title: "Broad-winged hawk" content: parts of North America, and some migrate in the winter to Florida, southern Mexico, and northern South America. Five subspecies are endemic to the Caribbean and do not migrate. Those subspecies that do migrate fly in flocks of more than 40 up to hundreds of thousands at heights from . They soar using thermals to carry them through their journey of . Fall migration lasts for 70 days as birds migrate about per day from North America, through Central America to South America without crossing salt water. The enormous flocks of soaring broad-winged hawks are termed kettles and are characteristic


title: "Broad-winged hawk" content: of many hawk migration spectacles in North America, such as at Hawk Cliff in Ontario, Hawk Ridge in Minnesota, Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania, and the River of Raptors in Veracruz. Broad-winged hawks stay in areas up to an elevation around . They breed in deciduous forests good for nesting and forage primarily in wetlands and meadows. While some birds have acclimatized themselves to living near humans, even those birds avoid human settlements and interactions. In the winter, the migrating subspecies of the hawks seek out similar conditions to their overwintering home, so they settle in deciduous and mixed forests. Although


title: "Broad-winged hawk" content: it is declining in some areas because of forest fragmentation, its numbers are relatively stable and is assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. These hawks use vocalizations for communication with their mates and offspring, and in territorial displays towards intruders such as red-tailed hawks or other threatening animals. Their call sounds like a very high-pitched "kee-ee", almost like a whistle. When confronted with a threat, broad-winged hawks emit an alarm call consisting of stuttered and squealing whistles. Broad-winged hawks are carnivores. The types of food they eat depends on the time of year. During the summer or


title: "Broad-winged hawk" content: nesting season, the parents and ultimately their chicks eat small mammals, such as chipmunks, shrews, and voles, frogs, lizards, and sometimes even other nesting birds. In the winter, they have been observed feeding on insects, frogs, snakes, crabs, and some small mammals. To catch their prey, broad-winged hawks watch from low branches, hiding in the foliage, until a target is spotted. From their roost, they do a short, fast glide to capture the prey. They give special attention to preparing their food for consumption, skinning frogs and snakes and plucking prey birds' feathers. Most small mammals, though, are eaten whole.


title: "Broad-winged hawk" content: They rarely drink water and are able to survive solely with the water present in their prey. These birds have only one mate during the breeding season, possibly because the male also helps a small amount with the rearing of the chicks. They breed between April and August, starting when they reach sexual maturity at about two years old. To attract and court females, the males perform a courtship display flight including cartwheels, dives, and other aerial acrobatics. Birds meet in the air, hook their feet together and spiral down together. They also compete and fight with other males for


title: "Broad-winged hawk" content: the chance to mate with a female. If one of the males is successful, the mating pair has only one brood that season, consisting of one to four eggs. Both the male and female build the nest out of sticks and twigs in a deciduous tree. Once laid, the brown-spotted eggs are typically and weigh about . The female then develops a brood patch and incubates the eggs for 28 days or longer before they hatch. The hatchlings will appear semialtricial, incapable of any complex coordination, but have open eyes and are covered in down feathers. Chicks have rapid body


title: "Broad-winged hawk" content: growth until they are almost at adult body size, when they are capable of walking, flying, and eating without parental help. While in the nest, the female gives most of the parental care, protecting and providing food for the chicks. The male may provide some food for the female and offspring, but his visits are short lived. Once a prey item is obtained for the nest, the female tears off pieces and feeds the chicks until they are able to rip meat off on their own. Often, the chicks fight for possession of the offered morsel, the younger ones usually


title: "Broad-winged hawk" content: losing and not getting enough. Broad-winged hawks protect their nests in a show of aggression (i.e. diving and chasing) towards any suspected threat, but they generally do not make physical contact. Predators of eggs and nestlings include raccoons, crows, porcupines, and American black bears. Adults have been known to fall to red-tailed hawks, great horned owls, bald eagles, and golden eagles. The hatchlings need 5–6 weeks before they are able to leave the nest. Some young, even after that time, remain in the area of the nest for several weeks more. Broad-winged hawk The broad-winged hawk ("Buteo platypterus") is a


title: "Harry Reid" content: grew up in Henderson) converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while he was a college student. In a 2001 interview he said, "I think it is much easier to be a good member of the Church and a Democrat than a good member of the Church and a Republican." He went on to say that the Democrats' emphasis on helping others, as opposed to what he considers Republican dogma to the contrary, is the reason he's a Democrat. He delivered a speech at Brigham Young University to about 4,000 students on October 9, 2007, in which


title: Marchantiophyta content: Marchantiophyta The Marchantiophyta are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of genetic information. It is estimated that there are about 9000 species of liverworts. Some of the more familiar species grow as a flattened leafless thallus, but most species are leafy with a form very much like a flattened moss. Leafy species can be distinguished from the apparently similar mosses on the basis of a number of features, including their single-celled rhizoids.


title: Marchantiophyta content: Leafy liverworts also differ from most (but not all) mosses in that their leaves never have a costa (present in many mosses) and may bear marginal cilia (very rare in mosses). Other differences are not universal for all mosses and liverworts, but the occurrence of leaves arranged in three ranks, the presence of deep lobes or segmented leaves, or a lack of clearly differentiated stem and leaves all point to the plant being a liverwort. Liverworts are typically small, usually from 2–20 mm wide with individual plants less than 10 cm long, and are therefore often overlooked. However, certain species


title: Marchantiophyta content: may cover large patches of ground, rocks, trees or any other reasonably firm substrate on which they occur. They are distributed globally in almost every available habitat, most often in humid locations although there are desert and Arctic species as well. Some species can be a nuisance in shady greenhouses or a weed in gardens. Most liverworts are small, measuring from wide with individual plants less than long, so they are often overlooked. The most familiar liverworts consist of a prostrate, flattened, ribbon-like or branching structure called a thallus (plant body); these liverworts are termed "thallose liverworts". However, most liverworts


title: Marchantiophyta content: produce flattened stems with overlapping scales or leaves in two or more ranks, the middle rank is often conspicuously different from the outer ranks; these are called "leafy liverworts" or "scale liverworts". ("See the gallery below for examples.") Liverworts can most reliably be distinguished from the apparently similar mosses by their single-celled rhizoids. Other differences are not universal for all mosses and all liverworts; but the lack of clearly differentiated stem and leaves in thallose species, or in leafy species the presence of deeply lobed or segmented leaves and the presence of leaves arranged in three ranks, all point to


title: Marchantiophyta content: the plant being a liverwort. Unlike any other embryophytes, most liverworts contain unique membrane-bound oil bodies containing isoprenoids in at least some of their cells, lipid droplets in the cytoplasm of all other plants being unenclosed. The overall physical similarity of some mosses and leafy liverworts means that confirmation of the identification of some groups can be performed with certainty only with the aid of microscopy or an experienced bryologist . Liverworts have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, with the sporophyte dependent on the gametophyte. Cells in a typical liverwort plant each contain only a single set of genetic information, so


title: Marchantiophyta content: the plant's cells are haploid for the majority of its life cycle. This contrasts sharply with the pattern exhibited by nearly all animals and by most other plants. In the more familiar seed plants, the haploid generation is represented only by the tiny pollen and the ovule, while the diploid generation is the familiar tree or other plant. Another unusual feature of the liverwort life cycle is that sporophytes (i.e. the diploid body) are very short-lived, withering away not long after releasing spores. Even in other bryophytes, the sporophyte is persistent and disperses spores over an extended period. The life


title: Marchantiophyta content: of a liverwort starts from the germination of a haploid spore to produce a protonema, which is either a mass of thread-like filaments or else a flattened thallus. The protonema is a transitory stage in the life of a liverwort, from which will grow the mature gametophore ("gamete-bearer") plant that produces the sex organs. The male organs are known as antheridia ("singular:" antheridium) and produce the sperm cells. Clusters of antheridia are enclosed by a protective layer of cells called the perigonium ("plural:" perigonia). As in other land plants, the female organs are known as archegonia ("singular:" archegonium) and are


title: Marchantiophyta content: protected by the thin surrounding perichaetum ("plural:" perichaeta). Each archegonium has a slender hollow tube, the "neck", down which the sperm swim to reach the egg cell. Liverwort species may be either dioicous or monoicous. In dioicous liverworts, female and male sex organs are borne on different and separate gametophyte plants. In monoicous liverworts, the two kinds of reproductive structures are borne on different branches of the same plant. In either case, the sperm must move from the antheridia where they are produced to the archegonium where the eggs are held. The sperm of liverworts is "biflagellate", i.e. they have


title: Marchantiophyta content: two tail-like flagellae that enable them to swim short distances, provided that at least a thin film of water is present. Their journey may be assisted by the splashing of raindrops. In 2008, Japanese researchers discovered that some liverworts are able to fire sperm-containing water up to 15 cm in the air, enabling them to fertilize female plants growing more than a metre from the nearest male. When sperm reach the archegonia, fertilisation occurs, leading to the production of a diploid sporophyte. After fertilisation, the immature sporophyte within the archegonium develops three distinct regions: (1) a foot, which both anchors


title: Marchantiophyta content: the sporophyte in place and receives nutrients from its "mother" plant, (2) a spherical or ellipsoidal capsule, inside which the spores will be produced for dispersing to new locations, and (3) a seta (stalk) which lies between the other two regions and connects them. When the sporophyte has developed all three regions, the seta elongates, pushing its way out of the archegonium and rupturing it. While the foot remains anchored within the parent plant, the capsule is forced out by the seta and is extended away from the plant and into the air. Within the capsule, cells divide to produce


title: Marchantiophyta content: both elater cells and spore-producing cells. The elaters are spring-like, and will push open the wall of the capsule to scatter themselves when the capsule bursts. The spore-producing cells will undergo meiosis to form haploid spores to disperse, upon which point the life cycle can start again. Some liverworts are capable of asexual reproduction; in bryophytes in general "it would almost be true to say that vegetative reproduction is the rule and not the exception." For example, in "Riccia", when the older parts of the forked thalli die, the younger tips become separate individuals. Some thallose liverworts such as "Marchantia


