title: "Northern gannet" content: record of a colony on the island of Lundy from 1274. There were only 70 nests by 1871, and the colony finally disappeared by 1909 at the latest. More than two-thirds of the world population breeds around the coasts of the British Isles. Colonies include: After the breeding season, adult northern gannets disperse over a wide area although they travel no more than from the breeding colony. It is not known if all birds from one colony migrate to the same over-wintering area. Many adults migrate to the west of the Mediterranean, passing over the Strait of Gibraltar and flying


title: "Northern gannet" content: over land as little as possible. Other birds follow Africa's Atlantic coastline to arrive in the Gulf of Guinea. Immature northern gannets from colonies in Canada fly to the Gulf of Mexico, much further south than the adults. The immature gannets migrate southwards for great distances and have been recorded as far south as Ecuador. In their second year some birds return to the colony they were born in, where they arrive later than the mature birds. They then migrate south again at the end of the breeding season, but travel shorter distances in this second migration. Gannets from Alderney


title: "Northern gannet" content: have been tracked since 2015 to gain better knowledge of their movements. One individual was found to have travelled from its colony in Alderney to Scandinavian waters, a round trip of around 2,700 km (1,680 mi). The species has been recorded as a vagrant in many central and eastern European countries as far south and west as the Black Sea, and also in Bermuda, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Jan Mayen and Syria. In February 2016, one was recorded from Ceará in northeastern Brazil—the first sighting in the Southern Hemisphere. The wings of the northern gannet are long and narrow and


title: "Northern gannet" content: are positioned towards the front of the body, allowing efficient use of air currents when flying. Even in calm weather they can attain velocities of between although their flying muscles are relatively small: in other birds flying muscles make up around 20% of total weight, while in northern gannets the flying muscles are less than 13%. Despite their speed, they cannot manoeuvre in flight as well as other seabirds. Northern gannets need to warm up before flying. They also walk with difficulty and this means that they have problems getting airborne from a flat area. They take off from water


title: "Northern gannet" content: by facing into the wind and strongly beating their wings. In light winds and high waves they are sometimes unable to take off and they can become beached. Gannets alight on land using angled wings, fanned tail and raised feet to control their speed, not always successfully, since damaged or broken wings were recorded as a frequent cause of death in adults at one colony. Northern gannets forage for food during the day, generally by diving at high speed into the sea. They search for food both near to their nesting sites but also further out to sea. Birds that


title: "Northern gannet" content: are feeding young have been recorded searching for food up to from their nest. It has been found that 2% of birds nesting in the colony on Bass Rock search for fish at Dogger Bank, between away. It is likely that they fly further than this while foraging, possibly up to double the distance; normally they fly less than . Some studies have found that the duration and direction of flights made while foraging for food are similar for both sexes, although there are significant differences in the search behaviour of males and females. Female northern gannets are not only


title: "Northern gannet" content: more selective than males in choosing a search area: they also make longer and deeper dives and spend more time floating on the surface than males. Gannets will follow fishing boats or cetaceans to find discarded or injured fish. They forage from heights of up to with no clear preference, and typically dive from between . They dive with their bodies straight and rigid, wings tucked close to the body but angled back, extending beyond the tail, before piercing the water like an arrow. They control the direction of the dive using their wings and tail, and fold their wings


title: "Northern gannet" content: against the body just before impact. Birds can hit the water at speeds of up to . This allows them to penetrate up to below the surface, and they will swim down to an average , sometimes deeper than . The bird’s subcutaneous air sacs may have a role in controlling their buoyancy. Gannets usually push their prey deeper into the water and capture it as they return to the surface. When a dive is successful, they swallow the fish underwater before surfacing, and never fly with the fish in their bill. Larger fish are swallowed headfirst, smaller fish are


title: "Northern gannet" content: swallowed sideways or tail-first. The fish is stored in a branched bag in the throat and does not cause drag when in flight. Their white colour helps other gannets to identify one of their kind and they can deduce the presence of a shoal of fish by this diving behaviour; this in turn facilitates group foraging, which makes capturing their prey easier. The colour also makes the gannet less visible to the fish underneath. Northern gannets also forage for fish while swimming with their head under water. They eat mainly fish in length that shoal near the surface. Virtually any


title: "Northern gannet" content: small fish (roughly 80–90% of their diet) or other small pelagic species (largely squid) will be taken opportunistically. Sardines, anchovies, haddock, smelt, Atlantic cod and other shoal-forming species are eaten. The oldest birds are the first to return to the northern gannet's breeding colonies. Birds not of breeding age arrive a few weeks later. In general, birds first return to a colony (not uncommonly the one in which they were hatched) when they are two or three years old. Once an individual has successfully bred in a colony it will not normally change to another. Nesting starts in March or


title: "Northern gannet" content: April. Immature birds stay on the edges of the colony. They may even make a nest but they do not breed until they are four or five years old. Some birds of this age occupy empty nests that they will aggressively defend if they have sat on them for two or three days. If an apparently empty nest has an owner, the immature bird will leave without a struggle when the owner arrives to take possession. The preferred nesting sites are on coastal hillsides or cliffs. If these are not available northern gannets will nest in groups on islands or


title: "Northern gannet" content: flat surfaces. As they find it more difficult to take off from such locations they will often cross the area occupied by an adjacent nest causing an aggressive reaction from the sitting pair; this means that the stress levels are higher in this type of colony than in those on steeper surfaces. Notwithstanding this, nests are always built close together and otherwise ideal nesting sites will not be used if they are some distance from a colony. On average there are 2.3 nests per square metre (1.9 per square yard). Both sexes fiercely defend the area around their nest. Where


title: "Northern gannet" content: space allows, the distance between nests is double the reach of an individual. Nests are made from seaweed, plants, earth and debris from the sea. The males usually collect the materials. Nests are compact cups typically in height. The area which a nest occupies grows throughout the breeding season as the breeding pairs throw their excrement outside the nest. Over years, nests can reach 2 m (7 ft) in height. Northern gannets lay one egg that on average weighs , which is light for such a large seabird. The egg is around long by wide and the shell is pale


title: "Northern gannet" content: blue and translucent initially before fading to a chalky white surface that is easily stained. Where two eggs are found in a nest this is the result of two females laying an egg in the same nest or one egg being stolen from another nest. Northern gannets will lay a replacement egg if the first is lost. Incubation takes 42 to 46 days, during which time the egg is surrounded by the brooding bird's warm, webbed feet. Just before hatching begins, the brooding bird releases the egg from its feet to prevent the egg from breaking under the adult's weight


title: "Northern gannet" content: as the chick breaks it open. This is a frequent cause of death for chicks of birds that are breeding for the first time. The process of breaking the eggshell can take up to 36 hours. The webbed feet are also used to cover the chicks, which are only rarely left alone by their parents. Chicks that are left unattended are often attacked and killed by other northern gannets. Newly hatched chicks are featherless and are dark blue or black in colour. In the second week of life they are covered in white down, replaced over the next five weeks


title: "Northern gannet" content: by dark brown feathers flecked with white. Young chicks are fed regurgitated semi-digested fish by their parents, who open their mouths wide for their young to fetch the food from the back of their throats. Older chicks receive whole fish. Unlike the chicks of other species, northern gannet chicks do not move about the nest or flap their wings to ask for food: this reduces the likelihood that they will fall from the nest. The adults feed their offspring for around 13 weeks, right up until the time they leave. The young birds fledge between 84 and 97 days old,


title: "Northern gannet" content: departing by launching themselves off a cliff and flying—a procedure for which it is impossible to practice beforehand. If they leave the nest in bad weather they can be mortally wounded as they can be blown against the rocks. The young birds are attacked by adults if unattended. Once they leave the nest they stay at sea learning to fish and fly, their flight skills being too poor for them to return to the breeding ledges. Northern gannets have only one brood a year. The survival rate for young birds for their first four years is 30% and the annual


title: "Northern gannet" content: survival rate for adults is 91.9%. The typical lifespan after becoming adult is 17 years, and the maximum known age is 37 years 4 months 16 days. Gannet pairs are monogamous and may remain together over several seasons, if not for all of their lives. The pairs separate when their chicks leave the nest but they bond again the following year. Should one of the pair die, the other bird will find another mate. Northern gannets exhibit many types of aggressive behaviour while they are nesting. Confrontations normally only take place between birds of the same sex. Females will lower


title: "Northern gannet" content: their heads before an aggressive male that is defending its nest: this will expose the back of the female’s neck and the male will take it in its beak and expel the female from the nest. A female will not react if a male approaches a nest but it will react fiercely if another female approaches. The fights between males occupying nests for the first time are particularly intense. Such fights can last for up to two hours and lead to serious injuries. Birds lunge at each other and lock bills, wrestling for extended periods while neighbours peck at them.


title: "Northern gannet" content: The fights are preceded by threatening gestures, which are also seen outside the breeding season. Males demonstrate ownership of a nest by gesturing towards their neighbours in a "bowing display"; their heads and beaks point down, and their wings are held up and away from the body, yet folded backwards. The male moves his head from side to side before bowing forwards. Males try to attract an available female after establishing a territory. The females will fly over the colony several times before landing. Their posture, with the neck stretched out, tells the male that they are available for courtship.


