The Brolga is a bird in the crane family. When first described in 1810, the Brolga was misclassified as Ardea, the genus that includes the herons and egrets. It is in fact a member of the Gruiformes; the order that includes the crakes, rails, and cranes, and as a member of the genus Grus. The bird was then given the name Australian crane in 1865 by John Gould. In 1926 the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union managed to make Brolga, a popular name derived from native tongue, the official name of the bird. It is a common wetland congregating bird species in tropical and eastern Australia, well known for its intricate mating dance.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1472: James III of Scotland annexed the Orkney and Shetland Islands from Denmark-Norway. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkney_Islands)

1810: Andreas Hofer, a Tyrolean patriot and the leader of a rebellion against Napoleon's forces, was executed. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Hofer)

1913: King O'Malley drove in the first survey peg to mark the commencement of work on the construction of Canberra, Australia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Canberra)

1959: The Avro Arrow supersonic jet fighters programme in Canada was cancelled by the Diefenbaker government. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Arrow)

1965: The Ranger 8 spacecraft successfully transmitted 7,137 photographs of the moon in the final 23 minutes of its mission before crashing in Mare Tranquillitatis. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_8)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"All in all is all we are." -- Kurt Cobain (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Cobain)