The family was traditionally divided into six subfamilies: Rosoideae, Spiraeoideae, Maloideae (Pomoideae), Amygdaloideae (Prunoideae), Neuradoideae, and Chrysobalanoideae, and most of these were treated as families by various authors. More recently (1971), Chrysobalanoideae was placed in Malpighiales in molecular analyses and Neuradoideae has been assigned to Malvales. Schulze-Menz, in Engler's Syllabus edited by Melchior (1964) recognized Rosoideae, Dryadoideae, Lyonothamnoideae, Spireoideae, Amygdaloideae, and Maloideae. They were primarily diagnosed by the structure of the fruits. More recent work has identified that not all of these groups were monophyletic. Hutchinson (1964) and Kalkman (2004)  recognized only tribes (17 and 21, respectively). Takhtajan (1997) delimited 21 tribes in 10 subfamilies: Filipenduloideae, Rosoideae, Ruboideae, Potentilloideae, Coleogynoideae, Kerroideae, Amygdaloideae (Prunoideae), Spireoideae, Maloideae (Pyroideae), Dichotomanthoideae. A more modern model comprises three subfamilies, one of which (Rosoideae) has largely remained the same.
While the boundaries of the Rosaceae are not disputed, there is no general agreement as to how many genera it contains. Areas of divergent opinion include the treatment of Potentilla s.l. and Sorbus s.l.. Compounding the problem is that apomixis is common in several genera. This results in an uncertainty in the number of species contained in each of these genera, due to the difficulty of dividing apomictic complexes into species. For example, Cotoneaster contains between 70 and 300 species, Rosa around 100 (including the taxonomically complex dog roses), Sorbus 100 to 200 species, Crataegus between 200 and 1,000, Alchemilla around 300 species, Potentilla roughly 500, and Rubus hundreds, or possibly even thousands of species.


Identified clades include:
Subfamily Rosoideae: Traditionally composed of those genera bearing aggregate fruits that are made up of small achenes or drupelets, and often the fleshy part of the fruit (e.g. strawberry) is the receptacle or the stalk bearing the carpels. The circumscription is now narrowed (excluding, for example, the Dryadoideae), but it still remains a diverse group containing five or six tribes and 20 or more genera, including rose, Rubus (blackberry, raspberry), Fragaria (strawberry), Potentilla, and Geum.
Subfamily Amygdaloideae: Within this group remains an identified clade with a pome fruit, traditionally known as subfamily Maloideae (or Pyroideae) which included genera such as apple, Cotoneaster, and Crataegus (hawthorn). To separate it at the subfamily level would leave the remaining genera as a paraphyletic group, so it has been expanded to include the former Spiraeoideae and Amygdaloideae. The subfamily has sometimes been referred to by the name "Spiraeoideae", but this is not permitted by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants.
Subfamily Dryadoideae: Fruits are achenes with hairy styles, and includes five genera (Dryas, Cercocarpus, Chamaebatia, Cowania, and Purshia), most species of which form root nodules which host nitrogen-fixing bacteria from the genus Frankia.


The fruits occur in many varieties and were once considered the main characters for the definition of subfamilies amongst Rosaceae, giving rise to a fundamentally artificial subdivision. They can be follicles, capsules, nuts, achenes, drupes (Prunus), and accessory fruits, like the pome of an apple, or the hip of a rose. Many fruits of the family are edible, but their seeds often contain amygdalin, which can release cyanide during digestion if the seed is damaged.


Flowers of plants in the rose family are generally described as "showy". They are radially symmetrical, and almost always hermaphroditic. Rosaceae generally have five sepals, five petals, and many spirally arranged stamens. The bases of the sepals, petals, and stamens are fused together to form a characteristic cup-like structure called a hypanthium. They can be arranged in spikes, or heads. Solitary flowers are rare. Rosaceae have a variety of color petals, but blue is almost completely absent.


The concept of metapopulations was defined in 1969 as "a population of populations which go extinct locally and recolonize". Metapopulation ecology is another statistical approach that is often used in conservation research. Metapopulation models simplify the landscape into patches of varying levels of quality, and metapopulations are linked by the migratory behaviours of organisms. Animal migration is set apart from other kinds of movement because it involves the seasonal departure and return of individuals from a habitat. Migration is also a population-level phenomenon, as with the migration routes followed by plants as they occupied northern post-glacial environments. Plant ecologists use pollen records that accumulate and stratify in wetlands to reconstruct the timing of plant migration and dispersal relative to historic and contemporary climates. These migration routes involved an expansion of the range as plant populations expanded from one area to another. There is a larger taxonomy of movement, such as commuting, foraging, territorial behaviour, stasis, and ranging. Dispersal is usually distinguished from migration because it involves the one-way permanent movement of individuals from their birth population into another population.
In metapopulation terminology, migrating individuals are classed as emigrants (when they leave a region) or immigrants (when they enter a region), and sites are classed either as sources or sinks. A site is a generic term that refers to places where ecologists sample populations, such as ponds or defined sampling areas in a forest. Source patches are productive sites that generate a seasonal supply of juveniles that migrate to other patch locations. Sink patches are unproductive sites that only receive migrants; the population at the site will disappear unless rescued by an adjacent source patch or environmental conditions become more favourable. Metapopulation models examine patch dynamics over time to answer potential questions about spatial and demographic ecology. The ecology of metapopulations is a dynamic process of extinction and colonization. Small patches of lower quality (i.e., sinks) are maintained or rescued by a seasonal influx of new immigrants. A dynamic metapopulation structure evolves from year to year, where some patches are sinks in dry years and are sources when conditions are more favourable. Ecologists use a mixture of computer models and field studies to explain metapopulation structure.


The scale of ecological dynamics can operate like a closed system, such as aphids migrating on a single tree, while at the same time remain open with regard to broader scale influences, such as atmosphere or climate. Hence, ecologists classify ecosystems hierarchically by analyzing data collected from finer scale units, such as vegetation associations, climate, and soil types, and integrate this information to identify emergent patterns of uniform organization and processes that operate on local to regional, landscape, and chronological scales.
To structure the study of ecology into a conceptually manageable framework, the biological world is organized into a nested hierarchy, ranging in scale from genes, to cells, to tissues, to organs, to organisms, to species, to populations, to communities, to ecosystems, to biomes, and up to the level of the biosphere. This framework forms a panarchy and exhibits non-linear behaviors; this means that "effect and cause are disproportionate, so that small changes to critical variables, such as the number of nitrogen fixers, can lead to disproportionate, perhaps irreversible, changes in the system properties."


The scope of ecology contains a wide array of interacting levels of organization spanning micro-level (e.g., cells) to a planetary scale (e.g., biosphere) phenomena. Ecosystems, for example, contain abiotic resources and interacting life forms (i.e., individual organisms that aggregate into populations which aggregate into distinct ecological communities). Ecosystems are dynamic, they do not always follow a linear successional path, but they are always changing, sometimes rapidly and sometimes so slowly that it can take thousands of years for ecological processes to bring about certain successional stages of a forest. An ecosystem's area can vary greatly, from tiny to vast. A single tree is of little consequence to the classification of a forest ecosystem, but critically relevant to organisms living in and on it. Several generations of an aphid population can exist over the lifespan of a single leaf. Each of those aphids, in turn, support diverse bacterial communities. The nature of connections in ecological communities cannot be explained by knowing the details of each species in isolation, because the emergent pattern is neither revealed nor predicted until the ecosystem is studied as an integrated whole. Some ecological principles, however, do exhibit collective properties where the sum of the components explain the properties of the whole, such as birth rates of a population being equal to the sum of individual births over a designated time frame.
The main subdisciplines of ecology, population (or community) ecology and ecosystem ecology, exhibit a difference not only of scale but also of two contrasting paradigms in the field. The former focuses on organisms' distribution and abundance, while the latter focuses on materials and energy fluxes.


The largest scale of ecological organization is the biosphere: the total sum of ecosystems on the planet. Ecological relationships regulate the flux of energy, nutrients, and climate all the way up to the planetary scale. For example, the dynamic history of the planetary atmosphere's CO₂ and O₂ composition has been affected by the biogenic flux of gases coming from respiration and photosynthesis, with levels fluctuating over time in relation to the ecology and evolution of plants and animals. Ecological theory has also been used to explain self-emergent regulatory phenomena at the planetary scale: for example, the Gaia hypothesis is an example of holism applied in ecological theory. The Gaia hypothesis states that there is an emergent feedback loop generated by the metabolism of living organisms that maintains the core temperature of the Earth and atmospheric conditions within a narrow self-regulating range of tolerance.


Population ecology studies the dynamics of species populations and how these populations interact with the wider environment. A population consists of individuals of the same species that live, interact, and migrate through the same niche and habitat.
A primary law of population ecology is the Malthusian growth model which states, "a population will grow (or decline) exponentially as long as the environment experienced by all individuals in the population remains constant." Simplified population models usually start with four variables: death, birth, immigration, and emigration.
An example of an introductory population model describes a closed population, such as on an island, where immigration and emigration does not take place. Hypotheses are evaluated with reference to a null hypothesis which states that random processes create the observed data. In these island models, the rate of population change is described by:
{\displaystyle {\frac {\operatorname {d} N(t)}{\operatorname {d} t}}=bN(t)-dN(t)=(b-d)N(t)=rN(t),}
where N is the total number of individuals in the population, b and d are the per capita rates of birth and death respectively, and r is the per capita rate of population change.
Using these modeling techniques, Malthus' population principle of growth was later transformed into a model known as the logistic equation by Pierre Verhulst:
{\displaystyle {\frac {\operatorname {d} N(t)}{\operatorname {d} t}}=rN(t)-\alpha N(t)^{2}=rN(t)\left({\frac {K-N(t)}{K}}\right),}
where N(t) is the number of individuals measured as biomass density as a function of time, t, r is the maximum per-capita rate of change commonly known as the intrinsic rate of growth, and \alpha  is the crowding coefficient, which represents the reduction in population growth rate per individual added. The formula states that the rate of change in population size ({\displaystyle \mathrm {d} N(t)/\mathrm {d} t}) will grow to approach equilibrium, where ({\displaystyle \mathrm {d} N(t)/\mathrm {d} t=0}), when the rates of increase and crowding are balanced, {\displaystyle r/\alpha }. A common, analogous model fixes the equilibrium, {\displaystyle r/\alpha } as K, which is known as the "carrying capacity."
Population ecology builds upon these introductory models to further understand demographic processes in real study populations. Commonly used types of data include life history, fecundity, and survivorship, and these are analysed using mathematical techniques such as matrix algebra. The information is used for managing wildlife stocks and setting harvest quotas. In cases where basic models are insufficient, ecologists may adopt different kinds of statistical methods, such as the Akaike information criterion, or use models that can become mathematically complex as "several competing hypotheses are simultaneously confronted with the data."


