Wikipedia:Main Page history/2023 February 9b
From today's featured article
The forest raven (Corvus tasmanicus), or Tasmanian raven, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae native to Tasmania and parts of southern Victoria and New South Wales. It is 50 to 53 cm (20 to 21 in) in length, its plumage, beak and legs are all black, and its feathers have grey bases. Adults have white irises; younger birds have dark irises with a blue rim. New South Wales populations form a subspecies, C. t. boreus. This raven lives in a wide variety of habitats in Tasmania, but in closed forest on mainland Australia. Breeding takes place in spring and summer, occurring later in Tasmania than in New South Wales. The nest is a bowl-shaped structure of sticks sited high in a tree. An opportunistic omnivore, it eats a wide variety of plant and animal material, as well as food waste from urban areas and roadkill. It has been blamed for killing lambs and poultry, and is unprotected in Tasmanian law. It is sedentary, with pairs generally bonding for life in permanent territories. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
- ... that the last meal the Luttra Woman (skull pictured) had was raspberries?
- ... that Daniel Thrasher once unintentionally re-created the theme song of The Office?
- ... that talim encodes intricate patterns for Kashmir shawls and carpets?
- ... that the 1981 Japanese experimental short film Spacy is made up of 700 still photographs of a gymnasium?
- ... that in 1943, it took the Oregon State Senate 45 ballots to elect William H. Steiwer as president of the senate over fellow Republican Dorothy McCullough Lee?
- ... that even though Oise amber is found in France, it was produced by a type of tree now found in the Amazon?
- ... that Grand was the least-ridden station on the Logan Square branch for most of its existence?
- ... that one can swim with humpback whales in the Niue Nukutuluea Multiple-Use Marine Park?
In the news
- An earthquake (damage pictured) strikes Turkey and Syria, killing over 21,000 people and injuring more than 80,000 others.
- Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf dies at the age of 79.
- A Chinese balloon suspected of surveillance and espionage is shot down after overflying Canada and the United States.
- Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) makes its closest approach to the Earth.
- A suicide bombing in a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, kills 100 people and injures more than 220 others.
On this day
- 1234 – Caizhou, the capital of the Jin dynasty, was captured by the Mongol Empire and their Song allies, bringing an end to Jurchen rule.
- 1855 – A series of hoof-like marks in the snow continuing through the countryside for some 40 to 100 miles (60 to 160 km) were discovered in Devon, England.
- 1913 – A meteor procession was observed along a great circle arc from Canada to Brazil, leading astronomers to conclude that its source was a small, short-lived natural satellite of the Earth.
- 1923 – Stanley Bruce became prime minister of Australia as leader of the country's first Coalition government.
- 1964 – As Beatlemania swept the United States, the Beatles (pictured) made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show before a record-breaking audience, beginning a musical phenomenon known as the British Invasion.
- Minamoto no Yoritomo (d. 1199)
- Gerhard Richter (b. 1932)
- Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (d. 2002)
Today's featured picture
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Henties Bay is a coastal town in the Erongo Region of western Namibia. It is a holiday and retirement settlement, with angling a popular activity, and also serves as a gateway to the seal colony of Cape Cross, which lies 46 kilometres (29 miles) to the north of the town. The town is named after Major Hendrik "Henty" Stefanus van der Merwe, who found the location in 1929 while looking for water, noting the abundance of fish, and was one of the first to promote the town as a tourist resort. This aerial view of Henties Bay was taken in 2018, with the South Atlantic Ocean in the background. Photograph credit: Arne Müseler
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