title: Sable content: sense of hearing. Sables mark their territory with scent produced in glands on the abdomen. Predators of sable include a number of larger carnivores, such as wolves, foxes, wolverines, tigers, lynxes, eagles and large owls. Mating generally occurs between June and August 15, though the date varies geographically. When courting, sables run, jump and "rumble" like cats. Males dig metre long shallow grooves in the snow, frequently accompanied by urination. Males fight each other violently for females. Females enter estrus in spring. Mating can last as long as eight hours. After insemination, the blastocyst does not implant into the uterine


title: Sable content: wall of the female. Instead, implantation occurs eight months later; although gestation lasts 245 to 298 days, embryonic development requires only 25–30 days. Sables birth in tree hollows, where they build nests composed of moss, leaves, and dried grass. Litters number one to seven young, although litters of two or three are most common. Males assist females by defending their territories and providing food. Sables are born with eyes closed and skin covered in a very thin layer of hair. Newborn cubs weigh between and average in length. They open their eyes between 30 to 36 days, and leave the


title: Sable content: nest shortly afterwards. At seven weeks, the young are weaned and given regurgitated food. They reach sexual maturity at the age of two years. They have been reported to live for up to twenty two years on fur farms, and up to eighteen years in the wild. Sables can interbreed with pine martens. This has been observed in the wild, where the two species overlap in the Ural Mountains, and is sometimes deliberately encouraged on fur farms. The resulting hybrid, referred to as a kidus, is slightly smaller than a pure sable, with coarser fur, but otherwise similar markings, and


title: Sable content: a long bushy tail. Kiduses are typically sterile, although there has been one recorded instance of a female kidus successfully breeding with a male pine marten. In Russia, the sable's distribution is largely the result of mass re-introductions involving 19,000 animals between 1940 and 1965. Their range extends northward to the tree line, and extends south to 55–60° latitude in western Siberia, and 42° in the mountainous areas of eastern Asia. Their western distribution encompasses the Ural mountains, where they are sympatric with the European pine marten. They are also found on Sakhalin. In Mongolia, sables occur in the Altai


title: Sable content: Mountains and in the surrounding forests of Lake Hovsgol, the latter being contiguous with the Trans-Baikal boreal forest region from which the most valuable sable pelts come. In China, sables occur in a limited area of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In northeastern China, sables are now limited to the Greater Khingan Range. In eastern Heilongjiang, the persistence of sables is suspected in the Lesser Khingan Range. Sables also occur in Hokkaido and on the Korean peninsula. Because of the variable appearance of the sable in different geographic localities, there has been some debate over the exact number of subspecies


title: Sable content: that can be clearly identified. "Mammal Species of the World" recognises seventeen different subspecies, but other recent scholarly sources have identified anything from seven to thirty. Sable fur has been a highly valued item in the fur trade since the early Middle Ages, and is generally considered to have the most beautiful and richly tinted pelt among martens. Sable fur is unique because it retains its smoothness in every direction it is stroked. The fur of other animals feels rough stroked against the grain. A wealthy 17th-century Russian diplomat once described the sable as "A beast full marvelous and prolific


title: Sable content: ... a beast that the Ancient Greeks and Romans called the Golden Fleece." Russian sables would typically be skinned over the mouth with no incision being made on the body. The feet would be retained, so as to keep as much fur as possible. Byzantine priests would wear sable for their rituals. In England, sable fur was held in great esteem. Henry I was presented with a wreath of black sable by the Bishop of Lincoln, for no less than £100, a considerable sum at the time. Sable fur was a favourite of Henry VIII, who once received five sets


title: Sable content: of sable fur worth £400 from Emperor Charles V. Henry later decreed that sable fur was to be worn only by nobles exceeding the rank of viscount. The Russian conquest of Siberia was largely spurred by the availability of sables there. Ivan Grozny once demanded an annual tribute of 30,000 sable pelts from the newly conquered Kazan Tatars, though they never sent more than a thousand, as Russia at the time was unable to enforce the tribute due to wars with Sweden and Poland. The best skins were obtained in Irkutsk, Kamchatka, and Lapland. According to the "Secret History of