Ecology (from Ancient Greek  οἶκος (oîkos) 'house', and  -λογία (-logía) 'study of') is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps with the closely related sciences of biogeography, evolutionary biology, genetics, ethology, and natural history. Ecology is a branch of biology, and it is not synonymous with environmentalism.
Among other things, ecology is the study of:
Life processes, antifragility, interactions, and adaptations
The movement of materials and energy through living communities
The successional development of ecosystems
Cooperation, competition, and predation within and between species
The abundance, biomass, and distribution of organisms in the context of the environment
Patterns of biodiversity and its effect on ecosystem processes
Ecology has practical applications in conservation biology, wetland management, natural resource management (agroecology, agriculture, forestry, agroforestry, fisheries), urban planning (urban ecology), community health, economics, basic and applied science, and human social interaction (human ecology).
The word ecology (German: Ökologie) was coined in 1866 by the German scientist Ernst Haeckel, and it became a rigorous science in the late 19th century. Evolutionary concepts relating to adaptation and natural selection are cornerstones of modern ecological theory.
Ecosystems are dynamically interacting systems of organisms, the communities they make up, and the non-living (abiotic) components of their environment. Ecosystem processes, such as primary production, nutrient cycling, and niche construction, regulate the flux of energy and matter through an environment. Ecosystems have biophysical feedback mechanisms that moderate processes acting on living (biotic) and abiotic components of the planet. Ecosystems sustain life-supporting functions and provide ecosystem services like biomass production (food, fuel, fiber, and medicine), the regulation of climate, global biogeochemical cycles, water filtration, soil formation, erosion control, flood protection, and many other natural features of scientific, historical, economic, or intrinsic value.


Definitions of the niche date back to 1917, but G. Evelyn Hutchinson made conceptual advances in 1957 by introducing a widely adopted definition:  "the set of biotic and abiotic conditions in which a species is able to persist and maintain stable population sizes." The ecological niche is a central concept in the ecology of organisms and is sub-divided into the fundamental and the realized niche. The fundamental niche is the set of environmental conditions under which a species is able to persist. The realized niche is the set of environmental plus ecological conditions under which a species persists. The Hutchinsonian niche is defined more technically as a "Euclidean hyperspace whose dimensions are defined as environmental variables and whose size is a function of the number of values that the environmental values may assume for which an organism has positive fitness."
Biogeographical patterns and range distributions are explained or predicted through knowledge of a species' traits and niche requirements. Species have functional traits that are uniquely adapted to the ecological niche. A trait is a measurable property, phenotype, or characteristic of an organism that may influence its survival. Genes play an important role in the interplay of development and environmental expression of traits. Resident species evolve traits that are fitted to the selection pressures of their local environment. This tends to afford them a competitive advantage and discourages similarly adapted species from having an overlapping geographic range. The competitive exclusion principle states that two species cannot coexist indefinitely by living off the same limiting resource; one will always out-compete the other. When similarly adapted species overlap geographically, closer inspection reveals subtle ecological differences in their habitat or dietary requirements. Some models and empirical studies, however, suggest that disturbances can stabilize the co-evolution and shared niche occupancy of similar species inhabiting species-rich communities. The habitat plus the niche is called the ecotope, which is defined as the full range of environmental and biological variables affecting an entire species.


Arctic life is characterized by adaptation to short growing seasons with long periods of sunlight, and cold, dark, snow-covered winter conditions.


The Arctic includes copious natural resources (oil, gas, minerals, fresh water, fish and, if the subarctic is included, forest) to which modern technology and the economic opening up of Russia have given significant new opportunities. The interest of the tourism industry is also on the increase.
The Arctic contains some of the last and most extensive continuous wilderness areas in the world, and its significance in preserving biodiversity and genotypes is considerable. The increasing presence of humans fragments vital habitats. The Arctic is particularly susceptible to the abrasion of groundcover and to the disturbance of the rare breeding grounds of the animals that are characteristic to the region. The Arctic also holds 1/5 of the Earth's water supply.


Herbivores on the tundra include the Arctic hare, lemming, muskox, and caribou. They are preyed on by the snowy owl, Arctic fox, Grizzly bear, and Arctic wolf. The polar bear is also a predator, though it prefers to hunt for marine life from the ice. There are also many birds and marine species endemic to the colder regions. Other terrestrial animals include wolverines, moose, Dall sheep, ermines, and Arctic ground squirrels. Marine mammals include seals, walrus, and several species of cetacean—baleen whales and also narwhals, orcas, and belugas. An excellent and famous example of a ring species exists and has been described around the Arctic Circle in the form of the Larus gulls.


Arctic vegetation is composed of plants such as dwarf shrubs, graminoids, herbs, lichens, and mosses, which all grow relatively close to the ground, forming tundra. An example of a dwarf shrub is the bearberry. As one moves northward, the amount of warmth available for plant growth decreases considerably. In the northernmost areas, plants are at their metabolic limits, and small differences in the total amount of summer warmth make large differences in the amount of energy available for maintenance, growth and reproduction. Colder summer temperatures cause the size, abundance, productivity and variety of plants to decrease. Trees cannot grow in the Arctic, but in its warmest parts, shrubs are common and can reach 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in height; sedges, mosses and lichens can form thick layers. In the coldest parts of the Arctic, much of the ground is bare; non-vascular plants such as lichens and mosses predominate, along with a few scattered grasses and forbs (like the Arctic poppy).


January 8 – United States President George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City.
January 11 – The 11 minor states of the Austrian Netherlands, which took part in the Brabant Revolution at the end of 1789, sign a Treaty of Union, creating the United States of Belgium.
January 14 – U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton submits his proposed plan for payment of American debts, starting with $12,000,000 to pay the foreign debts of the confederation, followed by $40 million for domestic debts, and $21.5 million for the war debts of the states. The plan is narrowly approved 14-12 in the Senate, and 34-28 in the House.
January 15 – Fletcher Christian & 8 mutineers aboard the Bounty land on Pitcairn.
January 26 – Mozart's opera Così fan tutte premieres in Vienna.
January 30 – The first boat specialized as a rescue lifeboat is tested on the River Tyne in England.
Olowalu Massacre, American Captain Simon Metcalfe opened fire with cannon towards villagers in cannons, killing about one hundred Hawaiians, and wounded many others.
February 1 – In New York City, the Supreme Court of the United States convenes for the first time.
February 4 – Louis XVI of France declares to the National Assembly that he will maintain the constitutional laws.
February 11 – Two Quaker delegates petition the United States Congress for the abolition of slavery.
February 25 – North Carolina cedes its western territories (modern day Tennessee) to the federal government.
March 1 – The first United States Census is authorized; it is held later in the year.
March 4 – France is divided into 83 départements, which cut across the former provinces, in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on noble ownership of land.
March 6 – The New York legislature consents to the admission to the Union of a new state, Vermont, formed within the boundaries of New York, contingent upon the successful conclusion of negotiations concerning disputed real-estate claims, and the boundary between the two states.
March 21 – Thomas Jefferson reports to President George Washington in New York, as the new United States Secretary of State.


January 5 – Jacob Christian Schäffer, German inventor, botanist and professor (b. 1718)
January 13 – Luc Urbain de Bouëxic, comte de Guichen, French admiral (b. 1712)
January 15 – John Landen, English mathematician (b. 1719)
January 20 – John Howard (prison reformer), English philanthropist (b. 1726)
January 25 – Meriwether Smith, American Continental Congressman for Virginia (b. 1730)
January 31 – Thomas Lewis, Irish-born Virginia settler (b. 1718)
February 5 – William Cullen, Scottish physician, chemist (b. 1710)
February 15– Juan Albano Pereira Márquez, godfather and tutor of Bernardo O'Higgins (b. 1728)
February 18 – Elisabeth of Württemberg, Archduchess of Austria (b. 1767)
February 20
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1741)
Leonard Lispenard, American politician (b. 1714)
March 4 – Henry Wisner, American Continental Congressman for New York (b. 1720)
March 12
András Hadik, Austro-Hungarian general (b. 1710)
William Grayson, American Continental Congressman and United States Senator for Virginia (b. 1740)
April 6 – Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (b. 1719)
April 17 – Benjamin Franklin, American scientist, statesman (b. 1706)
April 29 – Charles-Nicolas Cochin, French artist (b. 1715)
May 4 – Matthew Tilghman, American Continental Congressman for Maryland (b. 1718)
May 9 – William Clingan, American Continental Congressman for Pennsylvania (b. c.1721)
May 16 – Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, English politician (b. 1720)
May 20 – Nathan Miller, American Continental Congressman for Rhode Island (b. 1743)
May 21 – Thomas Warton, English poet (b. 1728)
May 23 – George Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu (b. 1712)
May 26 – Nathaniel Folsom, American Continental Congressman for New Hampshire and Revolutionary War major general (b. 1726)
May 29 – Israel Putnam, American Revolutionary War general (b. 1718)
June 1 – Theodorick Bland, American Continental Congressman and U.S. Representative for Virginia (b. 1741)
June 25 – Lovisa Augusti, Swedish opera singer (b. 1756)
July 3 – Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l'Isle, French chemist (b. 1736)
July 6 – George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield, British army officer (b. 1717)
July 7 – François Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher (b. 1721)
July 14 – Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (b. 1717)
July 17 – Adam Smith, Scottish economist, philosopher (b. 1723)
July 25
Johann Bernhard Basedow, German educational reformer (b. 1723)
William Livingston, Governor of New Jersey (1776-1790) (b. 1723)
August 16 – David Brearley, American Revolutionary War colonel, signer of the U.S. Constitution for New Jersey, and federal judge (b. 1745)
September 2 – Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, German historian, theologian (b. 1701)
September 28 – Nikolaus I, Prince Esterházy, Hungarian prince (b. 1714)
October 7 – Antoine Choquet de Lindu, French architect (b. 1712)
October 14 – William Hooper, American signer of the Declaration of Independence and Continental Congressman for North Carolina (b. 1742)
October 19 – Lyman Hall, American signer of the Declaration of Independence and Governor of Georgia (1783-1784)(b. 1724)
October 31 – Michael Schlatter, American clergyman (b. 1716)
November 2 – Lambert Krahe, German artist (b. 1712)
November 6 – James Bowdoin, American Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1726)           * November 13 – Alexander Arya Alwi II, Kingdom November 22th King And Priest (b. 1765)
November 16 – Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, American Continental Congressman and Signer of the U.S. Constitution for Maryland (b. 1723)
November 24 – Sir Hew Dalrymple, 2nd Baronet, Scottish politician and MP for Haddington Burghs on two occasions (b. 1712)
November 27 – Robert Livingston, American member of the New York colonial assembly (1737-1758) (b. 1708)
December 14 – John Hulse, English clergyman (b. 1708)
December 16 – Benjamin Andrew, American Continental Congressman for Georgia and member of the Georgia House of Representatives (b. 1713)
December 29 – Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa, Italian ruler (b. 1725)
date unknown - Helen Gloag, Scottish slave, Empress of Morocco (b. 1750)


