Wilson's storm petrel

Wilson's storm petrel (Oceanites oceanicus), also known as Wilson's petrel, is a small seabird of the storm petrel family. It is one of the most abundant bird species in the world and has a circumpolar distribution mainly in the seas of the southern hemisphere but extending northwards during the summer of the northern hemisphere. The world population has been estimated to be more than 50 million pairs. The name commemorates the Scottish-American ornithologist Alexander Wilson.

Description

Wilson's storm petrel is a small bird, 16–18.5 cm (6.3–7.3 in) in length with a 38–42 cm (15–16.5 in) wingspan. It is slightly larger than the European storm petrel and is essentially dark brown in all plumages, except for the white rump and flanks. The feet jut beyond the square ended tail in flight. The European storm petrel has a very distinct whitish lining to the underwing and a nearly all dark upperwing. Wilson's storm petrel has a diffuse pale band along the upper wing coverts and lacks the distinctive white underwing lining. The webbing between the toes is yellow with black spots in pre-breeding age individuals.

Storm petrel

Storm petrels are seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. Their flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.

Storm petrels have a cosmopolitan distribution, being found in all oceans. They are strictly pelagic, coming to land only when breeding. In the case of most species, little is known of their behaviour and distribution at sea, where they can be hard to find and harder to identify. They are colonial nesters, displaying strong philopatry to their natal colonies and nesting sites. Most species nest in crevices or burrows and all but one species attend the breeding colonies nocturnally. Pairs form long-term monogamous bonds and share incubation and chick feeding duties. Like many species of seabird, nesting is highly protracted with incubation taking up to 50 days and fledging another 70 days after that.

Several species of storm petrel are threatened by human activities. One species, the Guadalupe storm petrel, is thought to have gone extinct; the New Zealand storm petrel was presumed extinct until rediscovered in 2003. The principal threats to storm petrels are introduced species, particularly mammals, in their breeding colonies; many storm petrels habitually nest on isolated mammal-free islands and are unable to cope with predators like rats and feral cats.

Wilson

Wilson may refer to:

Name

Leaders

Places

Australia

Canada

Poland

United Kingdom

United States of America

Wilson's (department store)

Wilson's is a full line department store, based in Greenfield, Massachusetts. It first opened in 1882.

The original business, known as the Boston Store, was owned and operated by the White Brothers from 1882 to 1896. Its original frontage was only 25 feet, but it thrived and doubled in size. In 1896 John Wilson, from Scotland, bought the store from the Whites and renamed it the John Wilson Company. He enlarged the store by adding a second floor, a grand double staircase in the center, and a grocery department on the lower level. The new store even had a horse-drawn delivery service, with a livery stable on the premises.

In 1929, R. Stanley Reid of the former Boston Store in North Adams and George L. Willis of the then Wallace Company in Pittsfield together purchased the John Wilson Company store from the Wilson family. The Reid family owned the business after Mr. Willis’s death in 1941. Robert S. Reid, Jr. served as President of Wilson’s from the time of his father’s death in 1961 until his retirement in 1990. During his tenure he expanded the second floor and added a third floor into space once occupied by the Greenfield Hotel.

Kendal Mint Cake

Kendal Mint Cake is a glucose-based confection flavoured with peppermint. It originates from Kendal in Cumbria, England. Kendal Mint Cake is popular among climbers and mountaineers, especially those from the United Kingdom, as a source of energy.

History

Kendal Mint Cake is based on a traditional recipe known as mint cake, peppermint tablet and various other similar names. Kendal Mint Cake is well known to mountaineers and explorers for its high energy content. There are currently three companies that still produce Kendal mint cake in Kendal. The origin of the Mint cake is allegedly from a batch of Peppermint creams that went wrong. The mixture was left overnight and the solidified 'mint cake' was discovered in the morning.

Romney's

Romney's was founded in 1918 and used an old recipe to create Mint Cake. This Mint Cake was sold in Kendal and sent by train to other areas of the north west for sale. In 1987, Romney's bought Wiper's Mint Cake from Harry Wiper, who had inherited ownership of Wiper's in 1960 when his father died.