title: Marchantiophyta content: polymorpha" and "Lunularia cruciata" produce small disc-shaped gemmae in shallow cups. "Marchantia" gemmae can be dispersed up to 120 cm by rain splashing into the cups. In "Metzgeria", gemmae grow at thallus margins. "Marchantia polymorpha" is a common weed in greenhouses, often covering the entire surface of containers; gemma dispersal is the "primary mechanism by which liverwort spreads throughout a nursery or greenhouse." Today, liverworts can be found in many ecosystems across the planet except the sea and excessively dry environments, or those exposed to high levels of direct solar radiation. As with most groups of living plants, they are


title: Marchantiophyta content: most common (both in numbers and species) in moist tropical areas. Liverworts are more commonly found in moderate to deep shade, though desert species may tolerate direct sunlight and periods of total desiccation. Traditionally, the liverworts were grouped together with other bryophytes (mosses and hornworts) in the Division Bryophyta, within which the liverworts made up the class Hepaticae (also called Marchantiopsida). However, since this grouping makes the Bryophyta paraphyletic, the liverworts are now usually given their own division. The use of the division name Bryophyta "sensu lato" is still found in the literature, but more frequently the Bryophyta now is


title: Marchantiophyta content: used in a restricted sense to include only the mosses. Another reason that liverworts are now classified separately is that they appear to have diverged from all other embryophyte plants near the beginning of their evolution. The strongest line of supporting evidence is that liverworts are the only living group of land plants that do not have stomata on the sporophyte generation. Among the earliest fossils believed to be liverworts are compression fossils of "Pallaviciniites" from the Upper Devonian of New York. These fossils resemble modern species in the Metzgeriales. Another Devonian fossil called "Protosalvinia" also looks like a liverwort,


title: Marchantiophyta content: but its relationship to other plants is still uncertain, so it may not belong to the Marchantiophyta. In 2007, the oldest fossils assignable at that time to the liverworts were announced, "Metzgeriothallus sharonae" from the Givetian (Middle Devonian) of New York, United States. However, in 2010, five different types of fossilized liverwort spores were found in Argentina, dating to the much earlier Middle Ordovician, around 470 million years ago. Bryologists classify liverworts in the division Marchantiophyta. This divisional name is based on the name of the most universally recognized liverwort genus "Marchantia". In addition to this taxon-based name, the liverworts


title: Marchantiophyta content: are often called Hepaticophyta. This name is derived from their common Latin name as Latin was the language in which botanists published their descriptions of species. This name has led to some confusion, partly because it appears to be a taxon-based name derived from the genus "Hepatica" which is actually a flowering plant of the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. In addition, the name Hepaticophyta is frequently misspelled in textbooks as Hepatophyta, which only adds to the confusion. Although there is no consensus among bryologists as to the classification of liverworts above family rank, the Marchantiophyta may be subdivided into three classes:


title: Marchantiophyta content: An updated classification by Söderström et al. 2016 It is estimated that there are about 9000 species of liverworts, at least 85% of which belong to the leafy group. Despite that fact, no liverwort genomes have been sequenced to date and only few genes identified and characterized. In ancient times, it was believed that liverworts cured diseases of the liver, hence the name. In Old English, the word liverwort literally means "liver plant". This probably stemmed from the superficial appearance of some thalloid liverworts (which resemble a liver in outline), and led to the common name of the group as


title: Marchantiophyta content: "hepatics", from the Latin word "hēpaticus" for "belonging to the liver". An unrelated flowering plant, "Hepatica", is sometimes also referred to as liverwort because it was once also used in treating diseases of the liver. This archaic relationship of plant form to function was based in the "Doctrine of Signatures". Liverworts have little direct economic importance today. Their greatest impact is indirect, through the reduction of erosion along streambanks, their collection and retention of water in tropical forests, and the formation of soil crusts in deserts and polar regions. However, a few species are used by humans directly. A few


title: Marchantiophyta content: species, such as "Riccia fluitans", are aquatic thallose liverworts sold for use in aquariums. Their thin, slender branches float on the water's surface and provide habitat for both small invertebrates and the fish that feed on them. A small collection of images showing liverwort structure and diversity: Marchantiophyta The Marchantiophyta are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of genetic information. It is estimated that there are about 9000 species of liverworts. Some


title: "Acts of Supremacy" content: Act was Sir Thomas More. In 1537, the Irish Supremacy Act was passed by the Parliament of Ireland, establishing Henry VIII as the supreme head of the Church of Ireland, as had earlier been done in England. Henry's Act of Supremacy was repealed in 1554 in the reign of his staunchly Roman Catholic daughter, Queen Mary I. It was reinstated by Mary's Protestant half-sister, Queen Elizabeth I, when she ascended the throne. Elizabeth declared herself Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and instituted an Oath of Supremacy, requiring anyone taking public or church office to swear allegiance to the


title: "European serin" content: European serin The European serin, or just serin, ("Serinus serinus") is the smallest European species of the family of finches (Fringillidae) and is closely related to the canary. Its diet consists mainly of a combination of buds and seeds. The European serin was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the 12th edition of his "Systema Naturae" under the binomial name "Fringilla serinus". The Latin "serinus" comes from the French word "serin" for a canary. The French word may be a corruption of the Latin word "citrinus" meaning lemon-coloured. The European serin is a small short-tailed bird, 11–12 cm in


title: "European serin" content: length. The upper parts are dark-streaked greyish green, with a yellow rump. The yellow breast and white belly are also heavily streaked. The male has a brighter yellow face and breast, yellow wing bars and yellow tail sides. The song of this bird is a buzzing trill, very familiar in Mediterranean countries. It breeds across southern and central Europe and north Africa. Southern and Atlantic coast populations are largely resident, but the northern breeders migrate further south in Europe for the winter. Open woodland and cultivation, often with some conifers, is favoured for breeding. It builds its nest in a


title: "European serin" content: shrub or tree, laying 3–5 eggs. It forms flocks outside the breeding season, sometimes mixed with other finches. The food is mainly seeds, and, in the breeding season, insects. This small serin is an active and often conspicuous bird. European serin The European serin, or just serin, ("Serinus serinus") is the smallest European species of the family of finches (Fringillidae) and is closely related to the canary. Its diet consists mainly of a combination of buds and seeds. The European serin was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the 12th edition of his "Systema Naturae" under the binomial name


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: Crotalus cerastes The sidewinder ("Crotalus cerastes"), also known as the horned rattlesnake and sidewinder rattlesnake, is a venomous pit viper species belonging to the genus "Crotalus (rattlesnakes)" and is found in the desert regions of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Three subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here. A small species, adult specimens measure between in length. Most adults are in length. The females are larger than the males, which is unusual for this group of snakes. Usually, 21 rows of keeled dorsal scales occur midbody. Males have 141 or fewer ventral scales; females have


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: 144 or fewer. It is sometimes referred to as the horned rattlesnake because of the raised supraocular scales above its eyes. This adaptation may help shade the eyes or prevent sand drifting over them as the snake lies almost buried in it. The color pattern consists of a ground color that may be cream, buff, yellowish-brown, pink, or ash gray, overlaid with 28-47 dorsal blotches subrhombic or subelliptical in shape. In the nominate subspecies, the belly is white and the proximal lobe of the rattle is brown in adults. Klauber and Neill describe the ability of this species to display


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: different coloration depending on the temperature—a process known as metachrosis. Sidewinder, horned rattlesnake, sidewinder rattlesnake, Mojave Desert sidewinder (for "C. c. cerastes"), sidewinder rattler. In the southwestern United States, this species is found in the desert region of south eastern California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, and western Arizona. In northwestern Mexico, it is found in western Sonora and eastern Baja California. This species is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (v3.1, 2001). Species are listed as such due to their wide distribution, presumed large population, or because they are unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: for listing in a more threatened category. The population trend was stable when assessed in 2007. The common name sidewinder alludes to its unusual form of locomotion, which is thought to give it traction on windblown desert sand, but this peculiar locomotor specialization is used on any substrate over which the sidewinder can move rapidly. As its body progresses over loose sand, it forms a letter J-shaped impression, with the tip of the hook pointing in the direction of travel. Sidewinding is also the primary mode of locomotion in other desert sand dwellers, such as the horned adder ("Bitis caudalis")


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: and Peringuey's adder ("Bitis peringueyi"), but many other snakes can assume this form of locomotion when on slick substrates (e.g., mud flats). Sidewinder rattlesnakes can use sidewinding to ascend sandy slopes by increasing the portion of the body in contact with the sand to match the reduced yielding force of the inclined sand, allowing them to ascend up to the maximum possible sand slope without slip. Implementing this control scheme in a Snakebot capable of sidewinding allowed the robot to replicate the success of the snakes. The species is nocturnal during hot months and diurnal during the cooler months of


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: its activity period, which is roughly from November to March (probably longer in the southern part of its range). Juveniles use their tails to attract lizard prey (see video: ), a behavior termed "caudal luring". Adults lose this behavior as they make the transition from lizard prey to their primary diet of desert rodents. Sidewinder juveniles appear to mimic both life stages of lepidopterans in their luring motions. Their fast luring motions resemble the fluttering of a moth, and their slower tail movements resemble a caterpillar. Both movements have been observed to attract prey lizards. Neonatal sidewinders engage in a


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: remarkable behavioral homeothermy that has not been observed in any other type of snake. Following birth, the neonates mass together in their natal burrow. Most often, gravid females select an east-facing, small-diameter rodent burrow for giving birth. For the first week or so of their lives, neonatal sidewinders literally plug the entrance to this burrow during daylight hours, forming a dynamic multiple-individual mass that takes advantage of the hot exterior environment and the cool interior of the burrow to maintain an average aggregate temperature of 32 °C (the optimal temperature for shedding). The dynamic mass of neonates modifies the thermal