October to December - Vincent Ogé leads a free black's rebellion in Saint-Domingue. The rebellion is suppressed and Ogé executed.
October 7 – Commissioners appointed by the New York legislature announce the successful conclusion of negotiations between New York and Vermont, concerning disputed real-estate claims, and the consent of New York's legislature to the admission to the Union of the state of Vermont as the 14th State (which was formed within what New York claimed as its territory, under an Order in Council, that King George III issued on July 20, 1764).
October 10 – At least 3,000 people die in Algeria when an earthquake and tsunami strikes the city of Oran. The city is destroyed and Spanish forces eventually flee in 1792.
October 20 – The Harmar Campaign ends in a defeat of U.S. Army General Josiah Harmar and Colonel John Hardin by the Western Confederacy of Indians, led by Chief Mihšihkinaahkwa of the Miami tribe and Weyapiersenwah of the Shawnee at Kekionga (now Fort Wayne, Indiana).
November 24 – France's Constituent Assembly passes a law requiring all Roman Catholic priests to swear an oath of acceptance of the new French Constitution.
November 27 – U.S. President George Washington and his wife, Martha Washington, arrive in the new temporary U.S. capital, Philadelphia, and take up residence at the President's House located at 524 Market Street.
December 2 – Holy Roman Empire forces recapture Brussels, bringing an end to the short-lived United States of Belgium and restoring the Austrian Netherlands.
December 6 – The United States Congress opens its first session in the new temporary U.S. capital in Philadelphia.
December 10 – The Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars begin in New South Wales, Australia, as a result of deterioration in relations and increasing colonization.
December 11 – Russo-Turkish War (1787–92): During Alexander Suvorov's storm of Izmail, 26,000 Turkish soldiers lose their lives.
December 17 – The Aztec calendar stone is discovered at El Zócalo, Mexico City.
December 22 – The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Alexander Suvorov and his Russian armies.
December 26 – Louis XVI of France gives his public assent to Civil Constitution of the Clergy during the French Revolution.


1790 (MDCCXC) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar, the 1790th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 790th  year of the 2nd millennium, the 90th  year of the 18th century, and the  1st   year of the 1790s decade. As of the start of 1790, the Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.


April 10 – The United States patent system is established.
May 13 – Battle of Reval: Gustav III of Sweden sends the battlefleet to eliminate the Russian squadron wintering at Reval (Estonia), but is defeated; 8 Russians, 51 Swedes are killed, 250 captured, and 2 ships are sunk.
May 17–18 – Battle of Andros: An Ottoman–Algerian fleet destroys the fleet of the Greek privateer Lambros Katsonis.
May 26 – Congress passes an act to govern the creation of states from the "Southwest Territory", from which Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi will be formed.
May 29 – Rhode Island ratifies the United States Constitution, and becomes the last of the 13 original states to do so.
June 9 – Royal assent is given to establishment of the port of Milford Haven in Wales.
June 20 – Compromise of 1790: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton come to an agreement: Madison agrees to not be "strenuous" in opposition for the assumption of state debts by the federal government; Hamilton agrees to support the capital site being above the Potomac.
June 23 – The alleged London Monster is arrested in London; he later receives 40 years for 10 assaults.


December 25 – January 5: Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
December 26 – January 1: Kwanzaa (African Americans)
December 31 – January 1, in some cases until January 2: Hogmanay (Scotland)
January 1
Feast of the Circumcision of Christ
Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (Anglican Communion, Lutheran Church)
Feast of Fools (Medieval Europe)
Constitution Day (Italy)
Dissolution of Czechoslovakia-related observances:
Day of the Establishment of the Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
Restoration Day of the Independent Czech State (Czech Republic)
Euro Day (European Union)
Flag Day (Lithuania)
Founding Day (Taiwan)
Global Family Day
Independence Day (Brunei, Cameroon, Haiti, Sudan)
International Nepali Dhoti and Nepali Topi Day
Jump-up Day (Montserrat, British Overseas Territories)
Kalpataru Day (Ramakrishna Movement)
National Bloody Mary Day (United States)
National Tree Planting Day (Tanzania)
New Year's Day
Japanese New Year
Novy God Day (Russia)
Sjoogwachi (Okinawa Islands)
Polar Bear Swim Day (Canada and United States)
Public Domain Day (multiple countries)
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Catholic Church)
World Day of Peace
Triumph of the Revolution (Cuba)
January 2
Ancestry Day (Haiti)
Berchtold's Day (Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and the Alsace)
Carnival Day (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
Happy Mew Year For Cats Day (Thomas Roy)
Kakizome (Japan)
National Creampuff Day (United States)
National Science Fiction Day (United States)
The second day of New Year (a holiday in Armenia, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, Mauritius, Montenegro, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, and Ukraine)
Nyinlong (Bhutan)
Victory of Armed Forces Day (Cuba)
January 3
Anniversary of the 1966 Coup d’état (Burkina Faso)
Memento Mori (Thomas Roy)
Nakhatsenendyan toner (Armenia): January 3–5
Ministry of Religious Affairs Day (Indonesia)
National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day (United States)
Tamaseseri Festival (Hakozaki Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan)
January 4
Day of the Fallen against the Colonial Repression (Angola)
Day of the Martyrs (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Dimpled Chad Day (Thomas Roy)
Hwinukan mukee (Okinawa Islands, Japan)
Independence Day (Myanmar)
Ogoni Day (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People)
World Braille Day
January 5
National Bird Day (United States)
National Whipped Cream Day (United States)
Sausage Day (United Kingdom)
Strawberry day (Japan)
Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day (Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, Australia)
Tucindan (Serbia, Montenegro)
January 6
Armed Forces Day (Iraq)
Epiphany or Three Kings' Day (Western Christianity) or Theophany (Eastern Christianity), and its related observances:
Befana Day (Italy)
Christmas (Armenian Apostolic Church)
Christmas Eve (Russia)
Christmas Eve (Ukraine)
Christmas Eve (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Christmas Eve (North Macedonia)
Little Christmas (Ireland)
Þrettándinn (Iceland)
Three Wise Men Day
Pathet Lao Day (Laos)
January 7
Christmas (Eastern Orthodox Churches and Oriental Orthodox Churches using the Julian Calendar, Rastafari)
Christmas in Russia
Christmas in Ukraine
Christmas (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Remembrance Day of the Dead (Armenia)
Distaff Day (Medieval Europe)
Nanakusa no sekku (Japan)
Pioneer's Day (Liberia)
Tricolour day (Italy)
Victory from Genocide Day (Cambodia)
January 8
Show and Tell Day at Work (Thomas Roy)
The Eighth (United States) (defunct observance)
Typing Day (international observance)
January 9
Start of Hōonkō (Nishi Honganji) January 9–16  (Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism)
Martyrs' Day (Panama)
National Cassoulet Day (United States)
Non-Resident Indian Day (India)
Republic Day (Republika Srpska) (defunct, declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
St. Stephen's Day (Eastern Orthodox)
January 10
Fête du Vodoun (Benin)
Majority Rule Day (Bahamas)
January 11
Children's Day (Tunisia)
Eugenio María de Hostos Day (Puerto Rico)
German Apples Day (Germany)
Independence Manifesto Day (Morocco)
Kagami biraki (Japan)
National Human Trafficking Awareness Day (United States)
Republic Day (Albania)
January 12
Memorial Day (Turkmenistan)
Prosecutor General's Day (Russia)
National Youth Day (India)
Zanzibar Revolution Day (Tanzania)
January 13
Constitution Day (Mongolia)
Democracy Day (Cape Verde)
Liberation Day (Togo)
Old New Year's Eve (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of Srpska, North Macedonia), and its related observances:
Malanka (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus)
St. Knut's Day (Sweden and Finland)
Stephen Foster Memorial Day (United States)
January 14
Azhyrnykhua (Abkhazia)
Day of Defenders of the Motherland (Uzbekistan)
Feast of Divina Pastora (Barquisimeto)
Feast of the Ass (Medieval Christianity)
Flag Day (Georgia)
National Forest Conservation Day (Thailand)
Ratification Day (United States)
Revolution and Youth Day (Tunisia)
Yennayer (Berbers)
January 15
Arbor Day (Egypt)
Armed Forces Day (Nigeria)
Indian Army Day (India)
John Chilembwe Day (Malawi)
Korean Alphabet Day (North Korea)
Sagichō at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū (Kamakura, Japan)
Teacher's Day (Venezuela)
Wikipedia Day (international observance)
January 16
National Nothing Day (Thomas Roy)
National Religious Freedom Day (United States)
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Coptic Church)
Teacher's Day (Myanmar)
Teachers' Day (Thailand)
Zuuruku Nichi (Okinawa Islands, Japan)
Thiruvalluvar Day (Tamil Nadu, India)
January 17
Hardware Freedom Day (international observance)
Judgement Day
National Day (Menorca)
The opening ceremony of Patras Carnival, celebrated until Clean Monday (Patras)
January 18
Revolution and Youth Day (Tunisia)
Royal Thai Armed Forces Day (Thailand)
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18–25) (Christianity)
January 19
Confederate Heroes Day (Texas), and its related observance:
Robert E. Lee Day (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi)
Lee–Jackson–King Day (Virginia, United States, defunct)
Husband's Day (Iceland)
Kokborok Day (Tripura, India)
National Popcorn Day (United States)
Theophany / Epiphany (Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy), and its related observances:
Timkat, (on 20th during Leap Year) (Ethiopian Orthodox)
Vodici or Baptism of Jesus (North Macedonia)
January 20
Armed Forces Day (Mali)
Cheese Day (United States)
Heroes' Day (Cape Verde)
Inauguration Day, held every four years in odd-numbered years, except when January 20 falls on a Sunday (United States)
Martyrs' Day (Azerbaijan)
January 21
Babinden (Bulgaria, Serbia)
Birthday of Princess Ingrid Alexandra (Norway)
Errol Barrow Day (Barbados)
Flag Day (Quebec)
Grandmother's Day (Poland)
Lady of Altagracia Day (Dominican Republic)
Lincoln Alexander Day (Canada)
National Hug Day (United States)
January 22
Answer Your Cat's Question Day
Day of Unity of Ukraine (Ukraine)
Grandfather's Day (Poland)
National Hot Sauce Day (United States)
January 23
Bounty Day (Pitcairn Island)
Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic Church)
National Pie Day (United States)
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's Jayanti (Orissa, Tripura, and West Bengal, India)
Snow Plow Mailbox Hockey Day
World Freedom Day (Taiwan and South Korea)
January 24
Feast of Our Lady of Peace (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances:
Feria de Alasitas (La Paz)
Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day (international observance)
National Peanut Butter Day (United States)
Unification Day (Romania)
January 25
2011 Revolution Day (Egypt)
A Room of One's Own Day
Burns night (Scotland, Scottish community)
Dydd Santes Dwynwen (Wales)
Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches, which concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity)
National Police Day (Egypt)
National Voters' Day (India)
Tatiana Day (Russia, Eastern Orthodox)
January 26
Australia Day (Australia)
Duarte Day (Dominican Republic)
Engineer's Day (Panama)
International Customs Day
Liberation Day (Uganda)
Republic Day (India)
January 27
Day of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad (Russia)
Liberation of the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-related observances:
Holocaust Memorial Day (UK)
Holocaust Remembrance Day (Sweden)
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Memorial Day (Italy)
Memorial Day for the Victims of the Holocaust and Prevention of Crimes against Humanity (Czech Republic)
Memorial Day for the Victims of National Socialism (Germany)
National Holocaust Memorial Day (Greece)
Family Literacy Day (Canada)
Feast of Saint Slava (Serbia)
National Chocolate Cake Day (United States)
Saint Devota's Day (Monaco)
January 28
Army Day (Armenia)
Data Privacy Day (international observance)
January 29
Kansas Day (Kansas, United States)
January 30
Day of Azerbaijani customs (Azerbaijan)
Day of Saudade (Brazil)
Fred Korematsu Day (California, United States)
Martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi-related observances:
Martyrs' Day (India)
School Day of Non-violence and Peace (Spain)
Start of the Season for Nonviolence January 30 – April 4
National Inane Answering Message Day (United States)
Teacher's Day (Greece)
January 31
Amartithi (Meherabad, India, followers of Meher Baba)
Independence Day (Nauru)
Me-Dam-Me-Phi (Ahom people)
Street Children's Day (Austria)