title: "Northern gannet" content: The male will then shake their heads in a similar way to when they are guarding their nest, but with their wings closed. Mated pairs engage in a "fencing display" when the male arrives back at the next. The two birds stand breast to breast with wings spread and bills extended vertically. They fence and scissor with their bills rapidly, calling loudly at the same time. Fencing is interspersed with bill bowing. The northern gannet is not heavily predated. The only known habitual natural predators of adults are bald eagles and white-tailed eagles. Predators of eggs and nestlings include the


title: "Northern gannet" content: great black-backed gull and American herring gull, common ravens, ermine, and red fox. Attacks at sea are insignificant though large sharks and seals may rarely snatch a gannet out at sea. Kleptoparasitism by skuas, particularly the great skua, occurs at breeding sites. The skua chases its victim until it disgorges its stomach contents, providing a meal for the attacker. Skuas may catch the tip of the gannet's wing, causing it to fall into the sea, or seize the tail to tip its victim into the water. The gannet is only released when it has regurgitated its catch. External parasites include


title: "Northern gannet" content: feather lice, although there are relatively few species and none are found on the head. As with grebes and divers it may be that the short head feathers provide insufficient cover for the parasite. In one species, "Michaelichus bassani", immature lice are found in the membranes lining the subcutaneous air-cells. "Ixodes" mites include the widespread "I. uriae". The spiny-headed worm "Corynosoma tunitae" appears to occur only in gannets and closely related seabird families such as the cormorants. The tapeworm "Tetrabothrius bassani" adsorbs toxic heavy metals at a higher concentration than the gannet's own tissues, with an average 12 times as


title: "Northern gannet" content: much cadmium as the gannet's pectoral muscles and 7–10 times the lead level of the bird's kidney and liver. Since levels of these toxic metals are detectable in the parasite earlier than in the host, the tapeworm might be used as an early indicator of marine pollution. A 2004 survey counted 45 gannet breeding colonies and some 361,000 nests. The population is apparently growing between 3% and 5% a year, although this growth is concentrated in just a few colonies. Although northern gannet populations are now stable, their numbers were once greatly reduced due to loss of habitat, removal of


title: "Northern gannet" content: eggs and killing of adults for their meat and feathers. In 1939, there were 22 colonies and some 83,000 nests, which means that the populations have increased fourfold since that time. In 1992, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimated the bird’s population to be some 526,000. After taking into account an estimate produced for BirdLife International in 2004 of the European population, the IUCN revised its global population to between 950,000 and 1,200,000 individuals. The IUCN lists northern gannets as a species of least concern, as they are widely distributed and as there is a large


title: "Northern gannet" content: population that appears to be growing, due to high breeding success with 75% of eggs producing fledged young. In Homer's "Odyssey", the sea goddess Leucothea ( "white goddess"), appears "in the likeness of a Gannet" and tells the shipwrecked Odysseus to discard his cloak and raft, instead offering him her veil to wind round himself which will save his life and enable him to reach land. Another early reference to the gannet is in the seventh-century Old English epic poem "The Seafarer". There I heard naught but seething sea, Ice-cold wave, awhile a song of swan Then came to charm


title: "Northern gannet" content: me gannets' pother And whimbrels trills for laughter of men, Kittiwake singing instead of mead. An old myth from Mykines in the Faroe Islands tells of the giant Tórur seeking mercy following defeat at the hands of Óli, the islanders' head man and magician. In return, he gave them whales, driftwood logs and a bird unique to the archipelago, on condition that the inhabitants did not laugh at his gifts. Over time, the islanders forgot their promise, and lost the whales and logs, but fearful of losing a valuable food source, they never mocked the gannets that Tórur had given


title: "Northern gannet" content: them. Gannets have long been eaten for food. Birds, mainly the young, were taken from Bass Rock for at least 350 years until 1885, when the annual cull of about 1,500 individuals finally ceased, and Shetland gannets were sold as "Highland goose" in London restaurants during World War II. Views of the palatability of this bird are mixed, but as well as being a food for the poor it also regularly featured in Scottish royal banquets. In Scotland gannets were traditionally salted to preserve them until they got to market, this technique being replaced by partially cooking or smoking in


title: "Northern gannet" content: the era of modern transport. They are normally served roasted, although sometimes raw when pickled or dried. The best-known site was the remote island of St Kilda, where adults and eggs were taken in the spring. The fat chicks, known locally as "gugas", were harvested from the precipitous cliffs in August, just before they could fly, and thrown to waiting boats far below. Much of the meat was salted in barrels for storage, but the rest of the bird was also used. Islanders paid their rent in feathers for stuffing pillows and furniture, the gannet stomachs were used to hold


title: "Northern gannet" content: oil derived from the carcasses, and the breastbones served as lamp wicks. Hunting on St Kilda ceased in 1910, but the gannetry on Sula Sgeir is still exploited under a licence that permits 2,200 chicks to be taken each year. During the hunt, ten men live on the island, and the cleaned birds are singed on a fire fuelled by their own oil-rich offal. The filleted birds are then taken to Stornoway, where each hunter receives 200 skins to give away or sell. The continuing existence of the practice of hunting and eating gannets attracts criticism in some quarters. The


title: "Northern gannet" content: island's name "Sula Sgeir" itself derives from "sula", meaning "gannet", and the Old Norse "skerr", a skerry. Other sites that continued hunting into the twentieth century were Eldey in Iceland, where the activity ceased in 1939, and Mykines, where small-scale culling still persists. About 500 young are culled for consumption each year in Mykines, using techniques similar to those of the Sula Sgeir hunts. Although the Bass Rock population fell to fewer than 4,000 pairs in the early nineteenth century, the population soon recovered once hunting ceased, and St Kilda was harvested sustainably for hundreds of years. Elsewhere, the recovery


title: "Northern gannet" content: was less complete. The Bird Rocks colony in the Gulf of St Lawrence may once have held 250,000 birds, but unchecked hunting, including for fish bait, meant that the population was only 1,000 birds by 1932, despite government protection since 1904. Northern gannet The northern gannet ("Morus bassanus") is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family, Sulidae. It is native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, breeding in Western Europe and North America. The sexes are similar in appearance. The adult northern gannet has a mainly white streamlined body with a long neck, long and slender wings.


title: "Scottish Trades Union Congress" content: Congress. In 1926, the Organisation of Women Committee (later the Women's Advisory Committee, now the Women’s Committee) was established by the Congress, specialising in issues relating particularly to women. In 1937 the Congress agreed a motion to establish youth fellowships as a way of attracting young people to join the unions, and therefore encourage union membership regardless of sex or age. It was realised that to create separate youth fellowships was restrictive, suggesting that the old and young should work separately. Therefore, in 1938, it was decided to establish the Trade Union Youth Advisory Committee (now called the Youth Committee)


title: "Ground pangolin" content: similarly to a bird’s gizzard. Pangolins also have long, muscular tongues to reach and lap up ants and termites in cavities. Their tongues stretch so far, they are actually longer than their bodies. The tongue is attached in the lower cavity, near the pelvis and the last pair of ribs, and is able to retract and rest in the chest cavity. Pangolins have no external ears, so have poor hearing, as well as poor vision, although they do have a strong sense of smell. The African pangolin species are native to 15 African countries dispersed throughout southern, central, and east


title: "Normandy landings" content: RAF dropped strips of "window", metal foil that caused a radar return which was mistakenly interpreted by German radar operators as a naval convoy near Le Havre. The illusion was bolstered by a group of small vessels towing barrage balloons. A similar deception was undertaken near Boulogne-sur-Mer in the Pas de Calais area by No. 218 Squadron RAF in Operation Glimmer. The invasion planners determined a set of conditions involving the phase of the moon, the tides, and the time of day that would be satisfactory on only a few days in each month. A full moon was desirable, as


title: Donau-Ries content: north there is the Nördlinger Ries, a huge depression, which is in fact an ancient impact crater, caused by a meteorite some 14.8 million years ago. Donau-Ries Donau-Ries ("Danube-Ries") is a "Landkreis" (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Ansbach, Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen, Eichstätt, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Aichach-Friedberg, Augsburg and Dillingen, and by the state of Baden-Württemberg (districts of Heidenheim and Ostalbkreis). From Palaeolithic times on the Nördlinger Ries was a very attractive site for human settlement. The valley of the Danube was abounding with game, and many caves in the slopes of the


title: "Robert Stephenson" content: become for a time the longest bridge in the world. In 1855 Robert was decorated Knight of the Legion of Honour by the Emperor of France. Having served as vice-president of the Institution of Civil Engineers since 1847, he was elected president in 1856, and the following year received a Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law at Oxford along with Brunel and Dr Livingstone. During his life he had become close friends with Brunel and Locke, and in 1857, although weak and ill, he responded to a plea for help from Brunel in launching the SS "Great Eastern". Robert fell from


title: "Jhonen Vasquez" content: well and all three issues have been collected into a hardcover trade paperback. The next year he returned for Marvel's "Strange Tales" II, issue 1 of 3, with a story about Wolverine. In 2012, DC Comics announced that Vasquez joined the writing team for their digital comic "Beyond the Fringe", based on the Fox TV series "Fringe". In May 2014, Vasquez announced on his Tumblr page that he would be re-releasing his previous "Fillerbunny" comics into a new collection and additionally releasing his first new comic book in ten years. At Nickelodeon, Vasquez created the animated television series "Invader Zim",


title: Albay content: in Camarines Sur. Another primary language used in the province is Central Bikol which is the native-tongue of the population on the eastern coast of the Bicol Peninsula. Both Albay Bikol languages and Rinconada Bikol are members of Inland Bikol group of languages while Central Bikol is a language member of Coastal Bikol. The Tabaco-Legazpi-Sorsogon dialect of Central Bikol is spoken in Legazpi City, Tabaco City and neighboring municipalities on the east side of Albay, and some parts of northern Sorsogon (especially in Sorsogon City). The majority of the inhabitants also understand English and Filipino as second languages. Agriculture is


title: "Mandarin duck" content: Mandarin duck The mandarin duck ("Aix galericulata") is a perching duck species found in East Asia. It is medium-sized, at long with a wingspan. It is closely related to the North American wood duck, the only other member of the genus "Aix". "Aix" is an Ancient Greek word which was used by Aristotle to refer to an unknown diving bird, and "galericulata" is the Latin for a wig, derived from "galerum", a cap or bonnet. The adult male has a red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face and "whiskers". The male's breast is purple with two


title: "Mandarin duck" content: vertical white bars, and the flanks ruddy, and he has two orange "sails" at the back (large feathers that stick up like boat sails). The female is similar to the female wood duck, with a white eye-ring and stripe running back from the eye, but is paler below, has a small white flank stripe, and a pale tip to its bill. Both the males and females have crests, but the purple crest is more pronounced on the male. Like many other species of ducks, the male undergoes a moult after the mating season into eclipse plumage. When in eclipse plumage,