title: Sable content: the Mongols", when Genghis Khan married his first wife, Börte Ujin, his mother Hoelun received a coat of sable furs from the girl's parents. This was reportedly a very noble gift, serving not only an aesthetic need but also a practical one. According to Atkinson's "Travels in Asiatic Russia", Barguzin, on Lake Baikal, was famed for its sables. The fur of this population is a deep jet black with white tipped hair. Eighty to ninety dollars were sometimes demanded by hunters for a single skin. Sable fur would continue to be the most favoured fur in Russia, until the discovery


title: Sable content: of sea otters in the Kamchatka peninsula, whose fur was considered even more valuable. Sable furs were coveted by the nobility of the Russian Empire, with very few skins ever being found outside the country during that period. Some however would be privately obtained by Jewish traders and brought annually to the Leipzig fair. Sometimes, sable hunting was a job given to convicts exiled to Siberia. Imperial Russian fur companies produced 25,000 skins annually, with nearly nine tenths of the produce being exported to France and Germany. The civic robes of the Lord Mayor and Corporation of London, which were


title: Sable content: worn on State occasions, were trimmed with sable. As with minks and martens, sables were commonly caught in steel traps. Intensified hunting in Russia in the 19th and early 20th century caused a severe enough decline in numbers that a five-year ban on hunting was instituted in 1935, followed by a winter-limited licensed hunt. These restrictions together with the development of sable farms have allowed the species to recolonize much of its former range and attain healthy numbers. The Soviet Union allowed Old Believer communities to continue their traditional way of life on the condition that they hand over all


title: Sable content: sable skins they produced. The dissolution of the Soviet Union led to an increase of hunting and poaching in the 1990s, in part because wild caught Russian furs are considered the most luxurious and demand the highest prices on the international market. Currently, the species has no special conservation status according to the IUCN, though the isolated Japanese subspecies "M. zibellina brachyurus" is listed as "data-deficient". Because of its great expense, sable fur is typically integrated into various clothes fashions: to decorate collars, sleeves, hems and hats (see, for example the shtreimel). The so-called kolinsky sable-hair brushes used for watercolour


title: Sable content: or oil painting are not manufactured from sable hair, but from that of the Siberian weasel. Sable The sable ("Martes zibellina") is a species of marten, a small carnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments, of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kazakhstan, China, North Korea and Hokkaidō, Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia. Historically, it has been hunted for its highly valued dark brown or black fur, which remains a luxury good to this day. While hunting is still common in


title: Aldershot content: these councillors elected since the last local elections in May 2015, ten are Conservative and eight are Labour. The barrack scenes in the 1968 film "The Charge of the Light Brigade" starring David Hemmings and Trevor Howard were filmed at the old West Cavalry Barracks (now largely demolished). The gates of the West Cavalry Barracks also stood in as the prison gates for the 1960 film "Two-Way Stretch" starring Peter Sellers, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Lionel Jeffries. The area was used for location filming of the 1970 "Doctor Who" serial "The Ambassadors of Death". Due to its architecture, Bruneval Barracks in


title: "Suffocation (band)" content: Suffocation (band) Suffocation is an American death metal band formed in 1988 in Centereach, New York. The band consists of lead guitarist Terrance Hobbs, bassist Derek Boyer, rhythm guitarist Charlie Errigo, and drummer Eric Morotti. Suffocation rose to prominence of death metal and created a blueprint for the genre for the 1990s with their 1991 debut album "Effigy of the Forgotten", and have released eight studio albums since formation. The band's raw death metal style uses growled vocals with a downtuned guitar sound, fast and complex guitar riffs and drumming, open chord notes, breakdowns, and a sophisticated sense of songwriting.