January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the first of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the Northern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of winter) and the warmest month of the year within most of the Southern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of summer). In the Southern hemisphere, January is the seasonal equivalent of July in the Northern hemisphere and vice versa.
Ancient Roman observances during this month include Cervula and Juvenalia, celebrated January 1, as well as one of three  Agonalia, celebrated January 9, and Carmentalia, celebrated January 11. These dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar.


January  (in Latin, Ianuarius) is named after Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions in Roman mythology.
Traditionally, the original Roman calendar consisted of 10 months totaling 304 days, winter being considered a month-less period. Around 713 BC, the semi-mythical successor of Romulus, King Numa Pompilius, is supposed to have added the months of January and February, so that the calendar covered a standard lunar year (354 days). Although March was originally the first month in the old Roman calendar, January became the first month of the calendar year either under Numa or under the Decemvirs about 450 BC (Roman writers differ). In contrast, each specific calendar year was identified by the names of the two consuls, who entered office on May 1 or March 15 until 153 BC, from when they entered office on January 1.
Various Christian feast dates were used for the New Year in Europe during the Middle Ages, including March 25 (Feast of the Annunciation) and December 25. However, medieval calendars were still displayed in the Roman fashion with twelve columns from January to December. Beginning in the 16th century, European countries began officially making January 1 the start of the New Year once again—sometimes called Circumcision Style because this was the date of the Feast of the Circumcision, being the seventh day after December 25.
Historical names for January include its original Roman designation, Ianuarius, the Saxon term Wulf-monath (meaning "wolf month") and Charlemagne's designation Wintarmanoth ("winter / cold month"). In Slovene, it is traditionally called prosinec. The name, associated with millet bread and the act of asking for something, was first written in 1466 in the Škofja Loka manuscript.
According to Theodor Mommsen, 1 January became the first day of the year in 600 AUC of the Roman calendar (153 BC), due to disasters in the Lusitanian War. A Lusitanian chief called Punicus invaded the Roman territory, defeated two Roman governors, and killed their troops. The Romans resolved to send a consul to Hispania, and in order to accelerate the dispatch of aid, "they even made the new consuls enter into office two months and a half before the legal time" (March 15).


January's birthstone is the garnet, which represents constancy.
Its birth flower is the cottage pink Dianthus caryophyllus or galanthus as well as the traditional carnation.
The Japanese floral emblem of January is the camellia (Camellia sinensis).
In Finnish, the month of tammikuu means the heart of the winter and because the name literally means "oak moon", it can be inferred that the oak tree is the heart of the grand forest with many valuable trees as opposed to the typical Arctic forests, which are typically pine and spruce. The photograph of a large tree covered with ice against a blue sky is a familiar scene during Finland's winter.
The zodiac signs for the month of January were Capricorn (until January 19, 2020) and Aquarius (January 20, 2020 onwards). For 2021 the dates will shift to 18–19, due to the leap day in 2020.
The name of the full moon occurring in January is the wolf moon.


New Caledonia has been a member of the Pacific Community since 1983 with Nouméa the home of the organization's regional headquarters. Since 1986, the United Nations Committee on Decolonization has included New Caledonia on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. An independence referendum was held the following year, but independence was rejected by a large majority.
Under the Nouméa Accord, signed in 1998 following a period of secessionist unrest in the 1980s and approved in a referendum, New Caledonia was granted special status. Twenty years after inception, the Nouméa Accord required an referendum on independence which was held on 4 November 2018. The result was that 56.9% of voters chose to remain with France. The Nouméa Accord required another independence referendum, which was held on 4 October 2020. The result was that 53.26% of voters chose to remain with France. The third and last referendum permitted by the Nouméa Accord was held on 12 December 2021, confirming New Caledonia as part of the French Republic with 96% voting "no" to independence after the vote was boycotted by the bulk of the Kanak population.
The official name of the territory, Nouvelle-Calédonie, could be changed in the near future due to the accord, which states that "a name, a flag, an anthem, a motto, and the design of banknotes will have to be sought by all parties together, to express the Kanak identity and the future shared by all parties." To date, however, there has been no consensus on a new name for the territory, although Kanak Republic is popular among 40% of the population. New Caledonia has increasingly adopted its own symbols, choosing an anthem, a motto, and a new design for its banknotes. In July 2010, the Congress of New Caledonia voted in favour of a wish to fly the Kanak flag of the independence movement FLNKS alongside the French tricolour, as dual flags of the territory. The wish, legally non-binding, proved controversial. A majority of New Caledonian communes, but not all, now fly both flags, the rest flying only the French Tricolour. The non-official adoption made New Caledonia one of the few countries or territories in the world with two flags. The decision to wish for the use of two flags has been a constant battleground between the two sides and led the coalition government to collapse in February 2011.


The Armed Forces of New Caledonia (French: Forces armées de Nouvelle-Calédonie, or FANC) include about 2,000 soldiers, mainly deployed in Koumac, Nandaï, Tontouta, Plum, and Nouméa. The land forces consist of a regiment of the Troupes de marine, the Régiment d'infanterie de marine du Pacifique. The naval forces incorporate several vessels of the French Navy including: one Floréal-class frigate, Vendémiaire, one P400-class patrol vessel, La Glorieuse, the patrol and support vessel D'Entrecasteaux, as well as a patrol boat of the Maritime Gendarmerie. One Engins de Débarquement Amphibie – Standards (EDA-S) landing craft is to be delivered to naval forces based in New Caledonia by 2025. The landing craft is to better support coastal and riverine operations in the territory. The air force is made up of three Casa transport aircraft, four Puma helicopters and a Fennec helicopter, based in Tontouta. In addition, 760 gendarmes are deployed on the archipelago.


New Caledonia is a territory sui generis to which France has gradually transferred certain powers. As such its citizens have French nationality and vote for the president of France. They have the right to vote in elections to the European Parliament. It is governed by a 54-member Territorial Congress, a legislative body composed of members of three provincial assemblies. The French State is represented in the territory by a High Commissioner. At a national level, New Caledonia is represented in the French Parliament by two deputies and two senators. At the 2012 French presidential election, the voter turnout in New Caledonia was 61.19%.
For 25 years, the party system in New Caledonia was dominated by the anti-independence The Rally–UMP. This dominance ended with the emergence of a new party, Avenir Ensemble, also opposed to independence, but considered more open to dialogue with the Kanak movement, which is part of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front, a coalition of several pro-independence groups.


