The Australian raven (Corvus coronoides) is a bird native to much of southern and northeastern Australia. Its plumage is all black with glossy upperparts, and its strong legs and feet are grey-black. Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield described the bird in 1827, with a species name highlighting its similarity to the carrion crow (C. corone). The preferred habitat is open woodland and transitional zones. It has adapted well to urban environments and is a common city bird in Sydney, Canberra and Perth. An opportunistic feeder, it eats a wide variety of plant and animal material, as well as food waste from urban areas. In eastern Australia its range includes many sheep farms, and it has been blamed for attacking healthy lambs, but very rarely does. The Australian raven is territorial, with pairs breeding between July and September and generally bonding for life. The nest is a bowl-shaped structure of sticks sited high in a tree, or occasionally in a man-made structure.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1680:

Trunajaya rebellion: Amangkurat II of Mataram of Java and his courtiers stabbed Trunajaya to death a week after the rebel leader surrendered to the Dutch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trunajaya_rebellion

1920:

Under the leadership of U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, Department of Justice agents launched a series of raids against radical leftists and anarchists in more than 30 cities and towns in 23 states. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmer_Raids

1981:

English serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper", was arrested in Sheffield, ending one of the largest police investigations in British history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sutcliffe

2016:

Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia, was executed by the Saudi government along with 46 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Saudi_Arabia_mass_execution

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

tumultuous: 1. Characterized by loud, confused noise. 2. Causing or characerized by tumult; chaotic, disorderly, turbulent. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tumultuous

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

It is better to go to defeat with free will than to live in a meaningless security as a cog in a machine.   --Isaac Asimov https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov