The Ruff is a medium-sized wader that breeds on marshes and wet meadows across northern Eurasia. This highly gregarious sandpiper is migratory, and sometimes forms huge flocks in its winter grounds, which include southern and western Europe, Africa, southern Asia and Australia. It is usually considered to be the only member of its genus, and the Broad-billed and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers are its closest relatives. The Ruff is a long-necked, pot-bellied bird. This species shows marked sexual dimorphism; the male is much larger than the female, and has a breeding plumage that includes brightly coloured head tufts, bare orange facial skin, extensive black on the breast, and the large collar of ornamental feathers that that inspired this bird's English name. The female has one brood per year and lays four eggs in a well-hidden ground nest, incubating the eggs and rearing the chicks, which are mobile soon after hatching, on her own. The Ruff forages in wet grassland and soft mud, probing or searching by sight for edible items. It primarily feeds on insects, especially in the breeding season, but it will consume plant material, including rice and maize, on migration and in winter. Classified as "least concern" on the IUCN Red List criteria, the global conservation concerns are relatively low because of the large numbers that breed in Scandinavia and the Arctic.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruff

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1009:

Under orders from Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church now within the walled Old City of Jerusalem, was destroyed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre

1081:

Byzantine–Norman Wars: The Normans under Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, defeated the Byzantines outside the city of Dyrrhachium, the Byzantine capital of Illyria. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dyrrhachium_%281081%29

1356:

The most significant earthquake to have occurred in Central Europe in recorded history destroyed Basel, Switzerland, and caused much destruction in a vast region extending into France and Germany. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1356_Basel_earthquake

1851:

Moby-Dick, a novel by American writer Herman Melville , was first published as The Whale. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-Dick

1968:

At the Summer Olympics in Mexico City, American Bob Beamon set a world record of 8.90m in the long jump, a mark that eventually became the longest unbroken track and field record in history, standing for 23 years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Beamon

2007:

A suicide attack on a motorcade carrying former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto in Karachi resulted in at least 139 deaths and 450 injuries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Karachi_bombing

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

entourage (n): A retinue of attendants, associates or followers http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/entourage

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The essential ingredient of politics is timing. --Pierre Trudeau http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pierre_Trudeau