In 1946, New Caledonia became an overseas territory. By 1953, French citizenship had been granted to all New Caledonians, regardless of ethnicity.
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, New Caledonia strengthened its economic links with Australia, particularly as turmoil within France and its empire weakened New Caledonia's traditional economic links to metropolitan France; New Caledonia supplied nickel to Australia in exchange for coal vital for smelting nickel. New Caledonian exports of iron ore and timber to Australia also increased during this time period.
The European and Polynesian populations gradually increased in the years leading to the nickel boom of 1969–1972, and the indigenous Kanak Melanesians became a minority, though they were still the largest ethnic group.
Between 1976 and 1988, conflicts between French government actions and the Kanak independence movement saw periods of serious violence and disorder. In 1983, a statute of "enlarged autonomy" for the territory proposed a five-year transition period and a referendum in 1989. In March 1984, the Front Indépendantiste, a Kanak resistance group, seized farms and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) formed a provisional government. In January 1985, the French Socialist government offered sovereignty to the Kanaks and legal protection for European settlers. The plan faltered as violence escalated. The government declared a state of emergency; however, regional elections went ahead, and the FLNKS won control of three out of four provinces. The centre-right government elected in France in March 1986 began eroding the arrangements established under the Socialists, redistributing lands mostly without consideration of native land claims, resulting in over two-thirds going to Europeans and less than a third to the Kanaks. By the end of 1987, roadblocks, gun battles and the destruction of property culminated in the Ouvéa cave hostage taking, a dramatic hostage crisis on the eve of the presidential elections in France. Pro-independence militants on Ouvéa killed four gendarmes and took 27 hostage. The military assaulted the cave to rescue the hostages. Nineteen Kanak hostage takers were killed and another three died in custody, while two soldiers were killed during the assault.
The Matignon Agreements, signed on 26 June 1988, ensured a decade of stability. The Nouméa Accord, signed 5 May 1998, set the groundwork for a 20-year transition that gradually transfers competences to the local government.
Following the timeline set by the Nouméa Accord that stated a vote must take place by the end of 2018, the groundwork was laid for a referendum on full independence from France at a meeting chaired by the French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe on 2 November 2017, to be held by November 2018. Voter list eligibility was the subject of a long dispute, but the details were resolved in an electoral list that granted automatic eligibility to voters of Kanak origin but excluded those of other origins who had not been longtime residents of the territory. The referendum was held on 4 November 2018, with independence being rejected.
Another referendum was held in October 2020, with voters once again choosing to remain a part of France. In the 2018 referendum, 56.7% of voters chose to remain in France. In the 2020 referendum, this percentage dropped with 53.4% of voters choosing to remain part of France.
The third referendum was held on 12 December 2021. The referendum was boycotted by pro-independence forces, who argued for a delayed vote due to the impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; when the French government declined to do so, they called for a boycott. This led to 96% of voters choosing to stay with France.


Central America is part of the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, boasting 7% of the world's biodiversity. The Pacific Flyway is a major north–south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Due to the funnel-like shape of its land mass, migratory birds can be seen in very high concentrations in Central America, especially in the spring and autumn. As a bridge between North America and South America, Central America has many species from the Nearctic and the Neotropical realms. However the southern countries (Costa Rica and Panama) of the region have more biodiversity than the northern countries (Guatemala and Belize), meanwhile the central countries (Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador) have the least biodiversity. The table below shows recent statistics:
Over 300 species of the region's flora and fauna are threatened, 107 of which are classified as critically endangered. The underlying problems are deforestation, which is estimated by FAO at 1.2% per year in Central America and Mexico combined, fragmentation of rainforests and the fact that 80% of the vegetation in Central America has already been converted to agriculture.
Efforts to protect fauna and flora in the region are made by creating ecoregions and nature reserves. 36% of Belize's land territory falls under some form of official protected status, giving Belize one of the most extensive systems of terrestrial protected areas in the Americas. In addition, 13% of Belize's marine territory are also protected. A large coral reef extends from Mexico to Honduras: the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. The Belize Barrier Reef is part of this. The Belize Barrier Reef is home to a large diversity of plants and animals, and is one of the most diverse ecosystems of the world. It is home to 70 hard coral species, 36 soft coral species, 500 species of fish and hundreds of invertebrate species.
So far only about 10% of the species in the Belize barrier reef have been discovered.


Central America is a part of North America consisting of a tapering isthmus running from the southern extent of Mexico to the northwestern portion of South America. Central America has the Gulf of Mexico, a body of water within the Atlantic Ocean, to the north; the Caribbean Sea, also part of the Atlantic Ocean, to the northeast; and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Some physiographists define the Isthmus of Tehuantepec as the northern geographic border of Central America, while others use the northwestern borders of Belize and Guatemala. From there, the Central American land mass extends southeastward to the Atrato River, where it connects to the Pacific Lowlands in northwestern South America.
Of the many mountain ranges within Central America, the longest are the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the Cordillera Isabelia and the Cordillera de Talamanca. At 4,220 meters (13,850 ft), Volcán Tajumulco is the highest peak in Central America. Other high points of Central America are as listed in the table below:
Between the mountain ranges lie fertile valleys that are suitable for the raising of livestock and for the production of coffee, tobacco, beans and other crops. Most of the population of Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala lives in valleys.
Trade winds have a significant effect upon the climate of Central America. Temperatures in Central America are highest just prior to the summer wet season, and are lowest during the winter dry season, when trade winds contribute to a cooler climate. The highest temperatures occur in April, due to higher levels of sunlight, lower cloud cover and a decrease in trade winds.


From 2001 to 2010, 5,376 square kilometers (2,076 sq mi) of forest were lost in the region. In 2010 Belize had 63% of remaining forest cover, Costa Rica 46%, Panama 45%, Honduras 41%, Guatemala 37%, Nicaragua 29%, and El Salvador 21%. Most of the loss occurred in the moist forest biome, with 12,201 square kilometers (4,711 sq mi). Woody vegetation loss was partially set off by a gain in the coniferous forest biome with 4,730 square kilometers (1,830 sq mi), and a gain in the dry forest biome at 2,054 square kilometers (793 sq mi). Mangroves and deserts contributed only 1% to the loss in forest vegetation. The bulk of the deforestation was located at the Caribbean slopes of Nicaragua with a loss of 8,574 square kilometers (3,310 sq mi) of forest in the period from 2001 to 2010. The most significant regrowth of 3,050 square kilometers (1,180 sq mi) of forest was seen in the coniferous woody vegetation of Honduras.
The Central American pine-oak forests ecoregion, in the tropical and subtropical coniferous forests biome, is found in Central America and southern Mexico. The Central American pine-oak forests occupy an area of 111,400 square kilometers (43,000 sq mi), extending along the mountainous spine of Central America, extending from the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in Mexico's Chiapas state through the highlands of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to central Nicaragua. The pine-oak forests lie between 600–1,800 metres (2,000–5,900 ft) elevation, and are surrounded at lower elevations by tropical moist forests and tropical dry forests. Higher elevations above 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) are usually covered with Central American montane forests. The Central American pine-oak forests are composed of many species characteristic of temperate North America including oak, pine, fir, and cypress.
Laurel forest is the most common type of Central American temperate evergreen cloud forest, found in almost all Central American countries, normally more than 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) above sea level. Tree species include evergreen oaks, members of the laurel family, and species of Weinmannia, Drimys, and Magnolia. The cloud forest of Sierra de las Minas, Guatemala, is the largest in Central America. In some areas of southeastern Honduras there are cloud forests, the largest located near the border with Nicaragua. In Nicaragua, cloud forests are situated near the border with Honduras, but many were cleared to grow coffee. There are still some temperate evergreen hills in the north. The only cloud forest in the Pacific coastal zone of Central America is on the Mombacho volcano in Nicaragua. In Costa Rica, there are laurel forests in the Cordillera de Tilarán and Volcán Arenal, called Monteverde, also in the Cordillera de Talamanca.
The Central American montane forests are an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund. These forests are of the moist deciduous and the semi-evergreen seasonal subtype of tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and receive high overall rainfall with a warm summer wet season and a cooler winter dry season. Central American montane forests consist of forest patches located at altitudes ranging from 1,800–4,000 metres (5,900–13,100 ft), on the summits and slopes of the highest mountains in Central America ranging from Southern Mexico, through Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, to northern Nicaragua. The entire ecoregion covers an area of 13,200 square kilometers (5,100 sq mi) and has a temperate climate with relatively high precipitation levels.


Central America is geologically very active, with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occurring frequently, and tsunamis occurring occasionally. Many thousands of people have died as a result of these natural disasters.
Most of Central America rests atop the Caribbean Plate. This tectonic plate converges with the Cocos, Nazca, and North American plates to form the Middle America Trench, a major subduction zone. The Middle America Trench is situated some 60–160 kilometers (37–99 mi) off the Pacific coast of Central America and runs roughly parallel to it. Many large earthquakes have occurred as a result of seismic activity at the Middle America Trench. For example, subduction of the Cocos Plate beneath the North American Plate at the Middle America Trench is believed to have caused the 1985 Mexico City earthquake that killed as many as 40,000 people. Seismic activity at the Middle America Trench is also responsible for earthquakes in 1902, 1942, 1956, 1982, 1992, January 2001, February 2001, 2007, 2012, 2014, and many other earthquakes throughout Central America.
The Middle America Trench is not the only source of seismic activity in Central America. The Motagua Fault is an onshore continuation of the Cayman Trough which forms part of the tectonic boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate. This transform fault cuts right across Guatemala and then continues offshore until it merges with the Middle America Trench along the Pacific coast of Mexico, near Acapulco. Seismic activity at the Motagua Fault has been responsible for earthquakes in 1717, 1773, 1902, 1976, 1980, and 2009.
Another onshore continuation of the Cayman Trough is the Chixoy-Polochic Fault, which runs parallel to, and roughly 80 kilometers (50 mi) to the north, of the Motagua Fault. Though less active than the Motagua Fault, seismic activity at the Chixoy-Polochic Fault is still thought to be capable of producing very large earthquakes, such as the 1816 earthquake of Guatemala.
Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was devastated by earthquakes in 1931 and 1972.
Volcanic eruptions are also common in Central America. In 1968 the Arenal Volcano, in Costa Rica, erupted killing 87 people as the 3 villages of Tabacon, Pueblo Nuevo and San Luis were buried under pyroclastic flows and debris. Fertile soils from weathered volcanic lava have made it possible to sustain dense populations in the agriculturally productive highland areas.


