The American Goldfinch is a North American bird in the finch family. It
is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to North Carolina during the
breeding season, and from just south of the Canadian border to Mexico
during the winter. The only finch in its subfamily which undergoes a
complete molt, the American Goldfinch displays sexual dimorphism in its
coloration; the male is a vibrant yellow in the summer and an olive
color during the winter months, while the female is a dull yellow-brown
shade which brightens only slightly during the summer. The male
displays brightly colored plumage during the breeding season to attract
a mate. The American Goldfinch is a granivore and adapted for the
consumption of seedheads, with a conical beak to remove the seeds and
agile feet to grip the stems of seedheads while feeding. It is a social
bird, and will gather in large flocks while feeding and migrating. The
breeding season is tied to the peak of food supply, beginning in late
July, which is relatively late in the year for a finch. Human activity
has generally benefited the American Goldfinch. It is often found in
residential areas, attracted to bird feeders installed by humans, which
increase its survival rate in these areas. Deforestation also creates
open meadow areas which are the preferred habitat of the American
Goldfinch.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Goldfinch>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1869:
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman
Suffrage Association, breaking away from the American Equal Rights
Association which they had also previously founded.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Woman_Suffrage_Association>
1966:
Disapproving of his handling of the Buddhist Uprising, South Vietnamese
Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ ordered an attack on the forces of General
Tôn Thất Đính and ousted him from the position.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%B4n_Th%E1%BA%A5t_%C4%90%C3%ADnh>
1974:
A unit of the Golani Brigade assaulted an elementary school in Ma'alot,
Israel, where three armed members of the Democratic Front for the
Liberation of Palestine had taken 115 people hostage, resulting in 28
deaths.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%27alot_massacre>
1990:
Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet was sold at auction in
Christie's New York office for a total of US$82.5 million, at the time
the world's most expensive painting.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Dr._Gachet>
1997:
The United States publicly acknowledged its role in the Laotian Civil
War twenty-two years after the war's end during a ceremony dedicating
the Laos Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laotian_Civil_War>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
trompe-l'oeil (n):
(art) A painting designed to look very realistic, such that it acts as
an optical illusion
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trompe-l%27oeil>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have learned to regard fame as a will-o-the-wisp which, when caught,
is not worth the possession; but to please a child is a sweet and
lovely thing that warms one's heart and brings its own reward.
--L. Frank Baum
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/L._Frank_Baum>
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