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From today's featured article

The mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus) is a bird common to much of Europe, Asia and North Africa. It is a year-round resident in much of its range, but northern and eastern populations migrate south for the winter, often in small flocks. It is a large thrush with pale grey-brown upperparts, a greyish-white chin and throat, and black spots on its pale yellow and off-white underparts. The sexes are similar in plumage, and its three subspecies show only minimal differences. The male's loud song is delivered even in wet and windy weather, earning the bird the old name of "stormcock". Found in open woods, parks, hedges and cultivated land, the mistle thrush feeds on a wide variety of invertebrates, seeds and berries, especially mistletoe, holly and yew fruits. It defends its open cup nest fearlessly against potential predators, sometimes including humans or cats. Following a large range expansion in the 18th and early 19th centuries, there has been a small decline in recent decades, perhaps due to changes in agricultural practices. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Flight Stop, Toronto Eaton Centre

... that each of the sixty geese in Michael Snow's Flight Stop (pictured) is wearing a costume made from photographs of a dead Canada goose culled from Toronto Island?
... that Clifford Braimah, head of the Ghana Water Company, is a supporter of Operation Vanguard and its mission to end illegal mining?
... that the rising prosperity of the Wang family of Lingshi County during the Qing dynasty financed the multi-generation construction of a grand residential complex of hundreds of courtyards with over 2,000 rooms?
... that Governor-elect of Jalisco Enrique Alfaro Ramírez was the first winning gubernatorial candidate to come from the Movimiento Ciudadano party?
... that the YouTube channel ContraPoints releases humorous, left-leaning educational videos responding to the arguments of the growing community of right-wing YouTubers?
... that the mezzo-soprano Carla Henius performed in the premiere of Luigi Nono's Intolleranza 1960 at La Fenice, and had a composition by Dieter Schnebel written for her voice?
... that Neocalanus cristatus nauplii feed off their yolks during the 40 days it may take them to ascend to the surface of the sea?
... that chemical engineer Robert Edgeworth-Johnstone invented a flute made from the aluminium brass tubing used in oil refineries?

In the news

Student protests in Dhaka, Bangladesh

A 6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes Lombok, Indonesia, killing at least 98 people after its 6.4 magnitude foreshock killed at least 20 a week prior.
More than 100 people are injured in road safety protests (pictured) in Bangladesh.
A 79-year-old Junkers Ju 52 aircraft crashes in Switzerland, killing all 20 people on board.
In cycling, Geraint Thomas wins the Tour de France.
Following allegations of sexual misconduct, American Archbishop Theodore McCarrick becomes the first cleric to resign from the College of Cardinals since 1927.

On this day

August 7

Le Griffon

768 – The papacy of Stephen III, who convened the Lateran Council of 769, began.
1679 – Le Griffon (pictured), a brigantine built by René-Robert de La Salle, began its journey to be the first sailing ship to navigate the upper Great Lakes.
1933 – Iraqi troops slaughtered 600–3,000 Assyrians during the Simele massacre in the Dahuk and Mosul districts.
1998 – Car bombs exploded simultaneously at the American embassies in the East African capital cities of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, killing more than 200 people and injuring more than 4,000 others.
2008 – Fighting between the Georgian and South Ossetian separatist forces escalated to the six-day Russo-Georgian War.

Jin Shengtan (d. 1661) · Huntley Wright (b. 1868) · Rebecca Kleefisch (b. 1975)

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Today's featured picture

View of Delft is an oil painting on canvas by Johannes Vermeer, painted c. 1660–1661. Depicting the artist's hometown Delft, it was completed at a time when cityscapes were uncommon, and has become one of Vermeer's most popular works. It is one of three known paintings of the city by Vermeer, along with The Little Street and the lost painting House Standing in Delft. The use of pointillism suggests that the painting, which is held by the Mauritshuis in The Hague, postdates The Little Street.

Painting: Johannes Vermeer

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