The wood stork (Mycteria americana) is a large wading bird found in warmer parts of the Americas. North American birds may disperse to South America, where it is resident. Its bare head and neck are dark grey and the plumage is mostly white, with black on the tail and part of the wing. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile has a feathered head and a yellow, not black, bill. The wood stork nests colonially in wetlands, building its one-metre-diameter (3.3-foot) nest in trees; the breeding season starting when water levels drop. The clutch of three to five eggs is incubated for around 30 days, and the chicks fledge 60 to 65 days after hatching, although many die during their first two weeks. The chicks are fed fish while the adult also eats insects, frogs and crabs as available, foraging by touch in shallow water. The wood stork is classed as being of least concern by the IUCN although in the US it is threatened by predators and human activities. Habitat alteration has caused widespread declines.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1888:

During a bout of mental illness, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh severed part of his left ear and gave it to a woman in a brothel in Arles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh

1916:

First World War: Allied forces gained a strategic victory in the Battle of Magdhaba on the Sinai Peninsula. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Magdhaba

1957:

Leading the Australia national cricket team, Ian Craig became the youngest Test cricket captain up to that time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Craig

1990:

About 88 percent of eligible voters in Slovenia voted to secede from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Slovenian_independence_referendum

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

run someone ragged: (originally US, idiomatic) To exhaust; to demand excessive effort or work from somebody. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/run_someone_ragged

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

When you're talking about cybersecurity, you're talking about being able to protect your points. It's not directed against a country, but to secure your points of access or specific end points or network access. It's not as though you're arming yourself against a specific threat — you're simply undertaking all aspects of protection.   --Wesley Clark https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wesley_Clark