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: environment at the burrow entrance such that the young can occupy a location that would ordinarily become lethally hot for an individual neonate (or even an adult). Because of the constant movements of the neonates, the aggregate assumes stable temperature properties reminiscent of a homeothermic organism (i.e., maintains tight temperature tolerance ± 2 °C). Females produce up to 18 young, with an average of about 10 per litter. Like most other viperids, the young are born enveloped in thin embryonic membranes, from which they emerge shortly after being expelled from the mother. The young stay with their mother in a


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: burrow for seven to 10 days, shed for the first time, then leave their natal burrow. During this time, the mother is thought to guard and protect them from predators. Sidewinders mature at two to three years of age, are capable of reproducing annually, and give birth to live young. Some females skip reproductive opportunities. Some might even skip two years if the food supply is scarce. Sidewinders mate in April through May and sometimes in fall. When the male and female mate, the male snake crawls along the female's back, rubbing her with his chin to stimulate or arouse


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: her. The male then will wrap his tail around her tail, and then will try to bring their cloacae together. The cloaca is the posterior body opening through which snakes both excrete waste and reproduce. If the female wants to mate, she will lift her tail and allow him to mate with her. The snakes can mate for several hours, and if one of the snakes decides to move, the other is dragged along. Females might mate with several males in a season. Females give birth to five to 18 young in late summer to early fall. The young are


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: born six to eight inches long. The birth takes only two to three hours altogether. Within a few minutes of being born, the baby sidewinder escapes from a thin, transparent membrane. The young stay at their natal burrow for seven to ten days until they shed, and then they disappear and have no future contact with their mother or their litter mates. While the density of sidewinders can be up to one individual per hectare, they rarely encounter each other except during mating season. Sidewinders have an extraordinarily accelerated lifecycle, with natural life expectancies of females of about five years.


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: Males may live quite a bit longer (maximum known natural lifespan of 13 years). Sidewinders can live more than 20 years when well fed in captivity (even females). Thus, energetics apparently factor heavily into natural female mortality, whereas predation might be the primary pressure on males. In the wild, females often die of exhaustion after giving birth, but the lives of sidewinders are also cut short by predation, diseases, and vehicle encounters. These snakes are venomous, but possess a weaker venom than many other rattlesnakes. This, together with the smaller size of their venom glands, makes them less dangerous than


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: their larger relatives. Still, any rattlesnake bite can be fatal and should be taken seriously and medical attention sought immediately. Norris (2004) lists the following venom yields: 33 mg average and 63 mg maximum (Klauber, 1956), and 30 mg average and 80 mg maximum (Glenn & Straight, 1982). Brown (1973) gives a venom yield of 33 mg (Klauber, 1956) and values for mice of 2.6 mg/kg IV, 3.0, 4.0, 2.3 mg/kg IP and 5.5 mg/kg SC for toxicity. With these figures, Brown calculated that the LD for an adult human being weighing 70 kg would be 385 mg (SC). Bites


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: can cause pain, swelling, hemorrhagic bleb formation, and ecchymosis. Any swelling is usually not particularly severe, but it can involve all of the affected limb, as well as the trunk. Systemic symptoms can include nausea, dizziness, chills, coagulopathy, and shock. Klauber (1997) includes an account of a man who had been bitten on the first joint of the index finger of the right hand, with only a single fang penetrating. Although the bite was described as no more painful than a pin prick, a doctor was seen within about 25 minutes, and 10 cc of antivenin were administered. Within 2.5


title: "Crotalus cerastes" content: hours, his entire arm was swollen and the pain was severe, "as if the arm were soaked in a bucket of boiling oil." Ovine-derived antivenom, CroFab, for North American pit viper envenomation has been widely available since 2001. Consultation with a local expert or regional poison control center should be obtained before administering antivenom. The previous antivenin (ACP) is no longer manufactured. Crotalus cerastes The sidewinder ("Crotalus cerastes"), also known as the horned rattlesnake and sidewinder rattlesnake, is a venomous pit viper species belonging to the genus "Crotalus (rattlesnakes)" and is found in the desert regions of the southwestern United


title: "House finch" content: House finch The house finch ("Haemorhous mexicanus") is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is native to western North America, and has been introduced to the eastern half of the continent and Hawaii. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are placed in the genus "Haemorhous". This is a moderately-sized finch. Adult birds are and span . Body mass can vary from , with an average weight of . Among standard measurements, the wing chord is , the tail is , the culmen is and the tarsus is . Adults have a long, square-tipped brown tail and are


title: "House finch" content: a brown or dull-brown color across the back with some shading into deep gray on the wing feathers. Breast and belly feathers may be streaked; the flanks usually are. In most cases, adult males' heads, necks and shoulders are reddish. This color sometimes extends to the belly and down the back, between the wings. Male coloration varies in intensity with the seasons and is derived from the berries and fruits in its diet. As a result, the colors range from pale straw-yellow through bright orange (both rare) to deep, intense red. Adult females have brown upperparts and streaked underparts. Their


title: "House finch" content: song is a rapid, cheery warble or a variety of chirps. This bird belongs to the genus "Haemorhous", together with the purple finch and Cassin's finch. These three species are not closely related to the Old World "Carpodacus" rosefinches. These birds are mainly permanent residents throughout their range; some northern and eastern birds migrate south. Their breeding habitat is urban and suburban areas across North America, as well as various semi-open areas in the west from southern Canada to the Mexican state of Oaxaca; the population in central Chiapas may be descended from escaped cagebirds. Originally only a resident of


title: "House finch" content: Mexico and the southwestern United States, they were introduced to eastern North America in the 1940s. The birds were sold illegally in New York City as "Hollywood Finches", a marketing artifice. To avoid prosecution under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, vendors and owners released the birds. They have since become naturalized; in largely unforested land across the eastern U.S., they have displaced the native purple finch and even the non-native house sparrow. In 1870, or before, they were introduced to Hawaii and are now abundant on all its major islands. There are estimated to be anywhere from 267


title: "House finch" content: million to 1.7 billion individuals across North America. House finches forage on the ground or in vegetation normally. They primarily eat grains, seeds and berries, being voracious consumers of weed seeds such as nettle and dandelion; included are incidental small insects such as aphids. They are frequent visitors to bird feeders throughout the year, particularly if stocked with sunflower or nyjer seed, and will congregate at hanging nyjer sock feeders. The house finch is known to damage orchard fruit and consume commercially grown grain but is generally not considered a significant pest but rather an annoyance. Nests are made in


title: "House finch" content: cavities, including openings in buildings, hanging plants, and other cup-shaped outdoor decorations. Sometimes nests abandoned by other birds are used. Nests may be re-used for subsequent broods or in following years. The nest is built by the female, sometimes in as little as two days. It is well made of twigs and debris, forming a cup shape, usually above the ground. During courtship, the male will touch bills with the female. He may then present the female with choice bits of food, and if she mimics the behavior of a hungry chick, he may actually feed her. The male also


title: "House finch" content: feeds the female during breeding and incubation of the eggs, and raising of the young, and the male is the primary feeder of the fledgelings (who can be differentiated from the females by the pin feathers remaining on their heads). Females are typically attracted to the males with the deepest pigment of red to their head, more so than the occasional orange or yellowish-headed males that sometimes occur. The female lays clutches of eggs from February through August, two or more broods per year with 2 to 6 eggs per brood, most commonly 4 or 5. The egg laying usually


title: "House finch" content: takes place in the morning, at the rate of one egg per day. The eggs are a pale bluish green with few black spots and a smooth, somewhat glossy surface. In response to mite infestation, which has a more deleterious effect on male chicks than on females, the mother finch may lay eggs containing females first, in order to reduce the length of time male chicks are exposed to mites. This strategy increases the likelihood that representative numbers of both sexes will survive. The female incubates the eggs for 12 to 14 days. Shortly after hatching, she removes the empty


title: "House finch" content: eggshells from the nest. The hatchlings are pink with closed eyes and tufts of fluffy down. The female always feeds the young, and the male usually joins in. The young are silent for the first seven or eight days, and subsequently start peeping during feedings. Initially, the mother carries fecal sacs out of the nest, but when the young become older, she no longer carries them all away, allowing droppings to accumulate around the edge of the nest. Before flying, the young often climb into adjacent plants, and usually fledge at about 11 to 19 days after hatching. Dandelion seeds


title: "House finch" content: are among the preferred seeds fed to the young. Most birds, even ones with herbivorous leanings as adults, tend to feed their nestlings animal matter in order to give them the protein necessary to grow. House finches are one of the few birds who feed their young only plant matter. House finches are aggressive enough to drive other birds away from places such as feeders. The house finch may be infected by a number of parasites including "Plasmodium relictum" and "Mycoplasma gallisepticum", which caused the population of house finches in eastern North America to crash during the 1990s. The mite


title: "House finch" content: "Pellonyssus reedi" is often found on house finch nestlings, particularly for nests later in the season. The brown-headed cowbird, a brood parasite, will lay its eggs in house finch nests, although the diet house finches feed their young is inadequate for the young cowbirds, which rarely survive. House finch The house finch ("Haemorhous mexicanus") is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is native to western North America, and has been introduced to the eastern half of the continent and Hawaii. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are placed in the genus "Haemorhous". This is a moderately-sized finch.


