The Inaccessible Island rail (Laterallus rogersi) is a bird found only
on Inaccessible Island in the South Atlantic Tristan archipelago. This
rail, the smallest extant flightless bird, was described by physician
Percy Lowe in 1923. The adult has brown plumage, a black bill, black
feet, and red eyes. It occupies most habitats on the island, from the
beaches to the central plateau, feeding on a variety of small
invertebrates and some plant matter. Pairs are territorial and
monogamous; both parents incubate the eggs and raise the chicks. The
rail's adaptations to living on a tiny island at high densities include
a low basal metabolic rate, small clutch sizes, and flightlessness.
Unlike many other oceanic islands, Inaccessible Island has remained free
from introduced predators, allowing this species to flourish while many
other flightless rails have gone extinct. The species is nevertheless
considered vulnerable, due to the danger of a single catastrophe wiping
out the small, isolated population.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inaccessible_Island_rail>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1943:
Second World War: The Royal Navy submarine HMS Seraph began
Operation Mincemeat to deceive Germany about the upcoming invasion of
Sicily.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mincemeat>
1963:
A refusal by the Bristol Omnibus Company and the Transport and
General Workers' Union to permit the employment of black bus crews led
to a bus boycott in Bristol, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Bus_Boycott>
1975:
American forces completed a helicopter evacuation (aircraft and
evacuees pictured) of U.S. citizens, South Vietnamese civilians and
others from Saigon, just before North Vietnamese troops captured the
city and ended the Vietnam War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Saigon>
2021:
A crowd crush killed 45 people during the annual pilgrimage to
the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Israel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Meron_crowd_crush>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
tchotchke:
1. A small ornament of minor value; a knick-knack, a trinket.
2. (figurative, dated) Chiefly in Jewish contexts: an attractive girl or
woman.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tchotchke>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
If you have a glass full of liquid you can discourse forever
on its qualities, discuss whether it is cold, warm, whether it is really
and truly composed of H-2-O, or even mineral water, or saki. Meditation
is Drinking it.
--Taisen Deshimaru
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Taisen_Deshimaru>
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