title: "Aedes albopictus" content: and lactic acids that takes a similar form and smell of a human body. With the addition of carbon dioxide, the efficacy of the trap is increased. This means a suitable tool is available for trapping adult tiger mosquitoes, and for example, examining the existence of viruses in the trapped mosquitoes. Previously, the mosquitoes had to be collected from volunteers to be studied, which is ethically questionable, especially during epidemics. Recent research also indicates this trap type may also have a use as a control tool; in a study in Cesena, Italy, the number of biting tiger mosquitoes was reduced


title: Vacherin content: gets, the stronger the smell of ammonia due to microorganism activity in the cheese. Vacherin d'alpage is made from the milk of cows pasturing in alpine meadows and hence has a much richer taste. Vacherin Vacherin is a cow's milk (French "vache", "cow") cheese. Two main types of French or Swiss Vacherin cheeses exist. One type of Vacherin cheese is called Mont d'Or, or Vacherin du Haut-Doubs, from France, or Vacherin Mont d'Or from Switzerland (though it tends to just be called "Vacherin" in the local shops). It is a soft, rich, seasonal cheese made from cow's milk in Switzerland


title: "Tony Hawks" content: provided the voice-over for a restaurant advertisement in the episode "Me²", although this role was uncredited. In the first few seasons of "Red Dwarf", Hawks performed a warm-up act for the live audience before taping began. He has appeared as a pundit the television series "Grumpy Old Men" and as a contestant on the BBC quiz show "School's Out". In November 2010, he was a guest on a number of TV and radio programmes to discuss the film version of "Round Ireland with a Fridge", including Simon Mayo's BBC Radio 2 show, "Loose Ends", BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio


title: "Northern rough-winged swallow" content: Northern rough-winged swallow The northern rough-winged swallow ("Stelgidopteryx serripennis") is a small, migratory swallow. It is very similar to the southern rough-winged swallow, "Stelgidopteryx ruficollis". The genus name, "Stelgidopteryx", is from Ancient Greek and means "scraper wing" and the species name, "serripennis", is derived from Latin and means "saw feather". In the common name, "rough-winged" refers to the serrated edge feathers on the wing of this bird; this feature would only be apparent when holding this bird. Six subspecies of the northern rough-winged swallow are currently recognized. It has been proposed that another race be recognized, "aphracta", but this is


title: "Northern rough-winged swallow" content: debated. This race is apparently described as being darker above with a greyer throat compared to "serripennis". It has been described to occur in the western Great Basin region, in the United States. Adults are in length, brown above with white underparts, a small bill, and a forked tail. Their throat is a white with a brownish-grey wash, and below the throat are its white underparts. The adults have a wingspan of and a weight of . The males' under tail coverts are longer and broader than that of the females. The males also have hooked barbs on the outer


title: "Northern rough-winged swallow" content: web of their outer primary wings. The barbs on the females are shorter and straighter than that of the males. Juveniles can be distinguished from adults by their reddish-brown wing-bars. They are similar in appearance to the bank swallow, but have a dusky throat and breast. They are closely related and very similar to the southern rough-winged swallow, "Stelgidopteryx ruficollis", but that species has a more contrasting rump, and the ranges do not quite overlap. The call of this swallow is described as a short, harsh "zeep". It has also been described as a rough, low "bzzt". It is often


title: "Northern rough-winged swallow" content: doubled. This call is similar to the call of the bank swallow. The northern rough-winged swallow is native to Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the United States. They are vagrant to Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, and Sint Maarten. The populations in the US and Canada have been found to winter in the southern-most US and further south. While this is true, the populations in Mexico and further south seem to


title: "Northern rough-winged swallow" content: be non-migratory, although local post-breeding movements do occur. This swallow has been found to occur as high as in Costa Rica. The northern rough-winged swallow usually nests by itself, although it sometimes is found in loose groups, often at the edge of bank swallow colonies, of up to 25 pairs. The nests are found in burrows located in soil banks, very occasionally caves and trees, and in human-made cavities such as gutters and tubes. These burrows are usually built by other species, and measure anywhere from in length, although most fall between . They are at a height of around


title: "Northern rough-winged swallow" content: above ground-level. The nest itself is built by this species, and is built with a variety of fibres, including grasses, leaves, rootlets, twigs, bark, and pine needles. Moss and dung is also used. The nest is then lined with grass. These materials are wholly or almost wholly collected by the female. The breeding season generally extends from May to about mid-July, but this varies by region. In north-eastern North AMerica, the breeding season starts at about mid-May, while it starts in early June in the north-west, with both ending in August. In the southern parts of its range, this bird