title: "John Negroponte" content: unanimous approval of a Security Council resolution that demanded Saddam Hussein comply with U.N. mandates to disarm. During Colin Powell's speech to the Security Council on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, Negroponte could be seen sitting behind Powell's left shoulder. Negroponte, however, had warned the Bush Administration about the adverse consequences of intervening in Iraq. In the "New York Review of Books", Stephen Kinzer reported that the messages sent by nominating Negroponte were that "the Bush administration will not be bound by diplomatic niceties as it conducts its foreign policy." A State Department official told him that "Giving him this


title: Batik content: Batik Batik is a technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to whole cloth, made by hand manual and batik tools, this technique comes from Indonesia. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a "canting", or by printing the resist with a copper stamp called a "cap". The applied wax resists dyes and therefore allows the artisan to colour selectively by soaking the cloth in one colour, removing the wax with boiling water, and repeating if multiple colours are desired. A tradition of making batik is found in various countries; the batik


title: Batik content: of Indonesia, however, may be the best-known. Indonesian batik made in the island of Java has a long history of acculturation, with diverse patterns influenced by a variety of cultures, and is the most developed in terms of pattern, technique, and the quality of workmanship. In October 2009, UNESCO designated Indonesian batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The word "batik" is Javanese in origin. It may either come from the Javanese word "amba" ('to write') and "titik" ('dot'), or may derive from a hypothetical Proto-Austronesian root "*beCík" ('to tattoo'). The word is first recorded in


title: Batik content: English in the Encyclopædia Britannica of 1880, in which it is spelled "battik". It is attested in the Indonesian Archipelago during the Dutch colonial period in various forms: "mbatek", "mbatik", "batek" and "batik". Wax resist dyeing of fabric is an ancient art form. It already existed in Egypt in the 4th century BC, where it was used to wrap mummies; linen was soaked in wax, and scratched using a stylus. In Asia, the technique was practised in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), and in India and Japan during the Nara Period (645-794 AD). In Africa it was originally


title: Batik content: practised by the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria, Soninke and Wolof in Senegal. These African version however, uses cassava starch or rice paste, or mud as a resist instead of beeswax. The art of batik is most highly developed in the island of Java in Indonesia. In Java, all the materials for the process are readily available — cotton and beeswax and plants from which different vegetable dyes are made. Indonesian batik predates written records: G. P. Rouffaer argues that the technique might have been introduced during the 6th or 7th century from India or Sri Lanka. On the other hand,


title: Batik content: the Dutch archaeologist J.L.A. Brandes and the Indonesian archaeologist F.A. Sutjipto believe Indonesian batik is a native tradition, since other regions in Indonesia such as Toraja, Flores, Halmahera, and Papua, which were not directly influenced by Hinduism, have an age-old tradition of batik making. Rouffaer reported that the "gringsing" pattern was already known by the 12th century in Kediri, East Java. He concluded that this delicate pattern could be created only by using the "canting", an etching tool that holds a small reservoir of hot wax, and proposed that the "canting" was invented in Java around that time. The carving


title: Batik content: details of clothes worn by East Javanese Prajnaparamita statues from around the 13th century show intricate floral patterns within rounded margins, similar to today's traditional Javanese "jlamprang" or "ceplok" batik motif. The motif is thought to represent the lotus, a sacred flower in Hindu-Buddhist beliefs. This evidence suggests that intricate batik fabric patterns applied with the "canting" existed in 13th-century Java or even earlier. In Europe, the technique was described for the first time in the "History of Java", published in London in 1817 by Stamford Raffles, who had been a British governor for Bengkulu, Sumatra. In 1873 the Dutch


title: Batik content: merchant Van Rijckevorsel gave the pieces he collected during a trip to Indonesia to the ethnographic museum in Rotterdam. Today the Tropenmuseum houses the biggest collection of Indonesian batik in the Netherlands. The Dutch and Chinese colonists were active in developing batik, particularly coastal batik, in the late colonial era. They introduced new patterns as well as the use of the "cap" (copper block stamps) to mass-produce batiks. Displayed at the Exposition Universelle at Paris in 1900, the Indonesian batik impressed the public and artists. In the 1920s, Javanese batik makers migrating to Malaya (now Malaysia) introduced the use of


title: Batik content: wax and copper blocks to its east coast. In Subsaharan Africa, Javanese batik was introduced in the 19th century by Dutch and English traders. The local people there adapted the Javanese batik, making larger motifs with thicker lines and more colours. In the 1970s, batik was introduced to Australia, where aboriginal artists at Erna Bella have developed it as their own craft. Firstly, a cloth is washed, soaked and beaten with a large mallet. Patterns are drawn with pencil and later redrawn using hot wax, usually made from a mixture of paraffin or beeswax, sometimes mixed with plant resins, which


title: Batik content: functions as a dye-resist. The wax can be applied with a variety of tools. A pen-like instrument called a "canting" (, sometimes spelled with old Dutch orthography "tjanting") is the most common. A "tjanting" is made from a small copper reservoir with a spout on a wooden handle. The reservoir holds the resist which flows through the spout, creating dots and lines as it moves. For larger patterns, a stiff brush may be used. Alternatively, a copper block stamp called a "cap" (; old spelling "tjap") is used to cover large areas more efficiently. After the cloth is dry, the


title: Batik content: resist is removed by boiling or scraping the cloth. The areas treated with resist keep their original colour; when the resist is removed the contrast between the dyed and undyed areas forms the pattern. This process is repeated as many times as the number of colours desired. The most traditional type of batik, called batik "tulis" (written batik), is drawn using only the "canting". The cloth needs to be drawn on both sides, and dipped in a dye bath three to four times. The whole process may take up to a year; it yields considerably finer patterns than stamped batik.


title: Batik content: Many Indonesian batik patterns are symbolic. Infants are carried in batik slings decorated with symbols designed to bring the child luck, and certain batik designs are reserved for brides and bridegrooms, as well as their families. Some designs are reserved for royalties, and even banned to be worn by commoners. Consequently, a person's rank could be determined by the pattern of the batik he or she wore. Further study to the geometry of symbolism in Indonesian batik showed the applicability of fractal geometry in traditional designs. Batik garments play a central role in certain Javanese rituals, such as the ceremonial


title: Batik content: casting of royal batik into a volcano. In the Javanese "naloni mitoni" ceremony, the mother-to-be is wrapped in seven layers of batik, wishing her good things. Batik is also prominent in the "tedak siten" ceremony when a child touches the earth for the first time. In October 2009, UNESCO designated Indonesian batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. As part of the acknowledgment, UNESCO insisted that Indonesia preserve its heritage. The day, October 2, 2009 has been stated by Indonesian government as National Batik Day, as also at the time the map of Indonesian batik diversity


title: Batik content: by Hokky Situngkir was opened for public for the first time by the Indonesian Ministry of Research and Technology. The popularity of batik in Indonesia has varied. Historically, it was essential for ceremonial costumes and it was worn as part of a "kebaya" dress, commonly worn every day. The use of batik was already recorded in the 12th century, and the textile has become a strong source of identity for Indonesians crossing religious, racial and cultural boundaries. It is also believed the motif made the batik famous. The batik industry of Java flourished from the late 1800s to early 1900s,


title: Batik content: but declined during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia. With increasing preference of western clothing, the batik industry further declined following the Indonesian independence. Batik has somewhat revived at the turn of the 21st century, through the efforts of Indonesian fashion designers to innovate batik by incorporating new colours, fabrics, and patterns. Batik has become a fashion item for many Indonesians, and may be seen on shirts, dresses, or scarves for casual wear; it is a preferred replacement for jacket-and-tie at certain receptions. Traditional batik sarongs are still used in many occasions. After the UNESCO recognition for Indonesian batik on 2


title: Batik content: October 2009, the Indonesian administration asked Indonesians to wear batik on Fridays, and wearing batik every Friday has been encouraged in government offices and private companies ever since. 2 October is also celebrated as National Batik Day in Indonesia. Batik had helped improve the small business local economy, batik sales in Indonesia had reached Rp 3.9 trillion (US$436.8 million) in 2010, an increase from Rp 2.5 trillion in 2006. The value of batik exports, meanwhile, increased from $14.3 million in 2006 to $22.3 million in 2010. Batik is also popular in the neighbouring countries of Singapore and Malaysia. It is


title: Batik content: produced in Malaysia with similar, but not identical, methods to those used in Indonesia. Prior to UNESCO's recognition and following the 2009 Pendet controversy, Indonesia and Malaysia disputed the ownership of batik culture. However, Dr Fiona Kerlogue of the Horniman museum argued that the Malaysian printed wax textiles, made for about a century, were quite a different tradition from the "very fine" traditional Indonesian batiks produced for many centuries. Batik is featured in the national airline uniforms of the three countries, represented by batik prints worn by flight attendants of Singapore Airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Malaysian Airlines. The female uniform


title: Batik content: of Garuda Indonesia flight attendants is a modern interpretation of the Kartini style "kebaya" with "parang gondosuli" motifs. Batik is traditionally sold in 2.25-metre lengths used for "kain panjang" or sarong. It is worn by wrapping it around the hip, or made into a hat known as blangkon. The cloth can be filled continuously with a single pattern or divided into several sections. Certain patterns are only used in certain sections of the cloth. For example, a row of isosceles triangles, forming the "pasung" motif, as well as diagonal floral motifs called "dhlorong", are commonly used for the head. However,


title: Batik content: "pasung" and "dhlorong" are occasionally found in the body. Other motifs such as "buketan" (flower bouquet) and birds are commonly used in either the head or the body. As each region has its own traditional pattern, batiks are commonly distinguished by the region they originated in, such as batik Solo, batik Yogyakarta, batik Pekalongan, and batik Madura. Batiks from Java can be distinguished by their general pattern and colours into "batik pedalaman" (inland batik) or "batik pesisir" (coastal batik). Batiks which do not fall neatly into one of these two categories are only referred to by their region. A mapping


title: Batik content: of batik designs from all places in Indonesia depicts the similarities and reflects cultural assimilation within batik designs. Inland batik or "batik kraton" (Javanese court batik) is the oldest form of batik tradition known in Java. Inland batik has earthy colour such as black, indigo, brown, and "sogan" (brown-yellow colour made from the tree "Peltophorum pterocarpum"), sometimes against a white background, with symbolic patterns that are mostly free from outside influence. Certain patterns are reserved for royalty, while other are worn on specific occasions. At a Javanese wedding for example, the bride wears specific patterns at each stage of the


