The Papuan mountain pigeon (Gymnophaps albertisii) is a species of bird in the pigeon family Columbidae. It inhabits forests and lowlands on New Guinea, the Bacan Islands, the D'Entrecasteaux Islands, and the Bismarck Archipelago. It is a medium-sized pigeon, 33–36 cm (13–14 in) long and weighing 259 g (9.1 oz). Adult males have slate-grey upperparts, chestnut-maroon throats and bellies, whitish breasts, and a pale grey tail band. The lores and eye rings are bright red. Females are similar, but have greyish breasts and edges to the throat feathers. This pigeon feeds on figs and drupes. In the Schrader Range it breeds from October to March, but elsewhere may breed throughout the year. It builds a nest of sticks in a tree or in short dry grass, and lays a single egg. The species is very social and is usually seen in flocks of 10–40 birds, sometimes more. It is listed as a least-concern species on the IUCN Red List due to its large range and lack of significant population decline.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1866:

Bedřich Smetana's comic opera The Bartered Bride premiered in Prague. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bartered_Bride

1922:

The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., featuring a sculpture of the sixteenth U.S. president Abraham Lincoln by Daniel Chester French, opened. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Memorial

1972:

Members of the Japanese Red Army carried out the Lod Airport massacre in Tel Aviv, Israel, on behalf of PFLP External Operations, killing over 20 people and injuring almost 80 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lod_Airport_massacre

2008:

The Convention on Cluster Munitions, prohibiting the use, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster bombs, was adopted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Cluster_Munitions

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

BANANA: (informal, humorous, derogatory, often attributively) One who objects to the building of any structure in their neighbourhood, especially in public policy debate. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/BANANA

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The people should never be deceived, under any pretext or for any purpose. It would not only be criminal but detrimental to the revolutionary cause, for deception of any kind, by its very nature, is shortsighted, petty, narrow, always sewn with rotten threads, so that it inevitably tears and is exposed.   --Mikhail Bakunin https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mikhail_Bakunin