The ring ouzel (Turdus torquatus) is a medium-sized thrush, breeding mainly in Europe. Males are mostly black with a white crescent across the breast, females are browner and duller than males, and young birds may lack chest markings. A high-altitude bird, it breeds in open mountain areas with some trees or shrubs, often including heather or juniper. It is migratory, wintering in southern Europe, northern Africa and Turkey, often in mountains with juniper. A typical clutch of three to six brown-flecked pale blue or greenish eggs is incubated by the female and hatches after 13 days. The downy chicks fledge in another 14 days. The thrush is omnivorous, eating invertebrates, particularly insects and earthworms, some small vertebrates, and a wide range of fruit. Most animal prey is caught on the ground. With an extensive range and a large population, the ring ouzel is evaluated as a least-concern species by the IUCN. There are declines in several countries, perhaps due to climate change or human disturbance.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1888:

One of the first music recordings ever made, of Arthur Sullivan's "The Lost Chord" (audio featured), was played at a press conference introducing Thomas Edison's phonograph in London. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Chord

1941:

After a secret meeting in Newfoundland, British prime minister Winston Churchill and U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the Atlantic Charter, establishing a vision for a post–World War II world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Charter

1971:

The English rock band the Who released Who's Next, the group's only album to top the UK charts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_Next

2013:

Egyptian security forces raided two camps of ousted president Mohamed Morsi's supporters in Cairo, leading to at least 595 deaths and forcing the government to declare a state of emergency. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_2013_Rabaa_massacre

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

en masse: In a single body or group; as one, together. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/en_masse

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

God save the pennon, ragged to the dawn, That signs to moon to stand, and sun to fly; And flutters when the weak is overborne To stem the tide of fate and certainty. That knows not reason, and that seeks no fame — So! Undismayed beneath the serried clouds, Raise up the banner of forlorn defence — A jest to the complacency of crowds — Bright-haloed with the one diviner sense: To hold itself as nothing to itself; And in the quest of its imagined star To lose all thought of after-recompense!   --John Galsworthy https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Galsworthy