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Hypothetical reconstruction of the Réunion swamphen

The Réunion swamphen (Porphyrio caerulescens) is a hypothetical extinct species of rail that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Réunion. While only known from accounts by visitors from the 17th and 18th centuries, it was scientifically named in 1848 based on a 1674 account by Sieur Dubois. The Réunion swamphen was described as entirely blue in plumage with a red beak and legs; the size of a Réunion ibis, which could mean 65 to 70 cm (26 to 28 in) in length; and possibly similar to the takahē. While easily hunted, it was a fast runner and able to fly. It may have fed on plant matter and invertebrates, and was said to nest among grasses and aquatic ferns. It was only found on the Plaine des Cafres plateau, to which it may have retreated during the latter part of its existence, whereas other swamphens inhabit lowland swamps. While the last unequivocal account is from 1730, the bird may have survived until 1763. Overhunting and the introduction of cats probably drove it to extinction. (Full article...)

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In the news

HTMS Sukhothai

HTMS Sukhothai (pictured), a corvette of the Royal Thai Navy, capsizes and sinks, leaving 31 crew members missing.
In the Fijian general election, FijiFirst wins the most seats, but fails to gain a parliamentary majority.
In association football, the FIFA World Cup concludes with Argentina defeating France in the final.
At least 24 people are killed in a landslide near Batang Kali, Malaysia.

On this day

December 20

City Hall, Cardiff

1955 – Cardiff (city hall pictured) was recognised as the capital of Wales by the British government.
1987 – The deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history occurred when the MV Doña Paz sank after colliding with an oil tanker in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, resulting in an estimated 4,385 deaths.
1988 – The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, governing international cooperation against the illegal drug trade, opened for signatures.
1995 – American Airlines Flight 965 crashed into a mountain in Buga, Colombia, killing most of those on board.
2007 – Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch was stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art before being recovered about three weeks later.

John Bell (d. 1820)
Kan'ichi Asakawa (b. 1873)
Beatrice Beeby (d. 1991)

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Today's featured picture

Nanook of the North is a 1922 American silent film written and directed by Robert J. Flaherty, which depicts the life of an Inuit family. From 1910, Flaherty worked for Sir William Mackenzie searching for mineral deposits along the Hudson Bay for the Canadian Northern Railway, and in 1913 he decided to start filming the lands and people of the area, using a glass-plate still camera and movie camera. He then spent 1914 and 1915 shooting hours of film of Inuit life, but his work was lost in 1916 when he dropped a cigarette onto the original camera negative. After four years of raising money, including from French fur company Revillon Frères, Flaherty returned to filming in 1920–21. As a main character, Flaherty chose the hunter Allakariallak. The film was produced in full collaboration with the Inuit. In 1989, Nanook of the North was among the first group of twenty-five films selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Film credit: Robert J. Flaherty

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