title: Batik content: ceremony. Noted inland batiks are produced in Solo and Jogjakarta, cities traditionally regarded as the centre of Javanese culture. "Batik Solo" typically has "sogan" background and is preserved by the Susuhunan and Mangkunegaran Court. "Batik Jogja" typically has white background and is preserved by the Yogyakarta Sultanate and Pakualaman Court. Coastal batik is produced in several areas of northern Java and Madura. In contrast to inland batik, coastal batiks have vibrant colours and patterns inspired by a wide range of cultures as a consequence of maritime trading. Recurring motifs include European flower bouquets, Chinese phoenix, and Persian peacocks. Noted coastal


title: Batik content: batiks are produced in Pekalongan, Cirebon, Lasem, Tuban, and Madura. Pekalongan has the most active batik industry. A notable sub-type of coastal batik called "Jawa Hokokai" is not attributed to a particular region. During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in early 1940, the batik industry greatly declined due to material shortages. The workshops funded by the Japanese however were able to produce extremely fine batiks called "Jawa Hokokai". Common motifs of "Hokokai" includes Japanese cherry blossoms, butterflies, and chrysanthemums. Another coastal batik called "tiga negeri" (batik of three lands) is attributed to three regions: Lasem, Pekalongan, and Solo, where the


title: Batik content: batik would be dipped in red, blue, and "sogan" dyes respectively. As of 1980, batik "tiga negeri" was only produced in one city. Sundanese or Priangan Batik is the term for batik from the Priangan region of West Java and Banten. Although Priangan batiks can use a wide range of colours, a preference for indigo is seen in some of its variants. Natural indigo dye made from "Indigofera" is among the oldest known dyes in Java, and its local name "tarum" has lent its name to the Citarum river and the Tarumanagara kingdom, which suggests that ancient West Java was


title: Batik content: once a major producer of natural indigo. Noted Priangan batik is produced in Ciamis, Garut, and Tasikmalaya. Other traditions include Batik Kuningan influenced by batik Cirebon, batik Banten that developed quite independently, and an older tradition of batik Baduy. Batik Banten employs bright pastel colours and represents a revival of a lost art from the Sultanate of Banten, rediscovered through archaeological work during 2002–2004. Twelve motifs from locations such as Surosowan and several other places have been identified. Batik Baduy only employs indigo colour in shades ranged from bluish black to deep blue. It is traditionally worn as "iket", a


title: Batik content: type of Sundanese headress similar to Balinese "udeng", by Outer Baduy people of Lebak Regency, Banten. Trade relations between the Melayu Kingdom in Jambi and Javanese coastal cities have thrived since the 13th century. Therefore, coastal batik from northern Java probably influenced Jambi. In 1875, Haji Mahibat from Central Java revived the declining batik industry in Jambi. The village of Mudung Laut in Pelayangan district is known for producing batik Jambi. Batik Jambi, as well as Javanese batik, influenced the Malaysian batik. The Minangkabau people also produce batik called "batiak tanah liek" (clay batik), which use clay as dye for


title: Batik content: the fabric. The fabric is immersed in clay for more than 1 day and later designed with motifs of animal and flora. The Batik from Bengkulu, a city on west coast of Sumatra, is called "Batik Besurek", which literary means "batik with letters" as they draw inspiration from Arabic calligraphy. Batik making in the island of Bali is relatively new, but a fast-growing industry. Many patterns are inspired by local designs, which are favoured by the local Balinese and domestic tourists. Objects from nature such as frangipani and hibiscus flowers, birds or fishes, and daily activities such as Balinese dancer


title: Batik content: and "ngaben" processions or religious and mythological creatures such as "barong", "kala" and winged lion are common. Modern batik artists express themselves freely in a wide range of subjects. Contemporary batik is not limited to traditional or ritual wearing in Bali. Some designers promote batik Bali as elegant fabric that can be used to make casual or formal cloth. Using high class batik, like hand made "batik tulis", can show social status. Batik was mentioned in the 17th century Malay Annals. The legend goes when Laksamana Hang Nadim was ordered by Malacca King, Sultan Mahmud, to sail to India to


title: Batik content: buy 140 pieces of "serasah" cloth (batik) with 40 types of flowers depicted on each. Unable to find any that fulfilled the requirements explained to him, he made up his own. On his return unfortunately his ship sank and he only managed to bring four pieces, earning displeasure from the Sultan. The method of Malaysian batik making is different from those of Indonesian Javanese batik, the pattern being larger and simpler with only occasional use of the "canting" to create intricate patterns. It relies heavily on brush painting to apply colours to fabrics. The colours also tend to be lighter


title: Batik content: and more vibrant than deep coloured Javanese batik. The most popular motifs are leaves and flowers. Malaysian batik often displays plants and flowers to avoid the interpretation of human and animal images as idolatry, in accordance with local Islamic doctrine. However, the butterfly theme is a common exception. Indians are known to use resist method of printing designs on cotton fabrics, which can be traced back 2000 years. Initially, wax and even rice starch were used for printing on fabrics. Until recently batik was made only for dresses and tailored garments, but modern batik is applied in numerous items, such


title: Batik content: as murals, wall hangings, paintings, household linen, and scarves, with livelier and brighter patterns. Contemporary batik making in India is also done by the Deaf women of Delhi, these women are fluent in Indian Sign Language and also work in other vocational programs. Over the past century, batik making in Sri Lanka has become firmly established. The Sri Lankan batik industry is a small scale industry which can employ individual design talent and mainly deals with foreign customers for profit. It is now the most visible of the island's crafts with galleries and factories, large and small, having sprung up


title: Batik content: in many tourist areas. Rows of small stalls selling batiks can be found all along Hikkaduwa's Galle Road strip. Mahawewa, on the other hand, is famous for its batik factories. Batik is done by the ethnic people in the South-West of China. The Miao, Bouyei and Gejia people use a dye resist method for their traditional costumes. The traditional costumes are made up of decorative fabrics, which they achieve by pattern weaving and wax resist. Almost all the Miao decorate hemp and cotton by applying hot wax then dipping the cloth in an indigo dye. The cloth is then used


title: Batik content: for skirts, panels on jackets, aprons and baby carriers. Like the Javanese, their traditional patterns also contain symbolism, the patterns include the dragon, phoenix, and flowers. In Africa, where batik was originally imported by Dutch merchants from Indonesia (then the Netherlands East Indies), paste made from starch or mud is used as a resist instead of wax. The most developed resist-dyeing skills are to be found in Nigeria where the Yoruba make adire cloths. Two methods of resist are used: "adire eleso" which involves tied and stitched designs and "adire eleko" that uses starch paste. The paste is most often


title: Batik content: made from cassava starch, rice, and other ingredients boiled together to produce a smooth thick paste. The Yoruba of West Africa use cassava paste as a resist while the Soninke and Wolof people in Senegal uses rice paste. The Bamana people of Mali use mud as a resist. Batik Batik is a technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to whole cloth, made by hand manual and batik tools, this technique comes from Indonesia. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a "canting", or by printing the resist with a copper stamp


title: "Free association (psychology)" content: within language that is the key to representing the prohibited and forbidden desire...to access unconscious affective memory'. Jung and his Zurich colleagues 'devised some ingenious association tests which confirmed Freud's conclusions about the way in which emotional factors may interfere with recollection': they were published in 1906. As Freud himself put it, 'in this manner Bleuler and Jung built the first bridge from experimental psychology to psychoanalysis'. Freud, at least initially, saw free association as a relatively accessible method for patients. Ferenczi disagreed, with the famous aphorism: 'The patient is not cured by free-associating, he is cured when he can


title: "Colonel Charles Pinckney" content: educated and grew up in a planter family. His father served as Master of Chancery. William had joined his older brother, Charles Pinckney, in setting up "the first fire insurance company in America, the Friendly Society." It was profitable, but an extensive fire in 1740 in Charleston resulted in high damages, and William suffered financially. He sent his son to be cared and educated by his wealthier brother Charles. The younger Charles Pinckney studied law, passing the bar in 1752. Pinckney became a leading attorney in the city of Charleston. He bought his first plantation, now known as Snee Farm,


title: Matriculation content: begins with a procession with the rector and the deans in academic dress and other regalia. The ceremony continues with the rector listing the different faculties, after which the different student, shouts when their respective faculty is mentioned. The rector then delivers a speech, after which the rector and the deans leave the ceremony again in procession, after which a party is held on university grounds, to mark the admission of the new students. In Finland, Matriculation (Finnish: "Ylioppilastutkinto", Swedish: "Studentexamen") is the examination taken at the end of Secondary education to qualify for entry into University. The test also


title: "Bluetick Coonhound" content: Bluetick Coonhound The Bluetick Coonhound is a breed of Coonhound originating in the United States. The Bluetick Coonhound is known for its friendly persona, cold nose and deep bawl mouth. It is most commonly used as a raccoon hunting dog, but may also be kept as a pet. The overall build of the Bluetick Coonhound is muscular and speedy. The head is carried up and the tail carried over the back, without signs of fear or nervousness. The Bluetick coat should be moderately coarse and glossy. The Bluetick Coonhound gets its "blue" coloring from black ticking on a white background,


title: "Bluetick Coonhound" content: which gives the impression of a navy blue color. This ticking covers the body and can be interspersed with variously-shaped black spots on the back, ears and sides. Preference runs to more blue than black on the body. Black should predominate on the head and ears. Bluetick Coonhounds should have tan dots over the eyes and the sides of the muzzle will be tan. There is generally a ticked blaze running up the face. Bluetick Coonhounds should be 21 inches to 27 inches tall at the shoulder and males weigh approximately 55 to 80 pounds (25 to 36 kg). Females


title: "Bluetick Coonhound" content: are considerably smaller at an average weight of 45 to 65 pounds. Feet should be cat-like, rounded with well-arched toes. Their paws are larger than those of nearly all other breeds of dogs. Rear legs should have a moderate bend at the hocks. All legs should be straight from the dog's body to the ground when viewed from the front or rear. Gascon blues are larger than standard Blueticks, with males a minimum of 27 inches and a maximum of 30 inches, per the American Blue Gascon Hound Association's breed standard. Bluetick Coonhounds are bred to be hunting dogs. They


