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The red-throated wryneck (Jynx ruficollis) is a bird in the woodpecker family that is related to the Eurasian wryneck. Its three subspecies are resident in much of sub-Saharan Africa in open habitats with trees. It is a slim bird about 19 cm (7.5 in) in length, with a fine bill, long tail and cryptic grey and brown plumage. The sexes look similar. The diet is almost entirely ants. This wryneck's call is a series of shrill notes. When threatened, it will hiss and twist its neck and head in a snake-like manner to deter predators. It nests in pre-existing holes, usually in trees, preferring old barbet or woodpecker nests. The nest cavity is unlined, and the clutch is typically three or four white eggs. Both sexes incubate for 12 to 15 days until the blind, naked chicks hatch. The chicks are fed by both adults for 25 to 26 days until they fledge. There are usually two broods. This bird has a very extensive range, and a large and increasing population. It is evaluated as a species of least concern by the IUCN. (Full article...)

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Birubala Rabha

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In the news

Tornado damage in Rolling Fork, Mississippi

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A tornado outbreak (damage pictured) in Mississippi and Alabama, United States, leaves at least 24 people dead.
Robert Metcalfe wins the Turing Award for the invention of Ethernet.
The World Baseball Classic concludes with Japan defeating the United States for the championship.
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On this day

April 2: World Autism Awareness Day; feast day of Saint Francis of Paola (Catholicism); Malvinas Day in Argentina (1982); Education and Sharing Day in the United States (2023)

Stanley Kubrick

1513 – Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León sighted land in North America, naming the area La Florida.
1911 – The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted the first national census of the country.
1968 – 2001: A Space Odyssey, an epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick (pictured), premiered at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C.
2006 – More than 60 tornadoes touched down in the central United States, killing 27 people and causing about $1.1 billion in damage.
2015 – Gunmen attacked Garissa University College in Kenya, killing 148 people and wounding 79 others.

Maria Sibylla Merian (b. 1647)
Albert Pike (d. 1891)
Sue Townsend (b. 1946)

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Today's featured picture

The palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) is a large black species of cockatoo in the parrot family (Cacatuidae) native to New Guinea, the Aru Islands, and Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. It has a very large black beak and prominent red cheek patches. This individual was photographed near Lockhart River in Queensland.

Photograph credit: JJ Harrison

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