title: "Mandarin duck" content: the male looks similar to the female, but can be told apart by its bright yellow-orange or red beak, lack of any crest, and a less-pronounced eye-stripe. Mandarin ducklings are almost identical in appearance to wood ducklings, and very similar to mallard ducklings. The ducklings can be distinguished from mallard ducklings because the eye-stripe of mandarin ducklings (and wood ducklings) stops at the eye, while in mallard ducklings it reaches all the way to the bill. Various mutations of the mandarin duck are found in captivity. The most common is the white mandarin duck. Although the origin of this mutation


title: "Mandarin duck" content: is unknown, the constant pairing of related birds and selective breeding is presumed to have led to recessive gene combinations leading to genetic conditions including leucism. The species was once widespread in East Asia, but large-scale exports and the destruction of its forest habitat have reduced populations in eastern Russia and in China to below 1,000 pairs in each country; Japan, however, is thought to still hold some 5,000 pairs. The Asian populations are migratory, overwintering in lowland eastern China and southern Japan. Specimens frequently escape from collections, and in the 20th century, a large, feral population was established in


title: "Mandarin duck" content: Great Britain; more recently, small numbers have bred in Ireland, concentrated in the parks of Dublin. Now, about 7,000 are in Britain, and other populations on the European continent, the largest in the region of Berlin. Isolated populations exist in the United States. The town of Black Mountain, North Carolina, has a limited population, and a free-flying feral population of several hundred mandarins exist in Sonoma County, California. This population is the result of several ducks escaping from captivity, then reproducing in the wild. In 2018, a single bird was seen in New York City's Central Park. The habitats it


title: "Mandarin duck" content: prefers in its breeding range are the dense, shrubby forested edges of rivers and lakes. It mostly occurs in low-lying areas, but it may breed in valleys at altitudes of up to . In winter, it additionally occurs in marshes, flooded fields, and open rivers. While it prefers fresh water, it may also be seen wintering in coastal lagoons and estuaries. In its introduced European range, it lives in more open habitat than in its native range, around the edges lakes, water meadows, and cultivated areas with woods nearby. In the wild, mandarin ducks breed in densely wooded areas near


title: "Mandarin duck" content: shallow lakes, marshes or ponds. They nest in cavities in trees close to water and during the spring, the females lay their eggs in the tree's cavity after mating. A single clutch of nine to twelve eggs is laid in April or May. Although the male may defend the brooding female and his eggs during incubation, he himself does not incubate the eggs and leaves before they hatch. Shortly after the ducklings hatch, their mother flies to the ground and coaxes the ducklings to leap from the nest. After all of the ducklings are out of the tree, they will


title: "Mandarin duck" content: follow their mother to a nearby body of water. Mandarins feed by dabbling or walking on land. They mainly eat plants and seeds, especially beech mast. The species will also add snails, insects and small fish to its diet. The diet of mandarin ducks changes seasonally; in the fall and winter, they mostly eat acorns and grains. In the spring, they mostly eat insects, snails, fish and aquatic plants. In the summer, they eat dew worms, small fish, frogs, mollusks, and small snakes. They feed mainly near dawn or dusk, perching in trees or on the ground during the day.


title: "Mandarin duck" content: Predation of the mandarin duck varies between different parts of its range. Mink, raccoon dogs, otters, polecats, Eurasian eagle owls, and grass snakes are all predators of the mandarin duck. The greatest threat to the mandarin duck is habitat loss due to loggers. Hunters are also a threat to the mandarin duck, because often they are unable to recognize the mandarin in flight and as a result, many are shot by accident. Mandarin ducks are not hunted for food, but are still poached because their extreme beauty is prized. The Chinese refer to Mandarin ducks as "yuanyang" (), where "yuan"


title: "Mandarin duck" content: () and "yang" () respectively stand for male and female mandarin ducks. In traditional Chinese culture, mandarin ducks are believed to be lifelong couples, unlike other species of ducks. Hence they are regarded as a symbol of conjugal affection and fidelity, and are frequently featured in Chinese art. A Chinese proverb for loving couples uses the mandarin duck as a metaphor: ""Two mandarin ducks playing in water"" (). A mandarin duck symbol is also used in Chinese weddings because in traditional Chinese lore, they symbolize wedded bliss and fidelity. Because the male and female plumages of the mandarin duck are


title: "Mandarin duck" content: so unalike, "yuan-yang" is frequently used colloquially in Cantonese to mean an "odd couple" or "unlikely pair" – a mixture of two different types of same category. For example, the drink yuanyang and yuan-yang fried rice. Mandarin ducks featured on the flag of Weihaiwei during British rule. For Koreans, mandarin ducks represent peace, fidelity, and plentiful offspring. Similar to the Chinese, they believe that these ducks mate for life. For these reasons, pairs of mandarin ducks called wedding ducks are often given as wedding gifts and play a significant role in Korean marriage. Similarly, in Japanese the ducks are called


title: "Mandarin duck" content: and are used in the phrase . Mandarin duck The mandarin duck ("Aix galericulata") is a perching duck species found in East Asia. It is medium-sized, at long with a wingspan. It is closely related to the North American wood duck, the only other member of the genus "Aix". "Aix" is an Ancient Greek word which was used by Aristotle to refer to an unknown diving bird, and "galericulata" is the Latin for a wig, derived from "galerum", a cap or bonnet. The adult male has a red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face and "whiskers".


title: "Algebraic curve" content: field. The element "x" is not uniquely determined; the field can also be regarded, for instance, as an extension of C("y"). The algebraic curve corresponding to the function field is simply the set of points ("x", "y") in C satisfying "y" = "x" − "x" − 1. If the field "F" is not algebraically closed, the point of view of function fields is a little more general than that of considering the locus of points, since we include, for instance, "curves" with no points on them. For example, if the base field "F" is the field R of real numbers,


title: "Manchester Metrolink" content: Line was converted from a railway however, all of the former railway stations were completely rebuilt. Some stops, such as Cornbrook, are shared between lines, and may be used as interchange stations; others, such as Altrincham Interchange, or are transport hubs which integrate with heavy rail and bus stations. Metrolink stops are unstaffed, each contains at least two ticket vending machines (with the exception of Pomona, which only has one), and are provided with help/emergency call points to enable passengers to speak to control. Each stop is monitored by CCTV for public safety, and the images are continuously recorded. Route


title: "The Runaways" content: Runaways called "". "Edgeplay" went on to win numerous awards and became the highest rated rock documentary film on the Showtime Networks. In 2005, Tischler-Blue directed "Naked Under Leather", a documentary about fellow female rocker Suzi Quatro, which was selected for the Santa Cruz Film Festival in May 2004 and released on December 25, 2005. Focusing on music driven productions, she was tapped to executive produce a network special: "The Bee Gees "Unbroken Fever"—The 30th Anniversary of Saturday Night Fever". Additionally, Tischler-Blue and Ford have teamed up together with Ford recording music for "El Guitarrista", an animated series that Sacred


title: "Ptelea trifoliata" content: Ptelea trifoliata Ptelea trifoliata, commonly known as common hoptree, wafer ash, stinking ash, and skunk bush, is a species of flowering plant in the citrus family (Rutaceae). It is native to North America, where it is found in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It is a deciduous shrub or tree, with alternate, trifoliolate leaves. "Ptelea trifoliata" is a small tree, or often a shrub of a few spreading stems, growing to around tall with a broad crown. The bark is reddish brown to gray brown, with short horizontal lenticels (warty corky ridges), becoming slightly scaly, The plant has an


title: "Ptelea trifoliata" content: unpleasant odor and bitter taste. Branchlets are dark reddish brown, shining, covered with small excrescences. The twigs are slender to moderately stout, brown with deep U-shaped leaf scars, and with short, light brown, fuzzy buds. It has thick fleshy roots. Its leaves are alternate and compound with three leaflets, dotted with oil glands. The leaflets are sessile, ovate or oblong, long by broad, pointed at the base, entire or serrate, and gradually pointed at the apex. They are feather-veined, with a prominent midrib and primary veins. They come out of the bud conduplicate and very downy. When fully grown the


title: "Ptelea trifoliata" content: leaves are dark green and shiny above and paler green beneath. In autumn they turn a rusty yellow. The petioles are stout, long, with an enlarged base. Stipules are absent. The western and southwestern forms have smaller leaves, , than the eastern forms , an adaptation to the drier climates in the west. The flowers are small, across, with 4–5 narrow, greenish white petals. The pedicels are downy. The 4- or 5-part calyx is downy and imbricate in bud. The corolla has four or five petals which are white, downy, spreading, hypogynous, and imbricate in bud. The five stamens alternate


title: "Ptelea trifoliata" content: with the petals. The pistillate flowers bear rudimentary anthers. The filaments are awl-shaped and more-or-less hairy. The anthers are ovate or cordate, two-celled, with cells opening longitudinally. The ovaries are superior, hairy, abortive in the staminate flowers, two to three-celled. The style is short, the stigma 2- or 3-lobed, with two ovules per cell. Fertile and sterile flowers are produced together in terminal, spreading, compound cymes—the sterile being usually fewer and falling after the anther cells mature. Flowers are produced in May and June. Some find the odor unpleasant but to others the plant has a delicious scent. The fruit


title: "Ptelea trifoliata" content: is a round wafer-like papery samara, across, light brown, and two-seeded. The fruit ripens in October, and is held on the tree until high winds shake them loose in the early winter. Its wood is yellow brown; heavy, hard, close-grained, satiny. The specific gravity is 0.8319; weight per cubic foot is . While "Ptelea trifoliata" is most often treated as a single species with subspecies and/or varieties in different distribution ranges, some botanists treat the various hoptrees as a group of four or more closely related species: The specific epithet ""trifoliata"" refers to the three-parted compound leaf. Other common names


title: "Ptelea trifoliata" content: for this shrub include stinking prairie bush, Carolina shrub-trefoil, tree-trefoil, swamp dogwood, ague bark, paleleaf hoptree, prairie-grub, prickaway-anise, quinine tree, sang-tree, water-ash, western hoptree, wingseed, and woolly hoptree. "Ptelea trifoliata" is native to North America, where its northern limits are in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is native through much of the eastern and southwestern United States, although it is absent from some areas of the Upper Midwest and is rare in much of New England. Its southern limits are in Mexico. It has a wide-ranging natural habitat. In the Southeastern United States it is most often found in rocky