Central America (Spanish: América Central [aˈmeɾika senˈtɾal] (listen) or Centroamérica [sentɾoaˈmeɾika] (listen)) is a region of North America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Central America consists of seven countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Their combined population is estimated at 52.18 million (2022).
Central America is the southern portion of the continent of North America. It is also a part of the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, which extends from northern Guatemala to central Panama. Due to the presence of several active geologic faults and the Central America Volcanic Arc, there is a great deal of seismic activity in the region, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, which has resulted in death, injury and property damage.
In the Pre-Columbian era, Central America was inhabited by the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica to the north and west and the Isthmo-Colombian peoples to the south and east. Following the Spanish expedition of Christopher Columbus' voyages to the Americas, Spain began to colonize the Americas. From 1609 to 1821, the majority of Central American territories (except for what would become Belize and Panama, and including the modern Mexican state of Chiapas) were governed by the viceroyalty of New Spain from Mexico City as the Captaincy General of Guatemala. On 24 August 1821, Spanish Viceroy Juan de O'Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba, which established New Spain's independence from Spain. On 15 September 1821, the Act of Independence of Central America was enacted to announce Central America's separation from the Spanish Empire and provide for the establishment of a new Central American state. Some of New Spain's provinces in the Central American region (i.e. what would become Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica) were annexed to the First Mexican Empire; however, in 1823 they seceded from Mexico to form the Federal Republic of Central America until 1838.
In 1838, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala became the first of Central America's seven states to become independent autonomous countries, followed by El Salvador in 1841, Panama in 1903 and Belize in 1981 Despite the dissolution of the Federal Republic of Central America, countries like El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua continue to maintain a Central American identity. Spanish speaking countries officially refer to both North and South America, as a single supercontinent, or simply a continent, called “América“, which is split in three regions or subcontinents called North, Central and South America, this is why many Central American countries include “América Central” in their countries official Coat of Arms and full name. Belizeans are usually identified as culturally West Indian rather than Central American, while Panamanians identify themselves more broadly with their South American neighbours.


Ecoregions are not only established to protect the forests themselves but also because they are habitats for an incomparably rich and often endemic fauna. Almost half of the bird population of the Talamancan montane forests in Costa Rica and Panama are endemic to this region. Several birds are listed as threatened, most notably the resplendent quetzal (Pharomacrus mocinno), three-wattled bellbird (Procnias tricarunculata), bare-necked umbrellabird (Cephalopterus glabricollis), and black guan (Chamaepetes unicolor). Many of the amphibians are endemic and depend on the existence of forest. The golden toad that once inhabited a small region in the Monteverde Reserve, which is part of the Talamancan montane forests, has not been seen alive since 1989 and is listed as extinct by IUCN. The exact causes for its extinction are unknown. Global warming may have played a role, because the development of that frog is typical for this area may have been compromised. Seven small mammals are endemic to the Costa Rica-Chiriqui highlands within the Talamancan montane forest region. Jaguars, cougars, spider monkeys, as well as tapirs, and anteaters live in the woods of Central America. The Central American red brocket is a brocket deer found in Central America's tropical forest.


Central America was formed more than 3 million years ago, as part of the Isthmus of Panama, when its portion of land connected each side of water.
In the Pre-Columbian era, the northern areas of Central America were inhabited by the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. Most notable among these were the Mayans, who had built numerous cities throughout the region, and the Aztecs, who had created a vast empire. The pre-Columbian cultures of eastern El Salvador, eastern Honduras, Caribbean Nicaragua, most of Costa Rica and Panama were predominantly speakers of the Chibchan languages at the time of European contact and are considered by some culturally different and grouped in the Isthmo-Colombian Area.
Following the Spanish expedition of Christopher Columbus's voyages to the Americas, the Spanish sent many expeditions to the region, and they began their conquest of Maya territory in 1523. Soon after the conquest of the Aztec Empire, Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado commenced the conquest of northern Central America for the Spanish Empire. Beginning with his arrival in Soconusco in 1523, Alvarado's forces systematically conquered and subjugated most of the major Maya kingdoms, including the K'iche', Tz'utujil, Pipil, and the Kaqchikel. By 1528, the conquest of Guatemala was nearly complete, with only the Petén Basin remaining outside the Spanish sphere of influence. The last independent Maya kingdoms – the Kowoj and the Itza people – were finally defeated in 1697, as part of the Spanish conquest of Petén.
In 1538, Spain established the Real Audiencia of Panama, which had jurisdiction over all land from the Strait of Magellan to the Gulf of Fonseca. This entity was dissolved in 1543, and most of the territory within Central America then fell under the jurisdiction of the Audiencia Real de Guatemala. This area included the current territories of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Mexican state of Chiapas, but excluded the lands that would become Belize and Panama. The president of the Audiencia, which had its seat in Antigua Guatemala, was the governor of the entire area. In 1609 the area became a captaincy general and the governor was also granted the title of captain general. The Captaincy General of Guatemala encompassed most of Central America, with the exception of present-day Belize and Panama.
The Captaincy General of Guatemala lasted for more than two centuries, but began to fray after a rebellion in 1811 which began in the Intendancy of San Salvador. The Captaincy General formally ended on 15 September 1821, with the signing of the Act of Independence of Central America. Mexican independence was achieved at virtually the same time with the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba and the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire, and the entire region was finally independent from Spanish authority by 28 September 1821.
From its independence from Spain in 1821 until 1823, the former Captaincy General remained intact as part of the short-lived First Mexican Empire. When the Emperor of Mexico abdicated on 19 March 1823, Central America again became independent. On 1 July 1823, the Congress of Central America peacefully seceded from Mexico and declared absolute independence from all foreign nations, and the region formed the Federal Republic of Central America.
The Federal Republic of Central America was a representative democracy with its capital at Guatemala City. This union consisted of the provinces of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Los Altos, Mosquito Coast, and Nicaragua. The lowlands of southwest Chiapas, including Soconusco, initially belonged to the Republic until 1824, when Mexico annexed most of Chiapas and began its claims to Soconusco. The Republic lasted from 1823 to 1838, when it disintegrated as a result of civil wars.
The territory that now makes up Belize was heavily contested in a dispute that continued for decades after Guatemala achieved independence (see History of Belize (1506–1862). Spain, and later Guatemala, considered this land a Guatemalan department. In 1862, Britain formally declared it a British colony and named it British Honduras. It became independent as Belize in 1981.
Panama, situated in the southernmost part of Central America on the Isthmus of Panama, has for most of its history been culturally and politically linked to South America. Panama was part of the Province of Tierra Firme from 1510 until 1538 when it came under the jurisdiction of the newly formed Audiencia Real de Panama. Beginning in 1543, Panama was administered as part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, along with all other Spanish possessions in South America. Panama remained as part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until 1739, when it was transferred to the Viceroyalty of New Granada, the capital of which was located at Santa Fé de Bogotá. Panama remained as part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada until the disestablishment of that viceroyalty in 1819. A series of military and political struggles took place from that time until 1822, the result of which produced the republic of Gran Colombia. After the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1830, Panama became part of a successor state, the Republic of New Granada. From 1855 until 1886, Panama existed as Panama State, first within the Republic of New Granada, then within the Granadine Confederation, and finally within the United States of Colombia. The United States of Colombia was replaced by the Republic of Colombia in 1886. As part of the Republic of Colombia, Panama State was abolished and it became the Isthmus Department. Despite the many political reorganizations, Colombia was still deeply plagued by conflict, which eventually led to the secession of Panama on 3 November 1903. Only after that time did some begin to regard Panama as a North or Central American entity.
By the 1930s the United Fruit Company owned 14,000 square kilometres (3.5 million acres) of land in Central America and the Caribbean and was the single largest land owner in Guatemala. Such holdings gave it great power over the governments of small countries. That was one of the factors that led to the coining of the phrase banana republic.
After more than two hundred years of social unrest, violent conflict, and revolution, Central America today remains in a period of political transformation. Poverty, social injustice, and violence are still widespread. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere (only Haiti is poorer).


Agriculture is the second largest industry in the state. Florida was ranked in 2019, "first in the value of production for fresh market bell peppers and tomatoes, as well as grapefruit, oranges, sugarcane, and watermelons" in the United States according to Florida Agriculture by the Numbers. In 2002 peppers and tomatoes were #1 and #2 in dollar value for the state and citrus fruit, especially oranges, were also a major part of the economy. By 2019 tomatoes were #1, oranges #2, and peppers were #3. Of exports, meat is Florida's biggest earner. Florida produces the majority of citrus fruit grown in the United States.


Strawberry is another major crop here. Florida is second only to California for strawberry production by volume and by dollars per year and the Plant City area grows 3⁄4 of America's winter strawberries. The Florida Strawberry Growers Association represents growers here. Strawberry gray mold due to Botrytis cinerea is important, see § Botrytis cinerea. Growers here ship strawberries December to April. The state's Strawberry Festival is held in March every year in Plant City. Anthracnose is a common disease of this crop, see § Strawberry anthracnose. The University of Florida operates one of the most important strawberry demonstration breeding programs in North America. RosBREED 2 was developed partly from the experience of this program with the need to combine desirable strawberry qualities with resistance, an integral part of the RosBREED program for Rosaceae in America. They adapted Axiom's 90k SNP array to a more economical 35k for genomic selection in the program. Molecular breeding has improved greatly in the few years up to 2020 and the rapid generation cycle of strawberry also helps to speed up breeding. This program bred Phytophthora cactorum root rot resistance into their new cv. 'Florida Beauty', and for an even better example, they were able to pyramid together three disease resistance traits, to various Xanthomonas, Phytophthora, and Colletotrichum, into another cultivar. Marker-assisted parental selection (MAPS) and marker-assisted seedling selection (MASS) are now targeting Ca1 for fruit and crown rot, Cg1 for crown rot, Pc2 for root and crown rot, and Xf1 for bacterial angular leaf spot. Molecular breeding is usually suitable for monogenic traits, while polygenics are handled by genome-wide analysis. Genomics proved better than pedigree records for predicting actually results. These results lead the program to combine both genomic and locus-specific testing for their routine breeding. Leaf Spot of Strawberry (Mycosphaerella fragariae/Ramularia tulasnei, Ramularia or Ramularia Leaf Spot) is common here.
cv. 'Camino Real' is unusually vulnerable to Botrytis Fruit Rot in the conditions around the University of Florida's Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Dover. Chandler et al., 2006 finds 'CR' is the worst among several common varieties, although 'Sweet Charlie' is also consistently somewhat susceptible. It is possible that the Botrytis problem in 'CR' could be remedied with different fungicide timing. (See also § Botrytis Fruit Rot.)