title: "Bluetick Coonhound" content: are athletic, hardy, and need a full-time job or activity such as hunting, obedience, or agility to stay happy. They can be challenging to train and they should be monitored around cats or other small animals. They are, like their hound counterparts, a very intelligent breed that has the uncanny talent for problem-solving. Once trained, the members of the breed are very mindful of their owner. Something first time pet owners should be aware of is the daunting task of "voice-training" these dogs. Being bred to bay while hunting, they are highly vocal. If properly socialized from a young age,


title: "Bluetick Coonhound" content: they can be family pets. In normal conditions, the Bluetick Coonhound gets along well with children. They are mindful and friendly dogs. However, their noses will keep them in trouble, so food and garbage should never be left out unattended. The breed is often mistaken for being aggressive as the breed will "greet" strangers with its signature howl and will sniff the subject until satisfied. Usually, this is just the way the breed gets to know its subjects. Since Blueticks are driven by their strong sense of smell, they make excellent hunting/tracking dogs. If allowed, they will tree almost any


title: "Bluetick Coonhound" content: animal smaller than them. Blueticks are generally easier to handle in the field than some other coonhounds. The Bluetick Coonhound, which originated in Louisiana, was developed from the Bleu de Gascogne hound of southwest France, as well as the English Foxhound, the cur dog, the American Foxhound, and the Black And Tan Virginia Foxhound. Originally, Bluetick Coonhounds were registered in the United Kennel Club under the English Foxhound and Coonhound, but were recognized by the club as a separate breed in 1946. Bluetick Coonhounds are also recognized by the Australian National Kennel Council and the New Zealand Kennel Club. In


title: "Bluetick Coonhound" content: April 2009 the breed was accepted by the American Kennel Club and in December 2009 they became eligible to compete in AKC coonhound events. The American Blue Gascon Hound is a subgroup of Bluetick Coonhounds that is larger, heavier and more "houndy" looking than the standard Bluetick. American Blue Gascon Hounds are often referred to as "old-fashioned" Blueticks. This is due to their appearance and "colder" nose, or slower style of tracking, compared to other modern coonhound breeds. Bluetick Coonhound The Bluetick Coonhound is a breed of Coonhound originating in the United States. The Bluetick Coonhound is known for its


title: "Cassin's finch" content: Cassin's finch Cassin's finch ("Haemorhous cassinii") is a bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are placed in the genus "Haemorhous". Adults have a short forked brown tail and brown wings. They have a longer bill than the purple finch. Adult males are raspberry red on the head, breast, back and rump; their back and undertail are streaked. Adult females have light brown upperparts and light underparts with brown streaks throughout; their facial markings are less distinct than those of the female purple finch. Their breeding habitat is coniferous forest in mountains of western


title: "Cassin's finch" content: North America as far south as northern New Mexico and Arizona; also Southern California near Baja California. They nest in large conifers. They move to lower elevations in winter. Northernmost breeding birds migrate south, as do some birds throughout the range of the species; many birds are permanent residents, however. Some non-breeding birds winter as far south as central interior Mexico. These birds forage in trees, sometimes in ground vegetation. They mainly eat seeds, buds and berries, some insects. When not nesting, they often feed in small flocks. This bird was named after John Cassin, who was a curator at


title: "Cassin's finch" content: the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. Cassin's finch, along with the purple finch and house finch, was formerly placed in the genus "Carpodacus", along with the rosefinches of Eurasia. However, the three North American species are not closely related to the Old World rosefinch radiation, and thus have been moved to the genus "Haemorhous" by most taxonomic authorities. Cassin's finch Cassin's finch ("Haemorhous cassinii") is a bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are placed in the genus "Haemorhous". Adults have a short forked brown tail and brown wings. They have a longer bill


title: "Airbus A400M Atlas" content: on its first test flight crashed shortly after take-off from San Pablo Airport in Seville, Spain, killing four Spanish Airbus crew members and seriously injuring two others. Once airborne, the crew contacted air traffic controllers just before the crash about a technical failure, before colliding with an electricity pylon while attempting an emergency landing. One of the survivors told investigators that "the aircraft suffered multiple engine failures." The aircraft had been scheduled for delivery to the Turkish Air Force. The crash was later attributed to the FADEC being unable to read engine sensors properly due to an accidental file-wipe, resulting


title: "Francis II of the Two Sicilies" content: by his first wife, Maria Christina of Savoy, Francis II was the last of the Bourbon kings of Naples, where he was born in 1836. His education had been much neglected and he proved a man of weak character, greatly influenced by his stepmother Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, whom he feared, and also by the priests, and by the camarilla, or reactionary court set. On 3 February 1859 in Bari, Francis married princess Duchess Maria Sophie in Bavaria, of the royal Bavarian house of Wittelsbach (a younger sister of Empress Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria). Maria Sophie, along with Elisabeth,


title: "Fijian language" content: + possessor NP. Note that there is some degree of flexibility in the use of possessive constructions as described in this table. The normal Fijian word order is VOS (verb–object–subject): In May and June 2005, a number of prominent Fiji Islanders called for the status of Fijian to be upgraded. It was not an official language before the adoption of the 1997 Constitution, which made it co-official with English and Fiji Hindi. It is still not a compulsory subject in schools, however; the present Education Minister, Ro Teimumu Kepa, has endorsed calls for it to be made so, as has


title: "Take That" content: 2014 and On 14 January 2014, Donald and Barlow both tweeted that Take That had entered the studio to begin recording the album, although it was not initially clear if Williams was present at these recording sessions. On 28 April 2014, Williams announced on Twitter he was to become a dad for a second time, and consequently suggested he would be unable to join Take That on their album and tour. Barlow later confirmed that Williams had left the band for a second time, although the departure was amicable and that Williams was welcome to rejoin the band in the


title: "Heck cattle" content: cattle are not significantly similar to the aurochs and do not differ from many other domestic breeds. The horns of the aurochs had a characteristic and relatively stable shape. At the base they grew outwards-upwards, then forwards-inwards and inwards-upwards at the tips. Aurochs horns were large and thick overall, reaching 80–100 cm in length and 10 cm or more in diameter. However, the horns of Heck cattle differ in many respects. Usually, they curve too much upwards or outwards compared to the original, or do not reach the length or diameter of the aurochs. Often the horns of Heck cattle


title: Tangelo content: Tangelo The tangelo ( , ; "C. reticulata × C. maxima" or "x C. paradisi"), "Citrus × tangelo", is a citrus fruit hybrid of a tangerine and a grapefruit. Sometimes referred to as honeybells, they are the size of an adult fist, have a tart, tangy, tangerine taste, and are juicy at the expense of flesh. They generally have loose skin and are easier to peel than oranges, readily distinguished from them by a characteristic "nipple" at the stem. Tangelos can be used as a substitute for mandarin oranges or sweet oranges. The early maturing Orlando tangelo is noted for


title: Tangelo content: its rich juiciness, mild and sweet flavour, large size, distinct zesty smell, and flat-round shape with a characteristic knob. California/Arizona tangelos have a slightly pebbled texture, vibrant interior and exterior colour, very few seeds, and a tight-fitting rind. Orlando tangelos are available from mid-November to the beginning of February. The tangelo originated as a cross between a Duncan grapefruit and a Dancy tangerine. W. T. Swingle of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is credited with creating the hybrid in 1911. When the Orlando tangelo was first cultivated, it was known by the name Lake tangelo. The trees of


title: Tangelo content: this variety grow to a large size and are easily recognised by their cup-shape leaves. Orlando tangelos are recognised as one of the more cold-tolerant varieties. Northern Florida grows significantly fewer tangelos, but they are much sweeter due to climate. The Minneola tangelo (sometimes misspelled "Mineola" or "Myneeowleh") is a cross between a Duncan grapefruit and a Dancy tangerine, and was released in 1931 by the USDA Horticultural Research Station in Orlando. It is named after Minneola, Florida. Most Minneola tangelos are characterised by a stem-end neck, which tends to make the fruit appear bell-shaped. Because of this, it is


title: Tangelo content: also called the Honeybell in the gift fruit trade, where it is one of the most popular varieties. A true Honeybell Tangelo is a hybrid-cross between Thompson tangerine and a pomelo, hence the name Tangelo released by the USDA. Both Minneolas and Honeybells are usually fairly large, typically 3–3½ inches in diameter; the Honeybells tend to be larger and sweeter. The peel colour, when mature, is a bright-reddish-orange colour. The rind of the Minneola is relatively thin, while the rind of the Honeybell is slightly thicker. Both the Minneola and Honeybell Tangelo peel rather easily. Both are very juicy. Both


title: Tangelo content: the Minneola and the Honeybell are not strongly self-fruitful, and yields will be greater when interplanted with suitable pollenisers such as Temple tangor, Sunburst tangerine, or possibly Fallglo tangerine. It tends to bear a good crop every other year. In the Northern Hemisphere the fruit matures in the December–February period, with January being the peak. One study thus far has shown that, unlike grapefruit, interactions with statins are not likely with tangelos. Although the tangelo is derived from a grapefruit crossed with a tangerine, the furocoumarins in grapefruit are not expressed in tangelos. In an episode of "Wings" titled "The


title: Tangelo content: Person Formerly Known as Lowell", which originally aired on October 31, 1995, Joe Hackett (Tim Daly) is disgusted when he finds out that Casey (Amy Yasbeck) found his Tangelo in the refrigerator and threw it in the garbage. he then angrily asks her, "Who told you you could touch my Tangelo??" Helen (Crystal Bernard) then refers to it as "that creepy fruit Joe eats". Tangelo The tangelo ( , ; "C. reticulata × C. maxima" or "x C. paradisi"), "Citrus × tangelo", is a citrus fruit hybrid of a tangerine and a grapefruit. Sometimes referred to as honeybells, they are


title: "Pilot whale" content: in 1956, but declined shortly after and is now defunct. In the Southern Hemisphere, exploitation of long-finned pilot whales has been sporadic and low. Currently, long-finned pilot whales are only hunted at the Faroe Islands and Greenland. According to the IUCN the harvesting of this species for food in the Faroe Islands and Greenland is probably sustainable. The short-finned pilot whale has also been hunted for many centuries, particularly by Japanese whalers. Between 1948 and 1980, hundreds of whales were exploited at Hokkaido and Sanriku in the north and Taiji, Izu, and Okinawa in the south. These fisheries were at


title: Harishchandra content: would accompany his mother (and an extra payment was made for him). Soon after, Vishwamitra appeared again and demanded the donation. Harishchandra gave him all the money he had received from the sale of his wife and son. However, Vishwamitra was unhappy with the donation, and demanded more. Harishchandra then decided to sell himself. An outcaste "chandala" (actually the deity of dharma in disguise) offered to buy him, but Harishchandra's self-respect as a high-caste Kshatriya would not allow this. He instead offered to be Vishwamitra's slave. Vishwamitra agreed, but then declared "Since you are my slave, you must obey me.