title: "Ptelea trifoliata" content: forests, in both moist and dry soil, often associated with calcareous or mafic substrates. In the Midwest, habitats include forests, savannas, prairies, glades, and sand dunes. In Arizona it is common in canyons. Larva of the giant swallowtail butterfly "Papilio cresphontes" feed on the leaves. Treehoppers of the genus "Enchenopa" infest the branches, laying white-frothy masses of eggs on the branch undersides. Several ant species tend to the treehoppers, including "Camponotus pennsylvanicus", "Formica montana", and "Formica subsericea". Several bee species have been documented visiting the flowers of wafer ash, including "Agapostemon virescens", "Andrena commoda", "Andrena crataegi", "Andrena cressonii", "Apis mellifera",


title: "Ptelea trifoliata" content: "Bombus auricomus", "Bombus bimaculatus", "Bombus impatiens", "Ceratina calcarata", "Ceratina dupla", "Ceratina mikmaqi", and "Lasioglossum imitatum". Numerous cultivars have been developed for ornamental use in parks and gardens. The cultivar 'Aurea' with golden leaves has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. German immigrants to Texas in the 19th century used its seeds in place of hops in the beer-making process. ""Early settlers, desperate for a drink, substituted the fruits for true hops in beer-making, giving rise to the current common name."" It has several Native American uses as a seasoning and as an herbal medicine for different ailments.


title: "Canada's Walk of Fame" content: Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame () in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a series of maple leaf-like stars embedded in 13 designated blocks' worth of sidewalks in Toronto in front of Roy Thomson Hall, The Princess of Wales Theatre, and The Royal Alexandra Theatre on King Street as well as Simcoe Street. The first group of members was inducted in 1998, and to date 173 Canadians have been inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. These Inductees include


title: "Canada's Walk of Fame" content: activists; scientists; philanthropists; athletes; coaches; actors, directors, writers and producers of movies, television and stage; singers, songwriters and musicians; playwrights; authors; comedians; cartoonists, and models. The Walk of Fame was first conceived in 1996 when co-founder Peter Soumalias, suggested the idea of a Walk of Fame for famous Torontonians to the board of the Toronto Entertainment District Association. They rejected his idea, but he went on to establish a Walk of Fame for Canadians in partnership with Bill Ballard, Dusty Cohl and Gary Slaight. In spite of a lack of funds, research and no media plan, the first class of


title: "Canada's Walk of Fame" content: inductees was inducted in 1998. Canada's Walk of Fame has become a popular tourist attraction in Toronto, and has been named the number one Canadian recognition event. Canada's Walk of Fame accepts nominations for inductees in five categories: Nominations for potential inductees are accepted from the public year-round, culminating with their "National Nomination Promotion" during the month of April. In 2000, prior to the introduction of the online voting system, over 30,000 nominations were received via letters, fax and e-mail. Now submissions are accepted on the official Canada's Walk of Fame website and thousands of nominations are received every year,


title: "Canada's Walk of Fame" content: which are then sent to selection committee for consideration. The committee then analyzes the nominees based on the following criteria: the nominee was born in Canada or has spent their formative or creative years in Canada; they have had a minimum of 10 years experience in their field; they have had a national or international impact on Canada's Cultural heritage. Following the Selection Committee's evaluation, the nominees that meet all of the requirements are forwarded to the board of directors, who then select the inductees. The process differs greatly from that of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Hollywood version


title: "Canada's Walk of Fame" content: allows only celebrities of the silver screen, television, radio, live theatre and singers/musicians, while Canada's Walk allows people of more diverse occupations, as listed above. While most celebrities on the Hollywood Walk of Fame are American or have achieved their fame in the United States, Canada's Walk of Fame is exclusive to Canadians. For someone to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, they must be nominated by a sponsor who must agree to field the approximately $25,000 cost of installing a star. From there, the names are submitted to a nominating committee of five people, who pick


title: "Canada's Walk of Fame" content: 10–15 names to award stars to annually. The only criteria for it are: "professional achievement, longevity of five years or more, contributions to the community and the guarantee that the celebrity will attend the dedication ceremony if selected." Canadian stars are inducted in an annual group ceremony; while the Hollywood Walk of Fame rarely inducts more than two major stars at a time. Celebrities can have more than one star on the Hollywood Walk, the same celebrity can receive as many as five stars under the various categories. This does not happen with Canada's Walk of Fame, although some may


title: "Canada's Walk of Fame" content: have an individual star but are also included as part of a larger group, such as John Candy, Martin Short, Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara who have their own star but also were in Second City Television. New inductees are inducted annually at an unveiling ceremony where their star, a stylized maple leaf, is revealed. The first was held in 1998 and only four of the twelve living inductees attended: Karen Kain, Norman Jewison, Barbara Ann Scott and Rich Little. The 2007 ceremony was held at Toronto's Hummingbird Centre, was attended by all seven inductees and was hosted by Eugene


title: "Canada's Walk of Fame" content: Levy. Past hosts include Trish Stratus, Tom Green, Jann Arden, Kurt Browning and Catriona Le May Doan. The ceremony was broadcast by CTV until 2008. Beginning in 2009 the ceremony was broadcast by Global. The first ceremony on the network was hosted by Anne Murray while Howie Mandel hosted for the following two years. Paul Shaffer hosted the event in 2012. Established in 2008, the Cineplex Legends Award is posthumously awarded to "Canadian pioneers in film, music, sport, arts, and innovation." Sponsored by Cineplex Entertainment, the first recipients of the award were siblings Norma and Douglas Shearer. The award recipients


title: "Canada's Walk of Fame" content: are also given stars on the Walk of Fame. First awarded in 2010, the Allan Slaight Honour, named after the leading figure in the Canadian radio industry, is awarded to a young Canadian for "making a positive impact in the fields of music." Recipients receive an honorarium of $10,000 from the Slaight Foundation, but are not considered inductees of the Walk of Fame. So far, recipients of the Slaight award have been Nikki Yanofsky, Drake, Melanie Fiona, Carly Rae Jepsen, the Weeknd, Shawn Mendes, Brett Kissel, Shawn Hook and Jessie Reyez. In recent years, Canada's Walk of Fame undertaken several


title: "Canada's Walk of Fame" content: new initiatives and programs. The "Canada's Walk of Fame Festival" was established in 2010. The festival spans 3 days, culminating with the Canada's Walk of Fame Awards Show. Since its inaugural year, the festival has included musical performances from Canadian artists such as Sarah McLachlan, Serena Ryder, Crystal Shawanda, Tom Cochrane and Melanie Fiona. In addition to the musical performances, the festival has included both screenings of Canadian films, as well as comedy programming from Canadian comedy acts. In 2012, in partnership with RBC, Canada's Walk of Fame launched the "RBC Emerging Artist Music Mentorship Prize" competition. Valued at more


title: "Canada's Walk of Fame" content: than $100,000, the initiative aims to support the next generation of gifted Canadian musicians. Aspiring young musicians are asked to submit a 60 sec. musical audio or video performance for their chance to win the Grand Prize of $25,000 cash, recording time, performance opportunities and much more. Taylor Kurta was the competitions inaugural Grand Prize Winner. The 2014 RBC Emerging Artist Music Mentorship Prize was awarded to NEFE (Sarah Felker) from Guelph, ON. In 1998, Laurie Brown of the CBC criticized the Walk of Fame, calling it "just an attraction to lure tourists to theatres in the area." She claimed


title: "Canada's Walk of Fame" content: that it would only honour Canadians with international impact, saying "if it was truly for Canadians, then I think there would be more of a national bend to the whole thing. But I doubt I'm going to see a star on the Walk of Fame that is only a known-name here in Canada." In September 2010, William Shatner commented on Twitter regarding damage to his star on the Walk of Fame: "I hear my star on the Canadian Walk of Fame is a bit frazzled ... but, then again, so am I. I wonder if anybody hovering around that area


title: "Canada's Walk of Fame" content: can tell me what's wrong with it and what needs fixing." The family of Gordie Howe also commented on the damage to his star. The Canadian Press reported that "A number of celebrities' stars are looking a bit rough around the edges." The president of the Walk of Fame stated that damage was due to the freezing and thawing during Canadian winters and also sidewalk snowplows. It was announced that the city of Toronto would replace Shatner and Howe's damaged tiles, and the Walk of Fame was looking into an alternative to installing the plaques on a sidewalk where they


title: "Canada's Walk of Fame" content: are subjected to harsh environmental conditions. Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame () in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a series of maple leaf-like stars embedded in 13 designated blocks' worth of sidewalks in Toronto in front of Roy Thomson Hall, The Princess of Wales Theatre, and The Royal Alexandra Theatre on King Street as well as Simcoe Street. The first group of members was inducted in 1998, and to date 173 Canadians have been inducted into Canada's


title: Bulacan content: Tagalog cultural sphere ("Katagalugan"), Tagalog is the predominant language of Bulacan. Some inhabitants also speak Kapampangan, especially in areas close to the border of Pampanga. Three municipalities (San Miguel, Remedios Trinidad, and Norzagaray) and one city (San Jose del Monte) are the homelands of the "Alta Kabulowan", the first inhabitants of Bulacan whose language is also called "Alta Kabulowan". Their language is currently endangered due to an influx of Tagalog speakers. Roman Catholic is the predominant religion with 88% adherence in the province. Other Christian groups include the Aglipayans, Born-again Christians, Church of God ("Ang Dating Daan"), Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses,


title: "Moving walkway" content: all ages and sizes regardless of their health condition. The pallets "intermesh" with a comb and slot arrangement. They expand out of each other when speeding up, and compress into each other when slowing down. The handrails work in a similar manner, and because of this, there is no need to hold the handrails when entering or exiting the walkway. It moves at roughly when riders step onto it and speeds up to approximately , which it remains at until near the end, where it slows back down. An inclined moving walkway (commonly known as an Inclinator) is a type