In 2017, Florida's per capita personal income was $47,684, ranking 26th in the nation. The state's unemployment rate in September 2018 was 3.5% and ranked as the 18th lowest in the United States. Florida is one of seven states that does not impose a personal income tax.
In 2017, Florida had a personal income of $1,000,624,065 (in thousands of dollars). This personal income ranked 4th in the United States.
Florida's constitution establishes a state minimum wage, which is adjusted annually for inflation. As of September 30, 2021, Florida's minimum wage was $6.98 for tipped positions, and $10.00 for non-tipped positions, which was higher than the federal rate of $7.25. The wage will increase by $1 per hour yearly, until 2026 when the minimum wage for non-tipped positions will reach $15 per hour.
Florida has two cities in the top 25 cities in the U.S. with the highest average credit card debt, Miami and Tampa.
The poverty rate in Florida in 2018 was 14%, down from a peak of 17.1% in 2012.


Although citrus cultivation also began here in the 1500s, commercial scale production was only attempted in the 1920s. At first this went badly due to severe pest and disease epidemics, which were themselves due to poor understanding of the local climate and terrain. As of 2019 oranges make up 93% of Florida's citrus production, followed by 6% for grapefruit, and 1% for tangerines and tangelos. For 2018, 10.9% of all cash receipts were citruses. In 2006, 67% of all citrus, 74% of oranges, 58% of tangerines, and 54% of grapefruit were grown in Florida. About 95% of commercial orange production in the state is destined for processing (mostly as orange juice, the official state beverage). The top 5 citrus-producing counties, according to data in 2019, was "DeSoto (12.8 million boxes), Polk (12.5 million boxes), Highlands (10.8 million boxes), Hendry (10.5 million boxes) and Hardee (8.16 million boxes)", according to Florida Agriculture by the Numbers. Together they contribute 71% of Florida's total citrus production. The Central produced the most citrus, followed by the Western area and the Southern areas. International citrus fresh fruit exports totaled to "2.05 million 4/5 bushel cartons", and Japan received the majority of the grapefruit exports. Canada received most of Florida's orange and tangerine exports. Florida Agriculture by the Numbers reports "4.70 million gallons of Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice (FCOJ), and 0.38 million gallons of Frozen Concentrated Grapefruit Juice (FCGJ) was exported in the 2018–2019 season".


The largest farm category by sales in Florida is the $2.3 billion ornamental industry, which includes nursery, greenhouse, flowers, and sod products.
Other products include sugarcane, tomatoes and celery. The state is the largest producer of sweet corn and green beans for the U.S.
The Everglades Agricultural Area is a major center for agriculture. The environmental impact of agriculture, especially water pollution, is a major issue in Florida today.
The state has a near monopoly on saw palmetto berries, an alternative medicine used to treat prostate and urinary disorders.
The state is #1 in fresh-market tomatoes. Harvest is almost year-round, from October to June. The highest temperatures of the summer from July to September end profitable yield and even the heat of June and October limit productivity, such that April to May and November to January are the largest harvests of the year. Federal Crop Insurance for fresh tomatoes specifically excludes insects and diseases. See also § Tomato Bacterial Spot, § Tomato Bacterial Speck, and § Treatments in fresh-market tomato.
Much of the okra in the country is grown here, especially around Dade. Okra is grown throughout the state to some degree however and so okra is available ten months of the year here. Yields range from less than 18,000 pounds per acre (20,000 kg/ha) to over 30,000 pounds per acre (34,000 kg/ha). Wholesale prices can go as high as $18/bushel which is $0.60 per pound ($1.3/kg). The Regional IPM Centers provide integrated pest management plans specifically for the southern part of the state.


Peaches have probably been grown here since the 1500s, brought by the Spanish. By the late 1700s an export trade had developed with the mid-Atlantic states, with Baltimore the first hub to distribute Florida peaches into the surrounding region. Similar to the strawberry tool above, a cut-down SNP array for genomic selection has been adapted by University of Florida for peach.
Peach is a growing crop due to citrus greening. Florida produces far less than the leading state, California, but has the advantage of an earlier season than any other in the country. The harvest season runs from late March to late May or early June depending on the year's weather. Due to increasing pest and disease pressure with increasing rainfall here, yield declines rapidly in the summer and profitable harvest ends for the year. This – combined with competitor states coming into season – means that late-bearing cultivars are commercially inviable here.


The economy of the state of Florida is the fourth-largest in the United States, with a $1.2 trillion gross state product (GSP) as of 2021. If Florida were a sovereign nation (2021), it would rank as the world's 16th-largest economy according to the International Monetary Fund, ahead of Indonesia and behind Mexico. In the 20th century, agriculture, tourism, industry, construction, international banking, biomedical and life sciences, healthcare research, simulation training, aerospace and defense, and commercial space travel have contributed to the state's economic development.


Florida's economy ranks among the largest in the world. As of 2021, the gross state product (GSP) is about $1.2 trillion, the fourth largest economy in the United States. Florida is responsible for 5.23% of the United States' approximately $21 trillion gross domestic product (GDP). As of 2021, Florida's nominal GDP is larger than all but 15 countries; if it were a sovereign nation, it would be ranked ahead of Indonesia and behind Mexico. In terms of Purchasing Power Parity, it is larger than all but 24 countries. In the 20th century, tourism, industry, construction, international banking, biomedical and life sciences, healthcare research, simulation training, aerospace and defense, and commercial space travel have contributed to the state's economic development.
The five largest sectors of employment in Florida are: trade, transportation, and utilities; government; professional and business services; education and health services; and leisure and hospitality. In output, the five largest sectors are: finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing, followed by professional and business services; government and government enterprises; educational services, health care, and social assistance; and retail trade.
In 2017, Florida became the United States' eighth largest exporter of trade goods. Florida's top countries for export are Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Germany, and Colombia. In 2017, Florida became the United States' tenth largest importer of trade goods. Florida imported US$75.4 billion worth of goods globally in 2017. The value of Florida's imports equals 3.2% of United States' overall imported products for 2017. Florida's top countries for imports are China, Mexico, Canada, Germany, and France.
The Miami Metropolitan Area has the highest GDP of all the metro areas in Florida with $344.9 billion in 2017. This is more than twice the number of the next metro area, the Tampa Bay Area, which has a GDP of $145.3 billion. The economy of Florida is driven almost entirely by its nineteen metropolitan areas. In 2004, they had a combined total of 95.7% of the state's domestic product.
Per capita GDP in 2017 was $39,842, ranking 40th in the nation. Per capita income varies widely by geographic region and profession. North Florida and the rural counties of the Florida Panhandle are the most impoverished in the state. Florida has a poverty rate of 14.0%, the seventeenth lowest of any state in the country. Many coastal cities include some of the wealthiest per-capita areas in the United States.
In 2018, there were more than 427,824 millionaires in the state, the fourth-highest number in the nation.
For 2018–19, the approved state budget is $88.7 billion, a 4.4% increase over the previous 2017–18 budget of $84.9 billion. Chief Executive Magazine named Florida the third "Best State for Business" in 2011.


Plumage (Latin: pluma "feather") is a layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can be different colour morphs. The placement of feathers on a bird is not haphazard, but rather emerge in organized, overlapping rows and groups, and these feather tracts are known by standardized names.
Most birds moult twice a year, resulting in a breeding or nuptial plumage and a basic plumage. Many ducks and some other species such as the red junglefowl have males wearing a bright nuptial plumage while breeding and a drab eclipse plumage for some months afterward.  The painted bunting's juveniles have two inserted moults in their first autumn, each yielding plumage like an adult female.  The first starts a few days after fledging replacing the juvenile plumage with an auxiliary formative plumage; the second a month or so later giving the formative plumage.
Abnormal plumages include a variety of conditions. Albinism, total loss of colour, is rare, but partial loss of colours is more common. Some species are colour polymorphic, having two or more colour variants.  A few species have special types of polymorphism, as in the male ruff which has an assortment of different colours around the head and neck in the breeding season only.
Hen feathering is an inherited plumage character in domestic fowl controlled by a single gene. Plumology (or plumage science) is the name for the science that is associated with the study of feathers.