title: "Northern rough-winged swallow" content: lays its eggs earlier; from mid-April to mid-May in Costa Rica. The northern rough-winged swallow lays a single clutch, although sometimes another clutch is laid if the first one fails, of four to eight glossy white eggs that measure about on average. It has been observed that the clutch size decreases with decreasing latitude. These eggs are incubated by the female for 16 to 18 days. Because the female starts incubating as soon as the first egg is laid, the eggs hatch asynchronously. The northern rough-winged swallow migrates to the Gulf Coast of the United States and south to Central


title: "Northern rough-winged swallow" content: America for winter. They have also been recorded to winter in the Caribbean. When the breeding season is finished, they usually form large flocks and roost together in marshes and similar environments. Sometimes, in perverse weather conditions, several of these swallows can be seen to share a burrow. When foraging, their flight paths are low and direct. They fly with slow, deep wingbeats interspersed with periods of gliding. It usually feeds over water and occasionally over land. They are insectivores, feeding almost exclusively on flying insects. Although this is true, there is a report of some feeding on cracked corn.


title: "Northern rough-winged swallow" content: To drink, they skim the surface of the water with their wing and then drink on their wing. The northern rough-winged swallow is classified as least concern by the IUCN. Although its population is declining, it is not declining fast enough nor is its range small enough to justify a classification of vulnerable. In addition, this species is estimated to be composed of about 15 million individual birds, so it is not vulnerable under the population size criterion. This swallow has been found to adapt well to humans and sometimes nests in artificial cavities created by them. Northern rough-winged swallow


title: "Cardiff Bay" content: Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay () is the area of water created by the Cardiff Barrage in south Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It is also the name commonly given to the surrounding areas of the city. According to Cardiff Council, the creation of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. Cardiff Bay is supplied by two rivers (Taff and Ely) to form a freshwater lake around the former dockland area south of the city centre. The 'bay' was formerly tidal, with access to the sea limited to a couple


title: "Cardiff Bay" content: of hours each side of high water but now provides 24-hour access through three locks. Cardiff Bay played a major part in Cardiff’s development by being the means of exporting coal from the South Wales Valleys to the rest of the world, helping to power the industrial age. The coal mining industry helped fund the building of Cardiff into the Capital city of Wales and helped the Third Marquis of Bute, who owned the docks, become the richest man in the world at the time. As Cardiff exports grew, so did its population; dockworkers and sailors from across the world


title: "Cardiff Bay" content: settled in neighbourhoods close to the docks, known as Tiger Bay, and communities from up to 45 different nationalities, including Norwegian, Somali, Yemeni, Spanish, Italian, Caribbean and Irish helped create the unique multicultural character of the area. After the Second World War most of the industry closed down and became derelict. But, in 1999, new life was injected into the area by the building of the Cardiff Bay Barrage, one of the most controversial building projects of the day but also one of the most successful. The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation (CBDC) was created in 1987 to stimulate the redevelopment


title: "Cardiff Bay" content: of 1,100 hectares (2,700 acres) of derelict land. The Development Corporation aimed to attract private capital by spending public money to improve the area. Despite opposition by environmentalists and wildlife organisations, the mudflats at the mouths of the River Taff and River Ely were inundated, with loss of habitat for wading birds. The Barrage has created several new habitats for freshwater species with the wetlands to the south of the Hamadryad Park. When the Development Corporation was wound up in on 31 March 2000, it had achieved many of its objectives. The whole area was unrecognisable from ten years before.


title: "Cardiff Bay" content: Much private land was now open to the public, particularly around the inner harbour and the north side of Roath basin. Work is progressing to complete a 13 kilometre walkway around the bay. In addition, the development has enabled land in the city centre to be redeveloped for higher-value uses. The development of "something like 1,250 apartments a year" however might cause future problems. As at 2008 up to one third were not occupied. Critics such as Lorraine Barrett (AM Labour, Cardiff South and Penarth) say, the flat complexes will not help to build up a community and too little


title: "Cardiff Bay" content: attention has been paid to develop affordable housing. With the recent falls in property values, sales in the area have become problematic. Therefore, landlords might be more willing to rent their places out to "people who may not be suited to that type of living." Connecting the bay area to the centre of Cardiff was a primary goal when plans to develop the docklands were first mooted. Original plans included a grand boulevard (similar to where Lloyd George Avenue is located now) with high-density commercial and residential units straddling both sides. This would have created significant demand for quality public