title: "Miguel I of Portugal" content: General Saldanha in Pernes and Almoster. The latter action (February 18, 1834) was the most violent and bloody of the civil war. In the end, politics sealed Miguel's fate: his alliance with Carlos of Spain alienated the sympathies of Ferdinand VII of Spain, who recognized Maria's claim to the Portuguese throne, and concluded a quadruple alliance with the queen and Peter as well as with the governments of France and England. The Spanish General Rodil entered into Portugal while pursuing D. Carlos and his small force and at the same time the Duke of Terceira won the Battle of Asseiceira


title: "St. Paul Saints" content: the Fort Myers Miracle, Sioux Falls Pheasants, Hudson Valley Renegades, and Charleston RiverDogs. Comedian and actor Bill Murray is also a part owner. Despite the considerable naysaying at their inception, the Saints became one of the most successful teams in the Northern League and all of independent baseball. In 2002–2004, the Saints saw severely reduced attendance, owing partially to renewed interest in the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball, who won the 2002, 2003, and 2004 American League Central Division championships. In spite of an initially cool, if not outright hostile reception, the Saints and their Major League neighbor (less


title: "Lesser Key of Solomon" content: to the original work, as well as essays describing the rituals as psychological exploration instead of demon summoning. The demons' names (given below) are taken from the "Ars Goetia", which differs in terms of number and ranking from the "Pseudomonarchia Daemonum" of Weyer. As a result of multiple translations, there are multiple spellings for some of the names, which are given in the articles concerning them. The demons are described as being commanded by four kings of the cardinal directions: Amaymon (East), Corson (West), Ziminiar (North), and Gaap (South). A footnote in one variant edition instead lists them as Oriens


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: Plymouth (automobile) Plymouth was a brand of automobiles based in the United States, produced by the Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler. The brand first appeared in 1928 in the United States to compete in what was then described as the "low-priced" market segment dominated by Chevrolet and Ford. Plymouth was the high-volume seller for the automaker until the late 1990s. The brand was withdrawn from the marketplace in 2001. The Plymouth models that were produced up to then were either discontinued or rebranded as Chrysler or Dodge. The Plymouth automobile was introduced at Madison Square Garden on July 7,


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: 1928. It was Chrysler Corporation's first entry in the low-priced field previously dominated by Chevrolet and Ford. Plymouths were initially priced higher than the competition, but offered standard features such as internal expanding hydraulic brakes that Ford and Chevrolet did not provide. Plymouths were originally sold exclusively through Chrysler dealerships, offering a low-cost alternative to the upscale Chrysler-brand cars. The logo featured a rear view of the ship "Mayflower" which landed at Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts. However, the inspiration for the Plymouth brand name came from Plymouth binder twine, produced by the Plymouth Cordage Company, also of Plymouth. The


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: name was chosen by Joe Frazer due to the popularity of the twine among farmers. The origins of Plymouth can be traced back to the Maxwell automobile. When Walter P. Chrysler took over control of the troubled Maxwell-Chalmers car company in the early 1920s, he inherited the Maxwell as part of the package. After he used the company's facilities to help create and launch the six-cylinder Chrysler automobile in 1924, he decided to create a lower-priced companion car. So for 1926, the Maxwell was reworked and rebadged as the low-end four-cylinder Chrysler "52" model. In 1928, the "52" was once


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: again redesigned to create the Chrysler-Plymouth Model Q. The "Chrysler" portion of the nameplate was dropped with the introduction of the Plymouth Model U in 1929. While the original purpose of the Plymouth was to serve the lower end of a booming automobile market, during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the division helped significantly in ensuring the survival of the Chrysler Corporation when many other car companies failed. Beginning in 1930, Plymouths were sold by all three Chrysler divisions (Chrysler, DeSoto, and Dodge). Plymouth sales were a bright spot during this dismal automotive period, and by 1931 Plymouth rose


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: to number three in sales among all cars. In 1931 with the Model PA, the company introduced floating power and boasted, "The smoothness of an eight - the economy of a four." In 1933, Chrysler decided to catch up with Ford and Chevrolet in engine cylinder count. The version of Chrysler's flathead-six engine was equipped with a downdraft carburetor and installed in the new 1933 Plymouth PC, introduced on November 17, 1932. However, Chrysler had reduced the PC's wheelbase from , and the car sold poorly. By April 1933, the Dodge division's Model DP chassis, with a wheelbase, was put


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: under the PC body with DP front fenders, hood, and radiator shell. The model designation was advanced to 'PD'. The PC became the 'Standard Six'. It had been the 'Plymouth Six' at introduction, and was sold through to the end of 1933, but in much lower numbers. In 1937, Plymouth (along with the other Chrysler makes) added safety features such as flat dash boards with recessed controls and the back of the front seat padded for the rear seat occupants The PC was shipped overseas to Sweden, Denmark, and the UK, as well as Australia. In the UK, it was


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: sold as a 'Chrysler Kew',the town of Kew being the location of the Chrysler factory outside London. The flathead six which started with the 1933 Model PC stayed in the Plymouth until the 1959 models. In 1939, Plymouth produced 417,528 vehicles, of which 5,967 were two-door convertible coupes with rumble seats. The 1939 convertible coupe was prominently featured at Chrysler's exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair, advertised as the first mass-production convertible with a power folding top. It featured a , version of the flathead six engine. For much of its life, Plymouth was one of the top-selling


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: American automobile brands; it, together with Chevrolet and Ford, was commonly referred to as the "low-priced three" marques in the American market. Plymouth almost surpassed Ford in 1940 and 1941 as the second-most popular make of automobiles in the U.S. In 1957, Virgil Exner's new Forward Look design theme, advertised by Plymouth with the tagline "Suddenly, it's 1960", produced cars with advanced styling compared to Chevrolet or Ford. The 1957 total production soared to 726,009, about 200,000 more than 1956, and the largest output yet for Plymouth. However, the 1957–1958 Forward Look models suffered from poor materials, spotty build quality,


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: and inadequate corrosion protection; they were rust-prone and greatly damaged Chrysler's reputation. In 1954, Chrysler started its decade-long unsuccessful attempt to develop and market a viable car powered by a turbine engine when it installed an experimental turbine developed specifically for road vehicles in a Plymouth. Although Plymouth sales suffered as a result of the quality control problems and excesses of the Exner-styled models in the early 1960s, people bought enough of the cars to keep the division profitable. Starting in 1961, the Valiant compact became a Plymouth, further boosting sales. Under the impression that Chevrolet was about to "downsize"


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: its 1962 models, Chrysler introduced a significantly smaller standard Plymouth for 1962. As is known, Chevrolet's big cars were not downsized, catching Plymouth in a sales slump in a market where "bigger was better". The 1963 Fury, Belvedere, and Savoy were slightly larger, featuring a totally new body style, highlighted by prominent outboard front parking lights. For 1964, Plymouth got another major restyle, featuring a new "slantback" roofline for hardtop coupes that would prove popular. For 1965, the Fury models were built on the new C-body platform. The Savoy line was discontinued and the Belvedere was classified an intermediate, retaining


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: the B-body platform used starting 1962. The low-end series was Fury I, the mid-level model was Fury II, and the higher-end models were Fury IIIs. The Sport Fury, which featured bucket seats and console shifter, was a mix of luxury and sport. Ford and Chevrolet had introduced luxury editions of their big cars for 1965 and Plymouth responded in 1966 with the VIP, a more luxurious version of the Fury. Furys, Belvederes, and Valiants continued to sell well during the late-1960s and early-1970s. While Fury I and Fury II were only available in the U.S. as sedans, Canadians got a


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: Fury II two-door hardtop in addition to the pillared sedans. The performance car market segment expanded during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The 1964 Barracuda fastback is considered the first of Plymouth's sporty cars. Based on the Valiant, it was available with the Slant Six, or small block V8. For 1967, Plymouth introduced the Belvedere GTX, a bucket-seat high-style hardtop coupe and convertible that could be ordered with either the "Super Commando" or Hemi V8 engines. Looking for an advantage at the drag races, 1968 had a stripped-down Belvedere coupe, the Road Runner, which featured a bench seat and


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: minimal interior and exterior trim, but was available with Chrysler's big-block engines and a floor-mounted four-speed manual transmission. The Barracuda, originally a "compact sporty car", became available with the 426 Hemi and 440 big block engines in 1968. The GTX, Barracuda, Road Runner, Sport Fury GT, and Valiant Duster 340, were marketed by Plymouth as the 'Rapid Transit System', which was similar to Dodge's 'Scat Pack' concept. During this time, the brand also competed in professional automobile racing. Examples include Richard Petty's career with Plymouth in NASCAR; Dan Gurney, who raced a 'Cuda as part of the All American Racers


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: in numerous Trans Am events; and Sox and Martin, one of the most well-known drag-racing teams of the period, only raced Plymouths after 1964. By the 1970s, emissions and safety regulations, along with soaring gasoline prices and an economic downturn, meant demand dropped for all muscle-type models. The compact Valiant sold well, and built a reputation for attractive styling, durability, economy, and value. Although the Valiant hardtop was discontinued for 1967, it was reintroduced as a virtual clone of the Dodge Dart Swinger for 1971 under the model name "Valiant Scamp". The Scamp was produced along with the Valiant, Dodge


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: Dart, and Swinger until 1976, when it was replaced with the Volaré. Featuring transverse-mounted torsion bars and a slightly larger body, the Volaré (and its Dodge twin, the Aspen) was an instant sales success. Available as coupe, sedan, or station wagon, the Volaré offered a smoother ride and better handling than the Dart/Valiant, but suffered quality control problems and by 1980, was selling poorly. Realizing that front-wheel drive, four-cylinder engines, and rack-and-pinion steering would become the standards for the 1980s, Chrysler introduced a new compact car for 1978, the Plymouth Horizon/Dodge Omni twins, based on a Simca platform. Horizon sold


