The common tern (Sterna hirundo) is a seabird with four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. This tern is migratory, wintering in warmer coastal regions. Adults have light grey upperparts, whiter underparts, a black cap, orange-red legs, and a narrow pointed black-tipped red or all-black bill. The bird nests on any flat bare surface close to water, including rafts. The nest is a scrape lined with whatever is available. It lays up to three blotchy camouflaged eggs, incubated by both sexes, that hatch in around 21 to 22 days. The downy chicks fledge in 22 to 28 days. This tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish in the sea or freshwater. Eggs and young are vulnerable to predation by mammals and large birds. The common tern's large population and huge breeding range mean that it is classed as being of least concern. Despite international protection, in some areas populations are threatened by habitat loss or the disturbance of breeding colonies.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_tern
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1754:
French and Indian War: George Washington surrendered Fort Necessity in Pennsylvania, the only military surrender in his career. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Necessity
1952:
SS United States departed New York Harbor on her maiden voyage, on which completion she became the fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_United_States
1970:
Dan-Air Flight 1903 crashed into the slopes of the Montseny Massif in Catalonia, Spain, killing all 112 people aboard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan-Air_Flight_1903
2005:
Same-sex marriage became legal in Spain with the coming into effect of a law passed by the Cortes Generales. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_Spain
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
mali: 1. (India, South Asia) A member of a caste in South Asia whose traditional occupation is gardening; hence, any South Asian gardener. 2. (South Africa) Money, cash. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mali
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
We cross our bridges when we come to them, and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered. --Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rosencrantz_%26_Guildenstern_Are_Dead_%28film%29
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