title: Pori content: lower divisions in almost all major team sports, including clubs like Musan Salama (football), Pori Futsal (futsal), Bears (American football), Pori Rugby (rugby union) and Karhut (floorball). The oldest sportsclub in Finland, Segelföreningen i Björneborg was established 1856 in Pori. The biggest sports club in Pori is Liikuntaseura Pori, which has multiple sports including gymnastics, TeamGym and cheerleading. Most successful Pori athletes are Olympic gold medal winners Kelpo Gröndahl and Kaarlo Kangasniemi. Other Olympic medalists from Pori are Arvo Aaltonen, Jouni Grönman, Jyri Kjäll and Sari Fisk. Today the best known athletes are swimmer Matti Mattsson, hurdler Nooralotta Neziri and


title: "Australian pied cormorant" content: Australian pied cormorant The Australian pied cormorant ("Phalacrocorax varius"), also known as the pied cormorant, pied shag, or great pied cormorant, is a medium-sized member of the cormorant family. It is found around the coasts of Australasia. In New Zealand, it is usually known either as the pied shag or by its Māori name of Kāruhiruhi. Older sources may refer to it as the "yellow-faced cormorant". The pied cormorant is predominantly black on its back and upper surface of the wings and white on the underside with males weighing approximately 2.2 kg and females 1.7 kg. It stands between 65–85


title: "Australian pied cormorant" content: cm tall, with a wingspan of 110–130 cm. A small yellow patch between the bill and the eye on each side of the head is likely to have been the reason for the historical common name. It has large webbed feet which it utilises to pursue fish underwater, steering with half opened wings. The bird has a large hooked bill, green eyes with a blue eye ring and black legs and feet. The eyes have a special nictitating membrane for underwater protection. The pied cormorant can often be seen spreading its wings after diving to help dry the feathers, as


title: "Australian pied cormorant" content: it has inadequate waterproofing. This lack of feather waterproofing may help the cormorant spend longer underwater due to decreased buoyancy effects. There are two recognized subspecies; "Phalacrocorax varius varius" (New Zealand) and "Phalacrocorax varius hypoleucus" (Australia) with slight variation in physical characteristics. Similar species include the Black-faced cormorant (slightly smaller) and the little pied cormorant (substantially smaller). The pied cormorant is listed of least concern in the IUCN red list of threatened species, reflecting its large range with a relatively stable population. In New Zealand its range on the east coast extends as far south as Christchurch, though this is


title: "Australian pied cormorant" content: a recent extension—older books report it no further south than Kaikoura. The range extensions have accompanied population recovery from heavy persecution in the early 1900s and likely represents recolonization of the former range. The pied cormorant is listed as Nationally Vulnerable in New Zealand. The population has been growing from around 700 breeding pairs in the 1950s to an estimated 3,000 pairs post 2000 (Refer to population trend data). In Australia it is only moderately common in the eastern states (both the coast and inland wetlands), but abundant in the south-west, particularly along the coast. Its federal conservation status is


title: "Australian pied cormorant" content: ‘secure’ and only changes to ‘near threatened’ in Victoria. It can be found in all states except Tasmania. The pied cormorant has been calculated to be at high-moderate risk from fishing – particularly from set and inshore drift nets. Birds in colonies can often be observed entangled in recreational fishing line with hooks embedded in the body. In the past, the pied cormorant was seen as competition for commercial fishing and sometimes shot. Although typically found in marine habitat—sometimes solitary, sometimes in pairs, sometimes in vast flocks of hundreds or thousands—it is also attracted to inland waters, including lakes, deep


title: "Australian pied cormorant" content: and open swamps, and rivers. In Australia, the birds can often be found at inland waterways while in New Zealand it prefers coastal areas close to its prey. Adult birds are sedentary and can often be seen roosting in trees, on rocks or logs in the water. The birds seem unaffected by variable salinity, turbidity and shoreline vegetation provided there are available perches. The pied cormorant appears to feed largely (90%) on benthic fish 6–15 cm in length from waters less than 10m deep. Other dietary components (10%) are made up of crustaceans such as prawns and shrimp with some


title: "Australian pied cormorant" content: molluscs and cephalopods. It will dive both in shallow, still water and in rapidly moving currents. Typical dive times are around 40 seconds, with a recovery period of 10–15 seconds between dives although this is dependent on depth. The birds feed in deep and shallow waters (although shallow habitats are more productive) with flock densities in proportion to the prey abundance. Hunting is typically performed as individuals (potentially to avoid kleptoparasitism), although larger groups can be observed when schools of small fish are close to the surface. Risk of predation by sharks and the abundance of food comprise a trade-off


title: "Australian pied cormorant" content: where the pied cormorant may choose to hunt in deeper waters where prey is less abundant if the risk is too high during warmer months when sharks are present more often. The deeper waters however require longer dive times and corresponding longer times at rest between dives on the surface. The pied cormorant preferably breeds in small (<30 pairs) sheltered colonies (harbours, estuaries and lakes) with rarer occurrences on exposed coasts or islands, no more than 400 metres from the sea (or food source). Courtship behaviour is initiated by the male in close proximity to a future nest site. Wing


title: "Australian pied cormorant" content: waving by the male is conducted in silence while gargling can be a form of female recognition. The males can also hop up to 1m in the air with both feet to attract female attention. Nests are typically large platforms formed of sticks and foliage cemented with droppings averaging 80 cm in diameter on the ground or in trees. Males collect most of the nest material, while both sexes share construction tasks. The nests are used twice a year in Autumn and Spring by different breeding pairs. Some breeding occurs in summer and winter by young and inexperienced pairs. Monogamous


title: "Australian pied cormorant" content: breeding pairs (from 2 years of age) lay eggs once a year with an average breeding cycle of 6 months. Clutch size ranges from 2-5 with an incubation period of 25–33 days. Egg and fledgling caring duties are shared by the parents. Chick rearing can take from 47–60 days with independence gained just over 3 months of age. Both sexes share feeding duties through incomplete regurgitation. Banding studies have shown that the pied cormorants do not travel far from their colonies (<20 km). Flight is generally low in altitude, as the pied cormorant has weaker flight capability than other species


title: "Australian pied cormorant" content: in the family, with ‘v’ formations present when in flocks. The Noongar Aboriginal people who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia believe that the pied cormorant ("medi") is responsible for the transport of souls of the deceased across and beneath the Western sea to their final resting place ("Kurannup"). "Medi" can be translated as ‘agent’, or ‘medium’, possibly referring to the bird's role as an intermediary between the living world and the afterlife. Spirits of the deceased rest for an unspecified time on the "moojar" (WA Christmas tree) before being carried by easterly winds or flowing waters to


title: "Australian pied cormorant" content: the sea where the spirit joins with the "medi" for its journey to "Kurranup". Australian pied cormorant The Australian pied cormorant ("Phalacrocorax varius"), also known as the pied cormorant, pied shag, or great pied cormorant, is a medium-sized member of the cormorant family. It is found around the coasts of Australasia. In New Zealand, it is usually known either as the pied shag or by its Māori name of Kāruhiruhi. Older sources may refer to it as the "yellow-faced cormorant". The pied cormorant is predominantly black on its back and upper surface of the wings and white on the underside


title: "Grey seal" content: Grey seal The grey seal ("Halichoerus grypus", meaning "hooked-nosed sea pig") is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large seal of the family Phocidae which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". It is the only species classified in the genus Halichoerus. Its name is spelled gray seal in the US; it is also known as Atlantic seal and the horsehead seal. There are two recognized subspecies of this seal: The type specimen of "H. g. grypus" (specimen ZMUC M11-1525, caught off the island of Amager) was rediscovered in 2016, and


title: "Grey seal" content: a DNA test showed it belonged to a Baltic Sea specimen rather than from Greenland, as had previously been assumed. The name "H. g. grypus" was therefore transferred to the Baltic subspecies (replacing "H. g. macrorhynchus"), and the name "H. g. atlantica" resurrected for the Atlantic subspecies. Molecular studies have indicated that the eastern and western Atlantic populations have been genetically distinct for at least one million years, and could potentially be considered as separate subspecies. It is a large seal, with bulls in the eastern Atlantic populations reaching long and weighing ; the cows are much smaller, typically long


title: "Grey seal" content: and in weight. Individuals from the western Atlantic are often much larger, males reaching and females weighing up to . It is distinguished from the harbor seal by its straight head profile, nostrils set well apart, and fewer spots on its body. Gray seals lack external ear flaps and characteristically have large snouts. Bull Greys have larger noses and a less curved profile than common seal bulls. Males are generally darker than females, with lighter patches and often scarring around the neck. Females are silver grey to brown with dark patches. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the grey seal


title: "Grey seal" content: breeds in several colonies on and around the coasts. Notably large colonies are at Blakeney Point in Norfolk, Donna Nook in Lincolnshire, the Farne Islands off the Northumberland Coast (about 6,000 animals), Orkney and North Rona. off the north coast of Scotland, Lambay Island off the coast of Dublin and Ramsey Island off the coast of Pembrokeshire. In the German Bight, colonies exist off the islands Sylt and Amrum and on Heligoland. In the Western North Atlantic, the grey seal is typically found in large numbers in the coastal waters of Canada and south to Nantucket in the United States.