title: "Cardiff Bay" content: transport provisions facilitating connections to the new Bay area but public transport was often of poor quality and, but there are now much-improved connections through the Cardiff Bus BayCar service and rail service from Cardiff Queen Street to Cardiff Bay railway station. On 30 January 2013 the planning consultant, Adrian Jones, stated that Cardiff Bay was a contender for the "worst example of waterside regeneration in Britain". The St David's Hotel & Spa is a 5-star luxury hotel with commanding views of the bay and Penarth. Built by Rocco Forte in 2000, the hotel was sold in 2007, to Principal-Haley


title: "Cardiff Bay" content: hotels. The Pierhead was built in 1897 and designed by William Frame, who studied under William Burges It was formerly the headquarters of the Bute Dock Company. The Senedd is the National Assembly for Wales building which includes the debating chamber and committee rooms. The Wales Millennium Centre is home to the Welsh National Opera. The Norwegian Church Arts Centre, is a rescued historic wooden church that was rebuilt in 1992 and operates as a registered self funded not for profit charity. It is managed by Cardiff Harbour Authority and is as a venue for small concerts, art exhibitions, conferences,


title: "Cardiff Bay" content: meetings and celebrations. When living in Cardiff as a child, the famous children's author Roald Dahl attended this church. A refurbished Victorian dockside building houses Craft in the Bay, the home of the Makers Guild in Wales. Techniquest is an educational science & discovery centre, which also includes a science theatre and planetarium. Roald Dahl Plass is a large open amphitheatre style plaza frequently used as a venue for carnivals and festivals all year round. Mermaid Quay comprises a mix of restaurants, bars, cafés, shops and services located on the waterfront. Dismantled in 2010, this unique building "single-handedly put Cardiff


title: "Cardiff Bay" content: on the architectural map", housing exhibitions and visitor information. Cardiff Bay was used as the high-tech urban setting for the "Doctor Who" episode "Boom Town" and the show's spinoff, "Torchwood", whose makers deliberately avoided stereotypical portrayals of Wales in order to portray Cardiff as the modern urban centre it is today. In "Torchwood" series, there is a giant secret base underneath the bay, named "The Hub", from where the Torchwood team works. There is also a lift from the hub into the plaza with a perception filter making anyone who stands on the spot "not noticed". In the third series


title: "Cardiff Bay" content: of Torchwood entitled "Children Of Earth", Cardiff Bay was the centre of a bomb explosion, destroying the Torchwood Hub and Cardiff Bay. Roald Dahl Plass features prominently. The "Doctor Who" episode "The Runaway Bride" made use of office buildings in Cardiff Bay. Cardiff Bay railway station is northeast of Mermaid Quay and is served by shuttle services to Cardiff Queen Street railway station. Cardiff Bus operates the following services to the bay: The bay lies off the A4232 before the Butetown tunnels and is linked to the city centre by Lloyd George Avenue, Bute Street and the Central Link Road.


title: "Cardiff Bay" content: The Pont y Werin pedestrian and cycle bridge opened in July 2010, completing a six and a half-mile circular route around Cardiff Bay and Penarth. A cycle hire system, similar to those in other large cities, launched in September 2009, and includes 70 bikes and 35 hire points (initially seven) around the centre and the south of the city. The current stations are: Central Station; Cardiff Bay Station; County Hall; Cardiff Bay Visitors’ Centre; Churchill Way; City Hall and eastern Queen Street. It is necessary to register before using bike. The first half an hour is free after which a


title: "Cardiff Bay" content: small hourly fee is payable. Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay () is the area of water created by the Cardiff Barrage in south Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It is also the name commonly given to the surrounding areas of the city. According to Cardiff Council, the creation of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. Cardiff Bay is supplied by two rivers (Taff and Ely) to form a freshwater lake around the former dockland area south of the city centre. The 'bay' was formerly tidal, with access to the