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: well, but unfortunately suffered from a scathing report by "Consumer Reports", which found its handling dangerous in certain situations. Plymouth continued to sell the Horizon until 1987, when a variety of front-wheel drive compact cars made up the line. Big Plymouths, including the Fury and Gran Fury, were sold until the early 1980s, but mostly as fleet vehicles. While attempting to compete with Ford and Chevrolet for big-car sales, Plymouth was hurt by Chrysler's financial woes in the late 1970s, when both its competitors downsized their full-size models. Most Plymouth models, especially those offered from the 1970s onward, such as


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: the Valiant, Volaré, Acclaim, Laser, Neon, and Breeze, were badge-engineered versions of Dodge or Mitsubishi models. By the 1990s, Plymouth had lost much of its identity, as its models continued to overlap in features and prices with Dodges and Eagles. Chrysler attempted to remedy this by repositioning Plymouth to its traditional target market as the automaker's entry-level brand. This included giving Plymouth its own new sailboat logo and advertisements that focused solely on value. However, this only further narrowed Plymouth's product offerings and buyer appeal, and sales continued to fall. Chrysler considered giving Plymouth a variant of the highly successful


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: new-for-1993 full-size LH platform, which would have been called the Accolade, but decided against it. By the late 1990s, only four vehicles were sold under the Plymouth name: the Voyager/Grand Voyager minivans, the Breeze mid-size sedan, the Neon compact car, and the Prowler sports car, which was to be the last model unique to Plymouth, though the Chrysler PT Cruiser was conceived as a concept unique to Plymouth before production commenced as a Chrysler model. After discontinuing the Eagle brand in 1998, Chrysler was planning to expand the Plymouth line with a number of unique models before the corporation's merger


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: with Daimler-Benz AG. The first model was the Plymouth Prowler, a hot rod-styled sports car. The PT Cruiser was to have been the second. Both models had similar front-end styling, suggesting Chrysler intended a retro styling theme for the Plymouth brand. At the time of Daimler's takeover of Chrysler, Plymouth had no models besides the Prowler not also offered in similar version by Dodge. From a peak production of 973,000 for the 1973 model year, Plymouth rarely exceeded 200,000 cars per year after 1990. Even the Voyager sales were usually less than 50% that of Dodge Caravan. In Canada, the


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: Plymouth name was defunct at the end of the 1999 model year. Consequently, DaimlerChrysler decided to drop the make after a limited run of 2001 models. This was announced on November 3, 1999. The last new model sold under the Plymouth marque was the second-generation Neon for 2000. The PT Cruiser was ultimately launched as a Chrysler, and the Prowler and Voyager were absorbed into that make, as well. Following the 2001 model year, the Neon was sold only as a Dodge in the US, though it remained available as a Chrysler in Canadian and other markets. The Plymouth Breeze


title: "Plymouth (automobile)" content: was dropped after 2000, before Chrysler introduced their redesigned 2001 Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Sebring sedan. Plymouth built various trucks and vans over the years, mainly rebadged Dodge or Chrysler vehicles. Early pickups, delivery trucks, and other commercial trucks were available, and later an SUV, full-sized vans, and minivans. Plymouth had supplied components to the Fargo vehicles, another member of the Chrysler family, but entered the commercial market in 1937 with the PT50. Plymouth (automobile) Plymouth was a brand of automobiles based in the United States, produced by the Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler. The brand first appeared in


title: "Alan Jones (racing driver)" content: and was selected to compete in a series of races in Brazil. However, in his first two races the engine failed and in the third the gearbox broke, which meant the opportunity ended. For 1971, Jones campaigned a Brabham BT 28 converted to BT35 specification, in Formula Three and had a moderately successful season which led to a series of tests for March at Silverstone. However, despite the success of the test, Jones was not offered a drive by March and for 1972, drove a GRD in Formula Three. Jones did enough that season to be kept on by GRD


title: "Wichita State University" content: and computer science. Wichita State University also hosts classes at four satellite locations. WSU West is located in Maize. This campus hosts 80–100 university classes each academic semester. WSU South began offering Wichita State University coursework at a new facility in Derby in January 2008. The WSU Downtown Center houses the university's Center for Community Support & Research and the Department of Physical Therapy. A quarter-mile northeast of campus, the Advanced Education in General Dentistry building, built in 2011, houses classrooms and a dental clinic. It is adjacent to the university's Eugene M. Hughes Metropolitan Complex, where many of WSU


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: Second Severn Crossing The Second Severn Crossing ()officially renamed the Prince of Wales Bridge ()is the M4 motorway bridge over the River Severn between England and Wales, inaugurated on 5 June 1996 by HRH The Prince of Wales to supplement the traffic capacity of the Severn Bridge built in 1966. The bridge is operated by Highways England. It was announced on 5 April 2018 that it was to be renamed the Prince of Wales Bridge, and on 2 July 2018 the bridge was renamed in a ceremony conducted by the Prince. The Second Severn Crossing marks the lower limit of


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: the River Severn and the start of the Severn Estuary. It is further southwest than the Severn Bridge and because it is closer in-line with the landward sides of the M4, it reduces the length of the journey when travelling between England and Wales. The junctions at each end are designed for most traffic to use this crossing, and in order to use the old Severn Bridge crossing, one has to leave the M4 at junction 21 and join the M48 near Aust or at junction 23 near Magor. The new crossing carries more traffic than the Severn Bridge, which


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: is still in use. It is wider than the Severn Bridge, having three lanes and a narrow hard shoulder each way, compared to the two lanes, cycle path and narrow footpath of the original crossing. It is a cable-stayed bridge, whereas the Severn Bridge is a suspension bridge. The position of the bridge is close to that of the Severn Tunnel, which has carried the railway line beneath the river bed since 1886. Much of the estuary is mudflats at low tide, but at high tide these can be covered by as much as of water. This presented the engineers


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: with a constraint: packets of work were scheduled at low tide, and needed to be completed within the short windows allowed by the tides. The concession given to the consortium which financed, built and operate the bridge required them to take over the outstanding debt on the original Severn Bridge and to operate the two bridges as a single entity. Tolls were set annually by the government based on the previous year's change in the Retail Price Index. On the expiry of the concession in January 2018, the consortium was required to hand the bridge over to public ownership. It


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: was reported in 2012 that the repayments were likely to continue until the early 2020s due to the introduction of a revised settlement to the operator in return for accepting payment by debit and credit cards. The announcement said that even after repayment was complete the toll charges would likely remain at the same levels. However, in July 2017 it was announced that the toll would be abolished, As announced on 2 October 2018, tolls were scrapped on 17 December 2018. The Severn Estuary presented a barrier between the Bristol area and South Wales. The estuary has a maximum tidal


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: range of , the second highest in the world, and during a rising or falling tide there are strong currents of up to . Much of the estuary is mud flats that are exposed at low tide; these have been designated a Special Protection Area. The central part of the estuary is a navigable channel which, at the site of the bridge, is known as "The Shoots". The bridge is upstream from Avonmouth and the Port of Bristol, but downstream from the Port of Sharpness. The Gloucester Harbour Trustees have responsibility for controlling navigation in the estuary's tidal waters upstream


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: from the bridge. Until 1966, road travellers could either use the Aust Ferry, which had operated since medieval times (and as a car ferry since 1926), or use the scheduled car shuttle train service through the Severn Tunnel between Pilning and Severn Tunnel Junction, which operated from 1926 until 1966. Otherwise, the detour via Gloucester would add to the journey. In 1966, the first Severn road bridge, a four-lane suspension bridge, was opened, carrying the M4 motorway between England and South Wales. By 1984, traffic across the first Severn Bridge had tripled and it was projected that by the mid-1990s,


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: the old bridge would be running at capacity. A study was commissioned into building either a second bridge or a tunnel. The consultants reported back in 1986, recommending that a new bridge be built downstream from the existing bridge. In 1988, it was announced that tenders would be invited from private consortia to fund, build and operate the bridge for a specified period. The consortium would also take over the management of the old bridge and the associated £100 million debt. Tenders were invited in 1989; and in 1990 the concession to build the bridge was awarded to Severn River


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: Crossing plc. Construction work started on 26 April 1992 and the bridge was opened by the Prince of Wales on 5 June 1996. The architect and aesthetic consultant for the bridge was Ronald Weeks of Percy Thomas Partnership. The bridge has portals close to Sudbrook, Monmouthshire on the Welsh side and Severn Beach in South Gloucestershire on the English side. It has three principal sections – a 25 span viaduct on the English side of length , a 24 span viaduct of length on the Welsh side and the bridge itself, a structure with a navigational clearance, giving a total


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: length of . The central section, called the Shoots Bridge, is of cable-stayed design and the central span (between the bridge pylons) is in length. The approach viaducts are of a segmental bridge design. The crossing forms a very slight "S" curve – the roadway has an approximate east-west alignment at each of the portals, while the central bridge follows an alignment approximately WNW to ESE. The Severn Railway Tunnel passes under the estuary bed on a line which is generally about 500 m upstream of the bridge, but which passes under the line of the bridge close to the


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: English shore. The deck, which carries three lanes of traffic in each direction, is wide. The sides of the bridge are fitted with baffle plates to reduce lateral wind loads coming from the Severn Estuary onto the traffic; this has reduced the number of times that speed restrictions have been needed. The overall design of the new crossing makes it more resistant to high winds than the old Severn Bridge. The crossing was built by a business consortium under a public-private partnership. A company called Severn River Crossing plc, led by John Laing plc and GTM-Entrepose, was formed to build


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: the new crossing. This company also took over the responsibility of managing and maintaining the old Severn Bridge crossing, as well as managing and maintaining the new crossing. The cost of constructing the new crossing was to be paid for by tolls collected from motorists using the two crossings. Work on the new crossing began in 1992. Completion was in 1996. Sub-assemblies for the bridge were constructed onshore and then shifted by a large tracked vehicle (similar to that used to move the Apollo and Space Shuttle at Cape Kennedy) onto a barge (the SAR3), prior to being floated out