title: "Grey seal" content: In Canada, it is typically seen in areas such as the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, the Maritimes, and Quebec. The largest colony in the world is at Sable Island, NS. In the United States it is found year-round off the coast of New England, in particular Maine and Massachusetts. Archaeological evidence confirms grey seals in southern New England with remains found on Block Island, Martha's Vineyard and near the mouth of the Quinnipiac River in New Haven, Connecticut. Its natural range now extends much further south than previously recognized with confirmed sightings in North Carolina. Also, there is a


title: "Grey seal" content: report by Farley Mowat of historic breeding colonies as far south as Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. An isolated population exists in the Baltic Sea, forming the "H. grypus balticus" subspecies. Besides these very large colonies, many much smaller ones exist, some of which are well known as tourist attractions despite their small size. Such colonies include one on the Carrack rocks in Cornwall. During the winter months grey seals can be seen hauled out on rocks, islands, and shoals not far from shore, occasionally coming ashore to rest. In the spring recently weaned pups and yearlings occasionally strand on beaches


title: "Grey seal" content: after becoming separated from their group. The grey seal feeds on a wide variety of fish, mostly benthic or demersal species, taken at depths down to 70 m (230 ft) or more. Sand eels ("Ammodytes spp") are important in its diet in many localities. Cod and other gadids, flatfish, herring, wrasse and skates are also important locally. However, it is clear that the grey seal will eat whatever is available, including octopus and lobsters. The average daily food requirement is estimated to be 5 kg (11 lb), though the seal does not feed every day and it fasts during the


title: "Grey seal" content: breeding season. Recent observations and studies from Scotland, The Netherlands and Germany show that grey seals will also prey and feed on large animals like harbour seals and harbour porpoises. In 2014, a male grey seal in the North Sea was documented and filmed killing and cannibalizing 11 pups of its own species over the course of a week. Similar wounds on the carcasses of pups found elsewhere in the region suggest that cannibalism and infanticide may not be uncommon in grey seals. Male grey seals may engage in such behavior potentially as a way of increasing reproductive success through


title: "Grey seal" content: access to easy prey without leaving prime territory. Grey seals are capital breeders, they forage to build up stored blubber, when they are breeding and weaning their pups they do not forage for food. They give birth to a single pup every year as early as 4 years old all the way to 30 years old. All parental care is provided by the female. During breeding, males don't provide parental care but they defend females against other males for mating. The pups are born at around the mass of 14 kg. They are born in autumn (September to December) in


title: "Grey seal" content: the eastern Atlantic and in winter (January to February) in the west, with a dense, soft silky white fur; at first small, they rapidly fatten up on their mothers' extremely fat-rich milk. The milk can consist of up to 60% fat. Grey seal pups are precocial, with mothers returning to sea to forage once pups are weaned. Pups also undergo a post-weaning fast before leaving land and learning to swim. Within a month or so they shed the pup fur, grow dense waterproof adult fur, and leave for the sea to learn to fish for themselves. In recent years, the


title: "Grey seal" content: number of grey seals has been on the rise in the west and in the U.S. and Canada there have been calls for a seal cull. After near extirpation from hunting grey seals for oil, meat and skins in the United States, sightings began to increase in the late 1980s. Bounties were paid on all kinds of seals up until 1945 in Maine and 1962 in Massachusetts. One year after Congress passed the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act preventing the harming or harassing of seals, a survey of the entire Maine coast found only 30 grey seals. At first grey


title: "Grey seal" content: seal populations increased slowly then rebounded from islands off Maine to Monomoy Island and Nantucket Island off of southern Cape Cod. The southernmost breeding colony was established on Muskeget Island with five pups born in 1988 and over 2,000 counted in 2008. According to a genetics study, the United States population has formed as a result of recolonization by Canadian seals. By 2009, thousands of grey seals had taken up residence on or near popular swimming beaches on outer Cape Cod, resulting in sightings of great white sharks drawn close to shore to hunt the seals. A count of 15,756


title: "Grey seal" content: gray seals in southeastern Massachusetts coastal waters was made in 2011 by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Also grey seals are seen increasingly in New York and New Jersey waters, and it is expected that they will establish colonies further south. In the UK seals are protected under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, however it does not apply to Northern Ireland. In the UK there have also been calls for a cull from some fishermen, claiming that stocks have declined due to the seals. The population in the Baltic Sea has increased about 8% per year between 1990 and


title: "Grey seal" content: the mid-2000s with the numbers becoming stagnant since 2005. As of 2011 hunting grey seals is legal in Sweden and Finland with 50% of the quota being used. Other anthropogenic causes of death include drowning in fishing gear. Grey seals have proved amenable to life in captivity and are commonly found zoo animals around their native range, particularly in Europe. Traditionally they were popular circus animals and often used in performances such as balancing and display acts. At least one grey seal, probably escaped from captivity, has been observed in the Black Sea near the coasts of Ukraine. Elton John


title: "Grey seal" content: performs a song called "Grey Seal" (lyrics by Bernie Taupin) on the album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". The song attributes wisdom to the seal: "And tell me, grey seal, how does it feel / To be so wise / To see through eyes / That only see what's real?" Scottish scholar David Thomson published, in 1954, his study of the grey seals, "The People of the Sea: A Journey in Search of the Seal Legend". He discusses "the Celtic seal legend - that the seal was once human, and can sometimes resume human form - and about the Celtic fishing


title: "Grey seal" content: families who still tell and sing the tales and songs about the selchie, or gray Atlantic seal." "The Secret of Roan Inish" is a 1994 American/Irish film written and directed by John Sayles, which deals with the same materials. In 2003, the Finnish film "The Grey Seals of the Baltic" added facts to the legends. Grey seal The grey seal ("Halichoerus grypus", meaning "hooked-nosed sea pig") is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large seal of the family Phocidae which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". It is the only


title: "Pathological (mathematics)" content: behavior is pathological is by definition subject to personal intuition. Pathologies depend on context, training, and experience—what is pathological to one researcher may very well be standard behaviour to another. Pathological examples can show the importance of the assumptions in a theorem. For example, in statistics, the Cauchy distribution does not satisfy the central limit theorem, even though its symmetric bell-shape appears similar to many distributions which do; it fails the requirement to have a mean and standard deviation which exist and are finite. Some of the best-known paradoxes such as the Banach–Tarski paradox and Hausdorff paradox are based on


title: "Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca" content: for a peaceful withdrawal of Russian troops from the lands the Court of Russia has ceded to the Sublime Porte, and a proper turnover of power to Turkish troops. All troops were to be out of said territories within five months of the signing of the "Treaty of Perpetual Peace" between the two empires. Article XXV – All prisoners of war and slaves in the two Empires shall be granted liberty without ransom money or redemption money. This includes those in the Empire of Russia who voluntarily quit Mahometanism in order to embrace the Christian religion, as well as those


title: "Apollo Theater" content: designed by George Keister in the neo-Classical style. It became the Apollo in 1934, when it was opened to black patrons – previously it had been a whites-only venue. In 1983, both the interior and exterior of the building were designated as New York City Landmarks, and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It is estimated that 1.3 million people visit the Apollo every year. The building which later became the Apollo Theater was built in 1913-14 and was designed by architect George Keister, who also designed the First Baptist Church in the City of


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: Atlantic horseshoe crab The Atlantic horseshoe crab ("Limulus polyphemus"), also known as the American horseshoe crab, is a species of marine and brackish chelicerate arthropod. Despite their name, horseshoe crabs are more closely related to spiders, ticks, and scorpions than to crabs. This species is found in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast of North America. A main area of annual migration is Delaware Bay. Their eggs were eaten by Native Americans, but today Atlantic horseshoe crabs are caught for use as fishing bait, in biomedicine (especially for "Limulus" amebocyte lysate) and science. They play a major


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: role in the local ecosystems, with their eggs providing an important food source for shorebirds, and the juveniles and adults being eaten by sea turtles. The other three extant (living) species in the family Limulidae are also called horseshoe crabs, but they are restricted to Asia. This group of animals is also known as horsefoot, or saucepan. Some people call the horseshoe crab a "helmet crab", but this common name is more frequently applied to a true crab, a malacostracan, of the species "Telmessus cheiragonus". The term "king crab" is sometimes used for horseshoe crabs, but it is more usually


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: applied to a group of decapod crustaceans. "Limulus" means "askew" and "polyphemus" refers to the giant in Greek mythology. It is based on the misconception that the animal had a single eye. Former scientific names include "Limulus cyclops", "Xiphosura americana", and "Polyphemus occidentalis". It is the tail that earns this order its name Xiphosura, which derives from the Greek for "sword tail". Studies of microsatellite DNA have revealed several distinct geographic groups in the Atlantic horseshoe crab. While there is extensive mixing between neighbouring populations, primarily due to movements by males, there is little or no mixing between the US


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: and isolated Yucatán Peninsula horseshoe crabs, leading some to suggest that a taxonomic review is necessary. Horseshoe crabs have three main parts to the body: the head region, known as the "prosoma", the abdominal region or "opisthosoma", and the spine-like tail or "telson". The smooth shell or carapace is shaped like a horseshoe, and is greenish grey to dark brown in colour. The sexes are similar in appearance, but females are typically 25 to 30% larger than the male in length and width, and can reach more than twice the weight. Females can grow up to in length, including tail,


title: "Atlantic horseshoe crab" content: and in weight. There are also geographic differences: In the United States, there is a north–south cline in the size. Central animals, between Georgia and Cape Cod, are the largest. North from Cape Cod they gradually become smaller and south from Georgia they gradually become smaller. In Delaware Bay, females and males have an average carapace width of about and , respectively. In Florida, females average about and males . However, this north-south pattern does not exist in the Yucatán Peninsula, the southermost population of the species, where some subpopulations are intermediate between the Delaware Bay and Florida horseshoe crabs,