title: "Eastern bluebird" content: Eastern bluebird The eastern bluebird ("Sialia sialis") is a small thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands, and orchards. It is the state bird of Missouri and New York. This species measures long, spans across the wings, and weighs . Eastern bluebirds are found east of the Rockies, southern Canada to the Gulf states, and southeastern Arizona to Nicaragua. The increase in trees throughout the Great Plains during the past century due to fire suppression and tree planting facilitated the western range expansion of the eastern bluebird as well as range expansions of many other species of birds. The bright-blue breeding


title: "Eastern bluebird" content: plumage of the male, easily observed on a wire or open perch, makes this species a favorite of birders. The male's call includes sometimes soft warbles of 'jeew' or 'chir-wi' or the melodious song 'chiti WEEW wewidoo'. About two-thirds of the diet of an adult consists of insects and other invertebrates. The remainder of the bird's diet is made up of wild fruits or berries. Favored insect foods include grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, and beetles. Other food items include earthworms, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, sow bugs, and snails. Fruits are especially important when insects are scarce in the winter. Some preferred winter


title: "Eastern bluebird" content: food sources include dogwood, hawthorn, wild grape, and sumac, and hackberry seeds. Supplemental fruits eaten include black raspberries, bayberries, fruit of honeysuckle, Virginia creeper, eastern juniper, and pokeberries. Bluebirds feed by perching on a high point, such as a branch or fence post, and swooping down to catch insects on or near the ground. The availability of a winter food source will often determine whether or not a bird will migrate. If bluebirds do remain in a region for the winter, they group and seek cover in heavy thickets, orchards, or other areas in which adequate food and cover resources


title: "Eastern bluebird" content: are available. Eastern bluebirds are very social birds. At times, they gather in flocks of a hundred or more. However, they are territorial during the breeding season and may continue to defend a feeding area throughout the winter. Mating occurs in the spring and summer. A mature female typically raises two broods each season. Nests are constructed in trees within abandoned woodpecker holes or other cavities that provide adequate protection (usually several feet above ground). Construction of the nest is done primarily by the female and takes around 10 days to complete. These nests are small, cup-like structures lined with


title: "Eastern bluebird" content: grass, feathers, stems, and hairs. Each female lays three to seven light-blue or, rarely, white eggs. The female incubates the eggs, which hatch after 13 to 16 days. The young cannot care for themselves upon hatching. The female broods the chicks for up to seven days after hatching. Fledglings then leave the nest 15 to 20 days after hatching. Both parents cooperate in raising the young, which they feed a diet consisting almost entirely of insects. Some young stay around the nest to help raise another brood. Fledglings are grayish in color, with speckled breasts. The blue color becomes much


title: "Eastern bluebird" content: more prominent and the speckles on their breasts disappear as they mature. Bluebirds may begin breeding the summer after they are hatched. Eastern bluebirds can live for 6 to 10 years. The longest recorded lifespan for a bluebird is 10 years and five months. However, most bluebirds die within their first year of life. Starvation and freezing are a danger to the young, but most threats come from other animals, including humans. Natural predators of eggs and nestlings can include eastern chipmunks, flying squirrels, American black bears, fire ants, and raccoons. Bluebirds of all ages (including adults) are threatened by


title: "Eastern bluebird" content: rat snakes, racers, American kestrels, and domestic cats. Introduced species such as European starlings and house sparrows are competitors for nesting sites. Non-nesting adults face predation by all native species of falcons, owls, and most varieties of hawks, particularly those in the genus "Accipiter". When approached by a predator, the male makes a song-like warning cry. If no male is present, a threatened female will begin to sing, hoping to attract a protective male back to the territory. Both males and females also flick their wings and warble when predators are nearby. Eastern bluebirds tend to live in open country


title: "Eastern bluebird" content: around trees, but with little understory and sparse ground cover. Original habitats probably included open, frequently burned pine savannas, beaver ponds, mature but open woods, and forest openings. Today, they’re most common along pastures, agricultural fields, suburban parks, backyards, and even golf courses. This bird also occurs across eastern North America and south as far as Nicaragua. Birds that live farther north and in the west of the range tend to lay more eggs than eastern and southern birds. Eastern bluebird The eastern bluebird ("Sialia sialis") is a small thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands, and orchards. It is the


