The echo parakeet (Psittacula eques) is a species of parrot endemic to the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius and formerly Réunion. It is the only living native parrot of these islands; all others have become extinct due to human activity, including the subspecies P. e. eques, the Réunion parakeet. The echo parakeet is 34–42 cm (13–17 in) long and weighs 167–193 g (5.9–6.8 oz), with a wing-span of 49–54 cm (19–21 in). It is generally green; the male has one black and one pink collar, and the female has one green and one black. It is largely restricted to the canopy of the Black River Gorges National Park in the south west of Mauritius, feeding mainly on the fruits and leaves of native plants. Due to destruction and alteration of its native habitat, its numbers declined throughout the 20th century, reaching as few as 8–12 in the 1980s, when it was referred to as "the world's rarest parrot". While it is still endangered, an intensive effort of captive breeding has prevented its extinction.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echo_parakeet

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1819:

Arriving in Liverpool, SS Savannah became the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Savannah

1959:

The extratropical remnants of an Atlantic hurricane reached the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Canada, capsizing at least 22 fishing boats and causing 35 fatalities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1959_Escuminac_disaster

1979:

Bill Stewart, an American journalist, was executed by Nicaraguan Guardia forces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Stewart_%28journalist%29

1994:

A bomb explosion in the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran, left at least 25 dead and 70 to 300 injured. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Imam_Reza_shrine_bomb_explosion

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

steatopygous: (physiology) Pertaining to steatopygia; having fat or prominent buttocks. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/steatopygous

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

There are people who eat Earth and eat all the people on it like in the Bible with the locusts. Then there are people who stand around and watch them eat it. … Sometimes I think it ain't right to stand and watch them do it.   --Lillian Hellman https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lillian_Hellman