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: on the high tide to the site. The 37 bridge pier foundations on the approach viaducts are apart, and consist of open concrete caissons weighing up to 2,000 tonnes, which were founded on the rock of the estuary bed. The decking consists of post-stressed match cast sections, weighing 200 tonnes each. The cable-stayed section of the crossing is over long, consisting of a wide deck made from steel plate girders with a composite reinforced concrete slab. These were prefabricated on shore and put in place using balanced cantilever methods. There are two high twin-leg, reinforced and pre-stressed concrete pylons carrying


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: 240 cables which support the bridge deck, rising to a height of above the river bed or above the bridge deck. Cable vibrations were experienced during construction and secondary cables were added to eliminate this. To avoid detracting from the aesthetics of the primary cables, the secondary cables are very slender and are not very noticeable. During the summer of 1994 the bridge deck launching gantry fell onto the Gwent viaduct, causing the 200 tonne bridge deck unit to fall onto the deck below. Although this delayed the project by ten weeks, the builders still completed the bridge on schedule


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: two years later. The crossing passes over mudflats in the Severn Estuary with part of the eastern approach viaduct sited on the English Stones, a rocky outcrop uncovered at low tide. The estuary wetlands are home to migrating birds such as the ringed plover, redshank and whimbrel, while the Eurasian curlew, dunlin and grey plover winter in the area. The birds feed on ragworm, lugworm and other invertebrates. Saltmarsh is found along the fringes of the coast. Beds of eelgrass occur on the more sheltered mud- and sandbanks. In 1976, in recognition of the importance of the estuary as a


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: wetland used by migrating birds, an area of 247 km (95 sq miles) was designated a Ramsar site. In 1988, the Severn Estuary was designated a Special Protection Area. The same year an area of 99 km (38 sq miles) was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and designated as such the following year; in 1995, this was extended to cover the whole of the Ramsar site. Prior to the bridge's construction, environmentalists raised numerous concerns and criticisms, chiefly about the immediate damage from construction work and the effects of long-term pollution from a projected increase in car


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: traffic. The construction process resulted in a temporary increase in turbidity of the Severn waters. Although eelgrass is reasonably tolerant to short-term high turbidity and consequent loss of light, the bed of eelgrass in the river was observed to decline considerably during the period of construction. The construction of the approach roads and toll plaza resulted in the permanent loss of some wet pastureland. Field surveys carried out in 2003 and 2004 reported that the bridge had little effect on the flight paths of the various birdsit was noted that when curlews, dunlins and lapwings approached the bridge, they would


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: change course to gain height and fly over the bridge, but that oystercatchers and turnstones would fly under the bridge. The surveys also showed that the bridge had minimal impact on the roosting habits of most birds, though a flock of mallards were seen to be roosting directly under the bridge, with many positioning themselves on the dry concrete base on one of the pillars. Likewise, it was noted that the bridge had little impact on the birds' feeding habitsturnstones and lapwings were recorded as feeding on mudflats directly under the bridge while the absence of other waders was attributed


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: to the rocky nature of the foreshore. The consortium consisting of two civil engineering firms and two banks that funded and built the bridge has a 30-year concession to redeem its outlay from tolls collected from users of the bridge. At the end of the concession period in January 2018, the bridge passed into public ownership, and is now managed by Highways England. Tolls were collected from westbound traffic only, near Rogiet, in Wales. Tolls charges were based on a three-tier pricing system: Tolls could be paid by cash, major credit or debit cards, or by use of the Severn


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: TAG system, which was a wireless electronic toll collection system that did not require vehicles to stop. Motorcycles and UK disabled badge holders travelling in a vehicle were exempted from paying a toll. Toll prices were reviewed annually on 1 January, in accordance with the Severn Bridges Act 1992. In late 2008, UK VAT was reduced from 17.5% to 15%, but the bridge toll remained unchanged. For convenience the tolls were kept at round multiples of 10p (the bridge toll is largely paid in cash as card payments were not accepted until mid-2012), but the 13p VAT reduction was not


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: passed on immediately. In 2009, the planned toll for cars would have been £5.50, as the announcements listed, but the actual toll charged was £5.40. George Osborne, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced in March 2015 that the tolls would be reduced to £5.40 in 2018, due to VAT being removed when the bridge comes into public ownership. In the 2016 United Kingdom budget, Osborne announced that toll charges on the Severn crossings would be halved in 2018. The toll was due to be cut to £5.40 in 2017 but was increased. In July 2017, the Welsh Secretary, Alun


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: Cairns, announced that tolls would be scrapped at the end of 2018, claiming that this would boost the South Wales economy by around £100m a year. In September 2017, Cairns confirmed that tolls would be reduced in January 2018 as VAT is removed. As announced on 2 October 2018, tolls were abolished on 17 December 2018. The toll levied was always identical to that on the Severn Bridge. The bridge was built at a cost of £330 million (excluding VAT) and was owned by the company Severn River Crossing Plc. As of , Severn River Crossing Plc was owned The


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: company's 2011 annual report showed the same companies still owned, through subsidiary companies, all the issued ordinary share capital of the Plc. In 2012, changes were made to the agreement to reflect the effect of changes in VAT and Corporation Tax and the costs of installing credit card handling systems. The net effect was to increase the required revenue from £995.83 million to £1,028.91 million in 1989 prices Ownership of the crossing and the original Severn Bridge returned to the UK government on 8 January 2018, when the project's required revenue, as defined in the Concession Agreement with the Secretary


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: of State for Transport, had been collected. At that point, responsibility for operating the bridge passed to Highways England. The toll charges were reduced at the point of transfer to the government, and will be scrapped completely by 31 December 2018. On 6 February 2009, the bridge was closed by weather for the first time since its opening, after three vehicles were struck by falling ice, damaging windscreens. Bad weather, and again falling ice, repeated this in December 2009. Temporary speed limits are put in place due to high winds or thick fog, with drivers informed by the electronic signs.


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: Because of the more advanced aerodynamic design of the later bridge, the Second Crossing is far less prone to such restrictions caused by crosswinds than the first Severn Bridge. On 5 April 2018, the Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns, announced that the crossing would be renamed as the "Prince of Wales Bridge" at a ceremony later in the year. He said that the renaming would be "a fitting tribute to His Royal Highness in a year that sees him mark 60 years as The Prince of Wales and decades of continued, dedicated service to our nation." A petition


title: "Second Severn Crossing" content: against the renaming had received more than 30,000 signatures by 8 April. Some politicians criticised the proposed renaming and the lack of public consultation on it, but it was confirmed that the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, had raised no objection to the proposal. The bridge was renamed, despite opposition, on 2 July 2018 at a ceremony held at the toll plaza without any prior press release or other official communication from the Government. Second Severn Crossing The Second Severn Crossing ()officially renamed the Prince of Wales Bridge ()is the M4 motorway bridge over the River Severn between England


title: Deutzia content: Deutzia Deutzia ( or ) is a genus of about 60 species of flowering plants in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to eastern and central Asia (from the Himalayas east to Japan and the Philippines), and Central America and also Europe. By far the highest species diversity is in China, where 50 species occur. The species are shrubs ranging from in height. Most are deciduous, but a few subtropical species are evergreen. The leaves are opposite, simple, with a serrated margin. The flowers are produced in panicles or corymbs; they are white in most species, sometimes pink or reddish. The fruit


title: Deutzia content: is a dry capsule containing numerous small seeds. Identification of the species is very difficult, requiring often microscopic detail of the leaf hairs and seed capsule structure. "Deutzia" is named after the 18th century Dutch patron of botany, Johann van der Deutz. The deutzias are fairly new to gardens: the exception, "D. scabra", was noticed in Japanese gardens by Engelbert Kaempfer (1712) and Carl Peter Thunberg (1784) but not actually seen in Europe till the 1830s; two-thirds of the species noted in the R.H.S. "Dictionary" were gathered in from the wild during the 20th century. Deutzias are commonly grown as


title: Deutzia content: ornamental plants for their white and pink flowers. Many cultivars and hybrids have been selected for garden use, including selections with double flowers. For example, "Deutzia" × "lemoinei" is a hybrid of "D. gracilis" and "D. parviflora". The following cultivars and hybrids have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:- The temperate deutzias are mostly hardy shrubs from far eastern regions where winters are dependably frozen; in milder climates, like much of England, the early-flowering species and hybrids are coaxed into premature bloom by mild spells, then spoilt by frost. Alice Coats remarks that deutzias have done better


title: Deutzia content: in Edinburgh, on the chilly east coast of Scotland, than in London. A solution in milder climates might be to site deutzia in the garden's most exposed, coldest microclimate, as is often done with early-flowering magnolias. Identification can be difficult, and in particular, many of the plants in cultivation sold as "D. scabra" are actually "D. crenata" (Huxley 1992). The selected hybrid white double "Pride-of-Rochester", already in cultivation in 1881, was originated by the Rochester, New York nurserymen Ellwanger and Barry. "Deutzia scabra" is used by joiners in Japan to polish wood. Deutzia Deutzia ( or ) is a genus


title: "Amazing Stories" content: pulp writers such as Harry Bates. The first Shaver Mystery story, "I Remember Lemuria", by Richard S. Shaver, appeared in the March 1945 issue. Shaver claimed that all the world's accidents and disasters were caused by an ancient race of deros (short for "detrimental robots") who lived in underground cities. This explanation for the world's ills, coming towards the end of World War II, struck a chord with "Amazing"'s readership. Palmer received over 2,500 letters, instead of the usual 40 or 50, and proceeded to print a Shaver story in every issue. The June 1947 issue was given over entirely


title: "Doyle Brunson" content: the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed an action to enforce subpoenas issued to the attorneys of Doyle Brunson regarding his unsolicited offer in July 2005 to buy WPT Enterprises, Inc., the publicly traded owner of the World Poker Tour, at a high premium over its then-market value. Shortly thereafter, the Commission contended, a public relations firm Brunson hired, and a website he endorsed, publicly announced the offer. The Commission asserted that publication of this offer, widely covered in the media, triggered a steep rise in WPT's stock price on record trading volume. When pressed for details, Brunson and his


