Nineteen Catholic friars and clerics were hanged in Gorkum
during the 16th-century religious wars in the Low Countries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martyrs_of_Gorkum>
1790:
Russo-Swedish War: During the Second Battle of Svensksund in
the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Navy captured one third of the Russian
fleet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Svensksund>
1900:
Queen Victoria gave her Royal Assent to an Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom, ratifying the Constitution of
Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Australia>
1922:
Johnny Weissmuller swam the 100-meter freestyle in 58.6
seconds, breaking a world swimming record and the "minute barrier."
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Weissmuller>
1995:
Sri Lankan Civil War: After having advised civilians to take
shelter in places of worship, the Sri Lanka Air Force bombed a church in
Navaly, killing at least 125 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navaly_church_bombing>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
penitent:
1. Feeling pain or sorrow on account of sins or offenses; repentant;
contrite; sincerely affected by a sense of guilt, and resolved on
amendment of life.
2. Doing penance.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/penitent>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Verily God is able to convert light into fire whenever
He pleaseth; surely He is potent over all things. And were He to declare
a person whom ye regard alien to the truth as being akin thereto, err
not by questioning His decision in your fancies, for He Who is the
Sovereign Truth createth things through the power of His behest. Verily
God transmuteth fire into light as He willeth, and indeed potent is He
over all things.
--The Báb
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/B%C3%A1b>