title: "Sacred language" content: sacred languages are ascribed with virtues that the vernacular is not perceived to have, the sacred languages typically preserve characteristics that would have been lost in the course of language development. In some cases, the sacred language is a dead language. In other cases, it may simply reflect archaic forms of a living language. For instance, 17th-century elements of the English language remain current in Protestant Christian worship through the use of the "King James Bible" or older versions of the Anglican "Book of Common Prayer". In more extreme cases, the language has changed so much from the language of


title: "Western bluebird" content: Western bluebird The western bluebird ("Sialia mexicana") is a small thrush, about in length. Adult males are bright blue on top and on the throat with an orange breast and sides, a brownish patch on back, and a gray belly and undertail coverts. Adult females have a duller blue body, wings, and tail than the male, a gray throat, a dull orange breast, and a gray belly and undertail coverts. Immature western bluebirds have duller colors than the adults, they also have spots on their chest and back. These color patterns help play a part in the mating ritual, when


title: "Western bluebird" content: males compete for breeding rights to females. They are sometimes confused with other bluebirds, but they can be distinguished without difficulty. The western bluebird has a blue (male) or gray (female) throat, the eastern bluebird has an orange throat, and the mountain bluebird lacks orange color anywhere on its body. It has a stocky build, and a thin straight beak with a fairly short tail. Its posture consists of perching upright on wire fences and high perches. The western bluebird pounces on the ground when looking for food, such as worms and berries. It also flies to catch aerial prey,


title: "Western bluebird" content: like insects, when available. The western bluebird consumes water from nearby streams and commonly used bird baths. The western bluebird has been chased out of its natural habitat due to the cutting down of trees; however the western bluebird has adapted to coniferous forests, farmlands, semi-open terrain, and desert to survive. The year-round range includes California, the southern Rocky Mountains, Arizona, and New Mexico in the United States, and as far south as the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz in Mexico. The summer breeding range extends as far north as the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and Montana. Northern birds can


title: "Western bluebird" content: migrate to the southern parts of the range; southern birds are often permanent residents. They nest in cavities or in nest boxes, competing with tree swallows, house sparrows, and European starlings for natural nesting locations. Because of the high level of competition, house sparrows often attack western bluebirds for their nests. The attacks are made both in groups or alone. Attacks by starlings can be reduced if the nesting box opening is kept to diameter to avoid takeover. Nest boxes come into effect when the species is limited and dying out due to the following predators: cats, raccoons, possums, and


title: "Western bluebird" content: select birds of prey such as the Cooper's hawk. Ants, bees, earwigs, and wasps can crawl into the nesting boxes and damage the newborns. Western bluebirds are among the birds that nest in [cavities], or holes in trees, or nest boxes. Their [beak]s are too weak and small to dig out their own holes, so they rely on [woodpecker]s to make their nest sites for them. In restored forests, western bluebirds have a higher probability of successfully fledging young than in untreated forests, but they are at greater risk of parasitic infestations. The effects on post-fledging survival are unknown. They


title: "Western bluebird" content: have been found to enjoy more success with nest boxes than in natural cavities. They started egg-laying earlier, had higher nesting success and lower predation rates, and fledged more young in boxes than in cavities, but they did not have larger clutches of eggs. The eggs are commonly two to eight per clutch, with average size . Eggs are oval in shape with a smooth and glossy shell. They are pale blue to bluish-white and sometimes white in color. Nestlings remain in a nest about 19 to 22 days before fledging. In a good year, the parents can rear two


title: "Western bluebird" content: broods, with four to six eggs per clutch. According to genetic studies, 45% of western bluebirds' nests carried young that were not offspring of the male partner. In addition, they help their parents raise a new brood after their own nest fails. These birds wait on a perch and fly down to catch insects, sometimes catching them in midair. They mainly eat insects and berries. During the breeding season, bluebirds are very helpful with pest control in the territory surrounding the nest. Their calling consists of the mating songs which sound like "cheer," "chur-chur," and "chup." This helps male western


title: "Western bluebird" content: bluebirds find the females easily in condensed f "chweer" or "che-cheek," to tell [competing] males that the [territory] belongs to them. Western bluebird The western bluebird ("Sialia mexicana") is a small thrush, about in length. Adult males are bright blue on top and on the throat with an orange breast and sides, a brownish patch on back, and a gray belly and undertail coverts. Adult females have a duller blue body, wings, and tail than the male, a gray throat, a dull orange breast, and a gray belly and undertail coverts. Immature western bluebirds have duller colors than the adults,