title: Alley content: Charleston's narrow lanes, Lodge Alley, served a commercial purpose. Originally French Hugenot merchants built homes on it, along with warehouses to store supplies their ships. Just ten-foot-wide this alley was a useful means of access to Charleston’s waterways. Today it leads to East Bay Street's many restaurants. Cincinnati is a city of hills. Before the advent of the automobile a system of stairway alleys provided pedestrians important and convenient access to and from their hill top homes. At the height of their use in the 19th century, over of hill side steps once connected the neighborhoods of Cincinnati to each


title: Kawaii content: Japanese modern culture as a whole. There is an overwhelming amount of modern items featuring kawaii themes, not only in Japan, but worldwide. And characters associated with kawaii have an astounding popularity these days. We can see the "global cute" by the billion-dollar sellers like Pokémon and Hello Kitty. "Fueled by Internet subcultures, Hello Kitty alone has hundreds of entries on eBay, and is selling in more than 30 countries, including Argentina, Bahrain, and Taiwan." Japan has become a powerhouse in the kawaii industry and images of Doraemon, Hello Kitty, Pikachu, Sailor Moon and Hamtaro are popular in mobile phone


title: "Allan MacEachen" content: strategic sense, both in and out of Parliament, and he lived and breathed politics." For Trudeau, he "was always a source of shrewd advice", and "was the kind of man I respected, because he had no ulterior motives; he said what he thought, and the reasons he would give were always his real reasons". In 1968 MacEachen contested the leadership of the Liberal Party, but did not do well largely because there was a second Nova Scotian on the ballot. He was courted to run for leader again in 1984 but opted to support John Turner, the eventual winner. In


title: Tanya content: as a chosen people. Among Medieval Jewish philosophy, Yehudah Halevi follows a proto-kabbalistic approach that distinguishes Jewish and Gentile souls, while Maimonides describes a universalist rationalist approach. Kabbalistic mysticism follows Halevi, developed in Hasidism. However, non-literalist, universalist readings have been found among Kabbalists and Hasidim. In normative Chabad, righteous Gentiles have souls similar in Divine receptivity to Jewish souls, while Jews can be distanced from Divine consciousness. Consequently, the Tanya has been read as describing two universal levels of psychological consciousness. In Chabad, the "Tanya" is said to be the Written Torah of Hasidic philosophy, for it is the first


title: "Leopold Trepper" content: Rote Kapelle"). Prior to the German attack on the Soviet Union, he sent information about German troop transfers from other fronts for Operation Barbarossa through a Soviet military attaché in Vichy France. Eventually, the Gestapo uncovered the network and Trepper fled to France. In France, Trepper established another network, but eventually the Abwehr tracked him down. They arrested Trepper on November 24, 1942 from a dentist's chair. The Gestapo treated Trepper leniently in the expectation that he would serve as a double agent in Paris. It is disputed as to how helpful he was to the Nazis. In 2002 author


title: Guineafowl content: Guineafowl Guineafowl (; sometimes called "pet speckled hen", or "original fowl") are birds of the family Numididae in the order Galliformes. They are endemic to Africa and rank among the oldest of the gallinaceous birds. Phylogenetically, they branch off from the core Galliformes after the Cracidae and before the Odontophoridae. An Eocene fossil lineage, "Telecrex", has been associated with guineafowl. "Telecrex" inhabited Mongolia, and may have given rise to the oldest of the true Phasianids such as "Ithaginis" and "Crossoptilon", which evolved into high-altitude montane-adapted species with the rise of the Tibetan Plateau. While modern guineafowl species are endemic to


title: Guineafowl content: Africa, the helmeted guineafowl has been introduced widely elsewhere. This is a list of guineafowl species, presented in taxonomic order. Living Galliformes based on the work by John Boyd. The insect- and seed-eating, ground-nesting birds of this family resemble partridges, but with featherless heads, though both members of the genus "Guttera" have a distinctive black crest, and the vulturine guineafowl has a downy brown patch on the nape. Most species of guineafowl have a dark grey or blackish plumage with dense white spots, but both members of the genus "Agelastes" lack the spots. While several species are relatively well known,


title: Guineafowl content: the plumed guineafowl and the two members of the genus "Agelastes" remain relatively poorly known. These large birds measure from 40–71 cm (16–28 inches) in length, and weigh 700–1600 grams or 1.5-3.5 pounds. Guinea hens weigh more than guinea cocks, possibly because of the larger reproductive organs in the female compared to the male guinea fowl. Also, the presence of relatively larger egg clusters in the dual purpose guinea hens may be a factor that contributes to the higher body weight of the guinea hens. The species for which information is known are normally monogamous, mating for life, or are


title: Guineafowl content: serially monogamous; however, occasional exceptions have been recorded for helmeted and Kenya crested guineafowl, which have been reported to be polygamous in captivity. All guineafowl are social, and typically live in small groups or large flocks. Though they are monogamous, species of the least-derived genera "Guttera", "Agelastes" and "Acryllium" tend toward social polyandry, a trait shared with other primitive galliformes like roul roul, and Congo peafowl. Guineafowl travel behind herd animals and beneath monkey troops where they forage within manure and on items that have fallen to the understory from the canopy. Guineafowl play a pivotal role in the control


title: Guineafowl content: of ticks, flies, locusts, scorpions and other invertebrates. They pluck maggots from carcasses and manure. Wild guineafowl are strong fliers. Their breast muscles are dark, enabling them to sustain themselves in flight for considerable distances if hard-pressed. Grass and bush fires are a constant threat to these galliformes and flight is the most effective escape. Some species of guineafowl, like the vulturine, may go without drinking water for extended periods, instead sourcing their moisture from their food. Young guineafowl are very sensitive to weather, in particular cold temperatures. Guineafowl species are found across sub-Saharan Africa, some almost in the entire


title: Guineafowl content: range, others more localized, such as the plumed guineafowl in west-central Africa and the vulturine guineafowl in north-east Africa. They live in semi-open habitats such as savanna or semideserts, while some, such as the black guineafowl, mainly inhabit forests. Some perch high on treetops. The helmeted guinea fowl has been introduced in East Africa, the West Indies, the United States, Britain, and India, where it is raised as food or pets. Guineafowl meat is drier and leaner than chicken meat and has a gamey flavour. It has marginally more protein than chicken or turkey, roughly half the fat of chicken


title: Guineafowl content: and slightly fewer calories per gram. Their eggs are substantially richer than those of chickens. Guineafowl Guineafowl (; sometimes called "pet speckled hen", or "original fowl") are birds of the family Numididae in the order Galliformes. They are endemic to Africa and rank among the oldest of the gallinaceous birds. Phylogenetically, they branch off from the core Galliformes after the Cracidae and before the Odontophoridae. An Eocene fossil lineage, "Telecrex", has been associated with guineafowl. "Telecrex" inhabited Mongolia, and may have given rise to the oldest of the true Phasianids such as "Ithaginis" and "Crossoptilon", which evolved into high-altitude montane-adapted


title: Achillea content: Achillea Achillea is a group of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. The genus was named after the Greek mythological character Achilles. According to legend, Achilles' soldiers used yarrow to treat their wounds, hence some of its common names such as allheal and bloodwort. The genus is native primarily to Europe, temperate areas of Asia, and North America. The common name "yarrow" is usually applied to "Achillea millefolium", but may also be used for other species within the genus. These plants typically have frilly, hairy, aromatic leaves. The plants show large, flat


title: Achillea content: clusters of small flowers at the top of the stem. The flowers can be white, yellow, orange, pink or red and are generally visited by many insects, and are thus characterised by a generalised pollination system. "Achillea" species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species - see list of Lepidoptera that feed on Achillea. A number of species - notably "A. filipendulina", "A. millefolium", "A. ptarmica", are popular garden plants. Nearly 1,000 names have been published within the genus "Achillea", at or below the level of species. Sources differ widely as to which of these


title: Achillea content: should be recognized as species which ones merit subspecies or variety status, and which ones should be relegated to the dustbin of synonymy. For convenience, The Plant List maintained by the Kew Botanic Gardens in London is followed. Achillea Achillea is a group of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. The genus was named after the Greek mythological character Achilles. According to legend, Achilles' soldiers used yarrow to treat their wounds, hence some of its common names such as allheal and bloodwort. The genus is native primarily to Europe, temperate areas of


title: Callistephus content: Callistephus Callistephus is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, containing the single species Callistephus chinensis. Its common names include China aster and annual aster. It is native to China and Korea. and it is cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant in cottage gardens and as a cut flower. This is an annual or biennial herb with one erect, mostly unbranched stem growing 20 to 100 centimeters tall. The alternately arranged leaves vary in shape or size. The basal leaves usually fall away before flowering. Leaves around the middle of the stem are a few centimeters


title: Callistephus content: long and are borne on winged petioles. The blades have serrated edges. Leaves toward the top may have smooth edges. The large solitary flower head grows at the top of the stem and sometimes on branches. The head is lined with layers of phyllaries, those in the outer layer large and leaflike, measuring up to 3 centimeters long. The inner layer can be purple-tinged. The head contains one or two rings of ray florets, most often in shades of reddish purple. The flowering period is from August to October in the northern hemisphere. This species has been grown and bred


title: Callistephus content: extensively in cultivation. Cultivars are available with flowers of many colors, varying heights, and single and double heads. In the wild, they are purple in color. There are several cultivars with flowers of different colors. Cultivars with flowers of other colors were obtained in particular by hybridization. Cultivated varieties can have ray florets in most any color, including red, pink, blue, purple, and white. They are up to 3.5 centimeters long. There are many yellow disc florets in the center. The fruit is a rough-textured, glandular, purple-mottled cypsela that turns gray with age. It has a pappus composed of one


title: Callistephus content: outer layer of reddish scales and two inner layers of white bristles. It has been in culture in Europe since 1728 at the latest. In China, it has been cultivated for 2000 years. This plant is a naturalized species in some areas outside of its native range (Indochina, Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, etc) and can be found on the edges of deciduous forests. It grows at altitudes from 300 to 2700 above mean sea level. As ornamental plant it thrives on fresh, nutrient-rich, easy-humus rich soils in warm humid air conditioning. The plants are susceptible to fusarium wilt,