The Red-billed Chough is a bird in the crow family; it is one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax. It lives and breeds on mountains and coastal cliffs, from Ireland and Great Britain east through southern Europe and North Africa, and farther east to Central Asia, India, and China. It has a glossy black plumage, a long curved red bill, red legs, and a loud, ringing call. It has a buoyant, acrobatic flight with widely spread primaries. The Red-billed Chough pairs for life and displays fidelity to its breeding site, which is usually a cave or crevice in a cliff face. It builds a wool-lined stick nest and typically lays three eggs. It feeds, often in flocks, on short grazed grassland, consuming mainly invertebrate prey. The main threat to this species is changes in agricultural practices, which have led to population decline, some local extirpation, and range fragmentation in Europe; however, it is not threatened globally. The bird has also been depicted on postage stamps in a few countries, including the Isle of Man, with four different stamps, and The Gambia, where this species does not occur.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-billed_Chough
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1494:
Ferdinand II of Aragon and John II of Portugal (pictured left and right, respectively) signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, dividing the Americas and Africa between their two countries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Tordesillas
1810:
Journalist Mariano Moreno published Argentina's first newspaper, the Gazeta de Buenos Ayres. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariano_Moreno
1929:
The Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See signed the Lateran Treaty to bring Vatican City into existence, thus ending the "Roman Question". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateran_Treaty
1975:
The inaugural Cricket World Cup, the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket, began in England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_World_Cup
2006:
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, was killed when the United States Air Force bombed his safehouse near Baqubah. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Musab_al-Zarqawi
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
trendite: (slang) A person given to following trends. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trendite
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Art is a refining and evocative translation of the materials of the world. --Gwendolyn Brooks https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gwendolyn_Brooks
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