The Australian boobook (Ninox boobook) is an owl native to mainland
Australia, southern New Guinea, the island of Timor, and the Sunda
Islands. Described by John Latham in 1801, its name is derived from its
two-tone boo-book call. Eight subspecies are recognised; three further
subspecies were reclassified as separate species in 2019. The smallest
owl on the Australian mainland, the boobook is 27 to 36 cm (10.5 to
14 in) long, with predominantly dark-brown plumage and prominent pale
spots. It has grey-green or yellow-green eyes. It is generally
nocturnal, though it is sometimes active at dawn and dusk, retiring to
roost in secluded spots in the foliage of trees. The Australian boobook
feeds on insects and small vertebrates, hunting by pouncing on them from
tree perches. Breeding takes place from late winter to early summer, and
tree hollows are used as nesting sites. The species has a large range
and apparently stable population, and is not threatened.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_boobook>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1844:
The Rochdale Pioneers opened their store in Rochdale, England,
forming the basis for the modern co-operative movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochdale_Society_of_Equitable_Pioneers>
1923:
Nepal and the United Kingdom signed the first treaty that
defined the international status of Nepal as an independent and a
sovereign nation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal%E2%80%93Britain_Treaty_of_1923>
1965:
The United Nations adopted the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which 88 member
states have since signed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Convention_on_the_Elimination_of_All_Forms_of_Racial_Discrimination>
1988:
The world's largest aircraft, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, made
its first flight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-225_Mriya>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
Sherman necktie:
(US, rail transport, historical, chiefly in the plural) A segment of
rail that has been heated and twisted into a loop, as a means of
destroying a railway.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Sherman_necktie>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
What is earnest is not always true; on the contrary, error is
often more earnest than truth.
--Benjamin Disraeli
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Disraeli>
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