The Mauritius Blue Pigeon is an extinct species of blue pigeon formerly endemic to the Mascarene island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar. It has two extinct relatives from the Mascarenes and three extant ones from other islands. It had white hackles around the head, neck and breast and blue plumage on the body, and it was red on the tail and the bare parts of the head. These colours were thought similar to those of the Dutch flag, a resemblance reflected in some of the bird's names. It was 30 cm (12 in) long and larger and more robust than any other blue pigeon species. It could raise its hackles into a ruff, which it used for display. Its call sounded like "barf barf" and it also made a cooing noise. It fed on fruits, nuts, and molluscs, and was once widespread in the forests of Mauritius. The bird was first mentioned in the 17th century and was described several times thereafter, but very few accounts describe the behaviour of living specimens. Several stuffed and at least one live specimen reached Europe in the 1700s and 1800s. Only three stuffed specimens exist today, and only one bird was ever depicted when alive. The species is thought to have become extinct in the 1830s due to deforestation and predation.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1777:

American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command of George Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Assunpink_Creek

1949:

Luis Muñoz Marín became the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Mu%C3%B1oz_Mar%C3%ADn

1963:

Vietnam War: The Viet Cong won its first major victory in the Battle of Ap Bac. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ap_Bac

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

2004:

The Stardust space probe flew by the comet Wild 2 and collected particle samples from its coma, which were later returned to Earth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/81P/Wild

2006:

An explosion at a coal mine in Sago, West Virginia, US, trapped 13 miners for nearly two days, leaving only one survivor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sago_Mine_disaster

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

Silent Sam: (informal) A person who seldom or never speaks; a taciturn or unresponsive individual. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Silent_Sam

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. --Isaac Asimov https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov