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>
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