Albinism in birds is rare, occurring to any extent in perhaps one in 1800 individuals. It involves loss of colour in all parts including the iris of the eyes, bills, skin, legs, and feet. It is usually the result of a genetic mutation causing the absence of tyrosinase, an enzyme essential for melanin synthesis. Leucism (which includes what used to be termed as "partial albinism") refers to loss of pigments in some or all parts of feathers. A bird that is albino (from the Latin albus, "white") has white feathers in place of coloured ones on some portion of its body. A bird that is naturally white, such as a swan, goose, or egret, is not an albino, nor is a bird that has seasonally alternating white plumage.
Four degrees of albinism have been described. The most common form is termed partial albinism, in which local areas of the bird's body, such as certain feathers, are lacking the pigment melanin. The white areas may be symmetrical, with both sides of the bird showing a similar pattern.  In imperfect albinism, the pigment is partially inhibited in the skin, eyes, or feathers, but is not absent from any of them. Incomplete albinism is the complete absence of pigment from the skin, eyes, or feathers, but not all three.
A completely albino bird is the most rare. The eyes in this case are pink or red, because blood shows through in the absence of pigment in the irises. The beak, legs, and feet are very pale or white. Albino adults are rare in the wild because their eyesight is poor resulting in greater risk of predation. They are likely easier targets for predators because their colour distinguishes them from their environment. Falconers have observed that their trained birds are likely to attack a white pigeon in a flock because it is conspicuous. A complete albino often has weak eyesight and brittle wing and tail feathers, which may reduce its ability to fly. In flocks, albinos are often harassed by their own species. Such observations have been made among red-winged blackbirds, barn swallows, and African penguins. In a nesting colony of the latter, three unusual juveniles—one black-headed, one white-headed, and one full albino—were shunned and abused by companions.
Albinism has been reported in all orders and in 54 families of North American birds. The American robin and house sparrow led bird species in the incidence of albinism. Albinistic white appears to replace brown pigments more often than red or yellow ones; records suggest a greater incidence in crows, ravens, and hawks than in goldfinches or orioles.
Several kinds of albinism in chickens has been described: A complete albinism controlled by an autosomal recessive gene and two different kinds of partial albinism. One of the partial albinisms is sex-linked and the other is autosomal recessive. A fourth kind of albinism severely reduce pigmentation in the eyes, but only dilutes the pigment in the plumage.
Abnormally white feathers are not always due to albinism. Injury or disease may change their color, including dietary deficiencies or circulatory problems during feather development. Aging may also turn a bird's feathers white.


Many male ducks have bright, colourful plumage, exhibiting strong sexual dimorphism. However, they moult into a dull plumage after breeding in mid-summer. This drab, female-like appearance is called eclipse plumage. When they shed feathers to go into eclipse, the ducks become flightless for a short period of time. Some duck species remain in eclipse for one to three months in the late summer and early fall, while others retain the cryptic plumage until the next spring when they undergo another moult to return to their breeding plumage.
Although mainly found in the Anatidae, a few other species, including related red junglefowl, most fairywrens and some sunbirds also have an eclipse plumage. In the superb and splendid fairywrens, very old males (over about four years) may moult from one nuptial plumage to another whereas in the red-backed and white-winged fairywrens, males do not acquire nuptial plumage until four years of age – well after they become sexually mature and indeed longer than the vast majority of individuals live.
In contrast to the ducks, males of hummingbirds and most lek-mating passerines – like the Guianan cock-of-the-rock or birds of paradise – retain their exuberant plumage and sexual dimorphism at all times, moulting as ordinary birds do once annually.


The name "chestnut" is derived from an earlier English term "chesten nut", which descends from the Old French word chastain (Modern French, châtaigne). The French word in turn derives from Latin Castanea (also the scientific name of the tree), which traces to the Ancient Greek word κάστανον (sweet chestnut). A possible source of the Greek word is the ancient town of Kastanea in Thessaly. The town probably took its name, though, from the trees growing around it. In the Mediterranean climate zone, chestnut trees are rarer in Greece because the chalky soil is not conducive to the tree's growth. Kastania is located on one of the relatively few sedimentary or siliceous outcrops. They grow so abundantly there that their presence would have determined the place's name. Still others take the name as coming from the Greek name of Sardis glans (Sardis acorn) – Sardis being the capital of Lydia, Asia Minor, from where the fruit had spread.
The name is cited twice in the King James Version of the Bible. In one instance, Jacob puts peeled twigs in the water troughs to promote healthy offspring of his livestock. Although it may indicate another tree, it indicates the fruit was a local staple food in the early 17th century.
These synonyms are or have been in use: Fagus Castanea (used by Linnaeus in first edition of Species Plantarum, 1753), Sardian nut, Jupiter's nut, husked nut, and Spanish chestnut (U.S.).


The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus Castanea, in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrelated horse chestnuts (genus Aesculus) are not true chestnuts but are named for producing nuts of similar appearance that are mildly poisonous to humans. True chestnuts should also not be confused with water chestnuts, which are tubers of an aquatic herbaceous plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae.
Other species commonly mistaken for chestnut trees are the chestnut oak (Quercus prinus) and the American beech (Fagus grandifolia), both of which are also in the Fagaceae family.
Brazil nuts, called "Brasil chestnuts" ("castañas de Brasil" in Spanish) or "Chestnuts from Pará" ("castanha-do-pará" in Portuguese) are also unrelated.


Chestnuts belong to the family Fagaceae, which also includes oaks and beeches. The four main species groups are commonly known as American, European, Chinese, and Japanese chestnuts.


It has been a staple food in southern Europe, Turkey, and southwestern and eastern Asia for millennia, largely replacing cereals where these would not grow well, if at all, in mountainous Mediterranean areas. Evidence of its cultivation by man is found since around 2000 BC. Alexander the Great and the Romans planted chestnut trees across Europe while on their various campaigns. A Greek army is said to have survived their retreat from Asia Minor in 401–399 BC thanks to their stores of chestnuts. Ancient Greeks, such as Dioscorides and Galen, wrote of chestnuts to comment on their medicinal properties—and of the flatulence induced by eating too much of it. To the early Christians, chestnuts symbolized chastity. Until the introduction of the potato, whole forest-dwelling communities which had scarce access to wheat flour relied on chestnuts as their main source of carbohydrates. In some parts of Italy, a cake made of chestnuts is used as a substitute for potatoes. In 1583, Charles Estienne and Jean Liébault wrote, "an infinity of people live on nothing else but (the chestnut)". In 1802, an Italian agronomist said of Tuscany that "the fruit of the chestnut tree is practically the sole subsistence of our highlanders", while in 1879 it was said that it almost exclusively fed whole populations for half the year, as "a temporary but complete substitution for cereals".
In Britain, Boundary records compiled in the reign of King John already showed the famous Tortworth Chestnut in South Gloucestershire, as a landmark; it was also known by the same name of "Great Chestnut of Tortworth" in the days of Stephen. This tree measured over 50 feet (15 m) in circumference at 5 feet (1.5 m) from the ground in 1720. The Hundred Horse Chestnut in the chestnut forests on Mount Etna is the oldest living chestnut tree and is said to be even larger. Chestnut trees particularly flourish in the Mediterranean basin. In 1584, the governor of Genoa, which dominated Corsica, ordered all the farmers and landowners to plant four trees yearly, among which was a chestnut tree – plus olive, fig and mulberry trees. Many communities owe their origin and former richness to the ensuing chestnut woods. In France, the marron glacé, a candied chestnut involving 16 different processes in a typically French cooking style, is always served at Christmas and New Year's time. In Modena, Italy, they are soaked in wine before roasting and serving, and are also traditionally eaten on Saint Simon's Day in Tuscany. In the Romagna region, roasted chestnuts are often served with a traditional wine, the Cagnina di Romagna. It is traditional to eat roasted chestnuts in Portugal on St. Martin's Day.
Their popularity declined during the last few centuries, partly due to their reputation of "food for poor people". Many people did not want to take chestnut bread as "bread" because chestnut flour does not rise. Some slandered chestnut products in such words as the bread which "gives a sallow complexion" written in 1770, or in 1841 "this kind of mortar which is called a soup". The last decades' worldwide renewal may have profited from the huge reforestation efforts started in the 1930s in the United States to establish varieties of C. sativa which may be resistant to chestnut blight, as well as to relieve the strain on cereal supplies.
The main region in Italy for chestnut production is the Mugello region; in 1996, the European Community granted the fruit Protected Geographic Indication (equivalent to the French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) status to the Mugello sweet chestnut. It is markedly sweet, peels easily, is not excessively floury or astringent, and has notes of vanilla, hazelnut, and, more subtly, fresh bread. There is no unpleasant aroma, such as yeast, fungus, mold or paper, which sometimes occur with other chestnuts. The main regions in France for chestnut production are the départements of Ardèche, with the famous "Châtaigne d'Ardèche" (A.O.C), of the Var (Eastern Provence), of the Cévennes (Gard and Lozère départements) and of the Lyon region. France annually produces over 1,000 metric tons, but still imports about 8,000 metric tons, mainly from Italy.
In Portugal's archipelago of Madeira, chestnut liquor is a traditional beverage, and it is gaining popularity with the tourists and in continental Portugal.


April 2 – War of the Second Coalition – First Battle of Copenhagen: The  British Royal Navy, under Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, forces the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy to accept an armistice. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson leads the main attack, deliberately disregarding his commander's signal to withdraw. He is created a Viscount on May 19; Denmark-Norway is forced to withdraw from the Second League of Armed Neutrality.
April 21 – Ranjit Singh is invested, as Maharaja of Punjab.
May 6 – French Revolutionary Wars – Action of 6 May 1801 off Barcelona: British Royal Navy brig HMS Speedy, although outmanned and outgunned, captures 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo.
May 10 – The pascha of Tripoli declares war on the United States, by having the flagpole on the consulate chopped down.
June 7 – War of the Oranges ends: Portugal and Spain sign the Treaty of Badajoz; Portugal loses the city of Olivenza.
June 15 – A bull breaks through barriers at a bullfight in Madrid, killing two people (including the mayor of Torrejón de Ardoz) and injuring a number of other spectators.
June 27 – Siege of Cairo ends: Cairo falls to British troops.


October 17 – A coup d'état is staged in the Batavian Republic.
November 16 – The first edition of the New-York Evening Post is printed.
December 15 – Hadži Mustafa Pasha, Ottoman commander and politician, is assassinated in Belgrade, Sanjak of Smederevo, by Kučuk-Alija.
December 19 – South Carolina College, a precursor to The University of South Carolina, is established in Columbia, South Carolina.
December 24 – Cornish engineers Richard Trevithick and Andrew Vivian demonstrate "Puffing Devil", their steam-powered road locomotive, in Camborne. The trial is successful but Trevithick realises the limitations of steam power in a road-running vehicle and turns his attention to rail, introducing the world's first steam railway locomotive in 1804.


1801 (MDCCCI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar, the 1801st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 801st  year of the 2nd millennium, the 1st  year of the 19th century, and the  2nd   year of the 1800s decade. As of the start of 1801, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.