The African crake (Crex egregia) is a bird in the rail family that breeds in most of sub-Saharan Africa, except for the arid south and southwest. A partial migrant, it moves away from the equator as soon as the rains provide sufficient grassland or crops for breeding areas. It is commonly found in most of its range, depending on the season. A smallish crake, it has brown-streaked blackish upperparts, bluish-grey underparts and black-and-white barring on the flanks and belly, with a red bill, red eyes, and white facial streak. Its most characteristic call is a series of rapid grating krrr notes. The male has a territorial threat display, and may fight at territory boundaries. The nest is a shallow cup of grass leaves built in a depression under a grass tussock or small bush. The 3–11 eggs start hatching after about 14 days, and the black, downy precocial chicks fledge after four to five weeks. The African crake feeds on a wide range of invertebrates, along with some small frogs and fish, and plant material, especially grass seeds. It may itself be eaten by large birds of prey, snakes, or mammals, including humans.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_crake
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1210:
Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor was excommunicated by Pope Innocent III after he commanded the Pope to annul the Concordat of Worms. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_IV,_Holy_Roman_Emperor
1812:
Napoleonic Wars: During Napoleon's invasion of Russia, Marshal Michel Ney's leadership in the Battle of Krasnoi earned him the nickname "the bravest of the brave" despite the overwhelming French defeat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Krasnoi
1865:
American author Mark Twain's story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", his first great success as a writer, was published. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celebrated_Jumping_Frog_of_Calaveras_County
1943:
Second World War: The Royal Air Force began its bombing campaign against Berlin (ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Berlin_(RAF_campaign)
1985:
Calvin and Hobbes, a comic strip by Bill Watterson that was at its height one of the most popular in the world, was first published. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
sodden: 1. Soaked or drenched with liquid; soggy, saturated. 2. (figuratively) Drunk; stupid as a result of drunkenness. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sodden
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Most people find the word "Apocalypse" to be a terrifying concept. Checked in the dictionary, it means only revelation, although it obviously has also come to mean end of the world. As to what the end of the world means, I would say that probably depends on what we mean by world. I don't think this means the planet, or even the life forms upon the planet. I think the world is purely a construction of ideas, and not just the physical structures, but the mental structures, the ideologies that we've erected, THAT is what I would call the world. Our political structures, philosophical structures, ideological frameworks, economies. These are actually imaginary things, and yet that is the framework that we have built our entire world upon. It strikes me that a strong enough wave of information could completely overturn and destroy all of that. A sudden realization that would change our entire perspective upon who we are and how we exist. --Alan Moore https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alan_Moore