[Daily article] October 6: Mascarene martin Published On

The Mascarene martin is a passerine bird in the swallow family that
breeds in Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. The nominate subspecies
occurs on Mauritius and RĂ©union and has never been found away from the
Mascarene Islands, but a smaller Madagascan subspecies is migratory and
has been recorded wintering in East Africa or wandering to other Indian
Ocean islands. The Mascarene martin is small with grey-brown underparts
becoming white on the throat and lower abdomen, dark grey-brown
upperparts and a slightly forked tail. The underparts are heavily
streaked with black. It nests in small colonies anywhere with suitably
sheltered sites for constructing a nest. It has a heavy flight with slow
wingbeats interspersed with glides, and frequently perches on wires. It
feeds on insects in flight, often hunting low over the ground or
vegetation. A number of internal and external parasites have been
detected in this species. Tropical cyclones can adversely affect
populations on the smaller islands, but the Mascarene martin is a
locally common bird with an apparently stable population and is classed
as a species of Least Concern by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mascarene_martin>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

404:

Aelia Eudoxia, empress consort of Byzantine emperor Arcadius,
died from complications of childbirth.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aelia_Eudoxia>

1777:

American Revolutionary War: British forces under the command of
General Sir Henry Clinton captured Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery, and
then dismantled the Hudson River Chain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Forts_Clinton_and_Montgomery>

1908:

Austria-Hungary announced the annexation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, causing a crisis that permanently damaged their relations
with Russia and the Kingdom of Serbia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_crisis>

1927:

The first successful feature sound film The Jazz Singer,
starring Al Jolson, was released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jazz_Singer>

1976:

A violent crackdown by Thai military and police units on
students and protestors on the grounds of Thammasat University and at
Sanam Luang in Bangkok led to 46 deaths, and a military coup against the
government of Prime Minister Seni Pramoj.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thammasat_University_massacre>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

wizened:
Withered; lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wizened>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

  Change is the principal feature of our age and literature should
explore how people deal with it. The best science fiction does that,
head-on.  
--David Brin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Brin>

_______________________________________________
Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list.
To unsubscribe, visit:
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l
Questions or comments? Contact dal-feedback@wikimedia.org