title: Ogee content: term is to describe an arch composed of two ogees, mirrored left-to-right and meeting at an apex. Ogee arches were a feature of English Gothic architecture in the later thirteenth century. A building's surface detailing (indoors or out) may have a moulding with an ogee-shaped profile, consisting (going from low to high) of a concave arc flowing into a convex arc, with vertical ends; if the lower curve is convex and higher one concave, this is known as a Roman ogee, although frequently the terms are used as if they are interchangeable and for a variety of other shapes. Alternative


title: Whanganui content: venue used for cricket, athletics and rugby. On 27 January 1962, a world record time of 3 minutes 54.4 seconds for running the mile was set by Peter Snell on the grass track at the gardens. The venue also has a world-class velodrome. The Cemetery Circuit is a temporary motorcycle street racetrack in downtown Whanganui which passes through the old cemetery and industrial area near to the centre of town. The event is usually held on Boxing Day each year. Rod Coleman was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Earl Bamber, Racing driver and winner of the 2015 24 Hours


title: "HIV/AIDS in Africa" content: medical degree end up leaving Sub-Saharan Africa to work abroad "either to escape instability or to practice where they have better working conditions and a higher salary". Many low income communities are very far away from a hospital and they cannot afford to bus there or pay for medical attention once they arrive. "Healthcare in Africa differs widely, depending on the country and also the region – those living in urban areas are more likely to receive better healthcare services than those in rural or remote regions". It is very common to just wait out a sickness or seek help


title: Miniseries content: successive editions of magazines or newspapers is called a serial. In Britain, miniseries are often still referred to as serials. Several commentators have offered more precise definitions of the term. In "Halliwell's Television Companion", Leslie Halliwell and Philip Purser argue that miniseries tend to "appear in four to six episodes of various lengths", while Stuart Cunningham in "Textual Innovation in the Australian Historical Mini-series" defines a miniseries as, "a limited run program of more than two and less than the 13-part season or half season block associated with serial or series programming." Still, with the proliferation of the format in


title: Lagerstroemia content: Lagerstroemia Lagerstroemia , commonly known as crape myrtle or crepe myrtle, is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia, and parts of Oceania, cultivated in warmer climates around the world. It is a member of the family Lythraceae, which are also known as the loosestrife family. The genus is named after the Swedish merchant Magnus von Lagerström, a director of the Swedish East India Company who supplied Carl Linnaeus with plants he collected. These flowering trees are beautifully colored and are often planted both privately


title: Lagerstroemia content: and commercially as ornamentals. Crepe myrtles are chiefly known for their colorful and long-lasting flowers which occur in summer. Most species of "Lagerstroemia" have sinewy, fluted stems and branches with a mottled appearance that arises from having bark that sheds throughout the year. The leaves are opposite and simple, with entire margins, and vary from . While all species are woody in nature, they can range in height from over to under ; most, however, are small to medium multiple-trunked trees and shrubs. The leaves of temperate species provide autumn color. Flowers are borne in summer and autumn in panicles


title: Lagerstroemia content: of crinkled flowers with a crepe-like texture. Colors vary from deep purple to red to white, with almost every shade in between. Although no blue-flowered varieties exist, the flowers trend toward the blue end of the spectrum with no orange or yellow except in stamens and pistils. The fruit is a capsule, green and succulent at first, then ripening to dark brown or black dryness. It splits along six or seven lines, producing teeth much like those of the calyx, and releases numerous, small, winged seeds. In their respective climates, both subtropical and tropical species are common in domestic and


title: Lagerstroemia content: commercial landscapes. The timber of some species has been used to manufacture bridges, furniture, and railway sleepers, but in Vietnam's Cat Tien National Park, the dominant stands of "Lagerstroemia calyculata" in secondary forest are thought to have survived (after episodes of logging) due to the low quality of wood. "Lagerstroemia" species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (moth and butterfly) species including "Endoclita malabaricus". The leaves of "L. parviflora" are fed on by the "Antheraea paphia" moth which produces the tassar silk, a form of wild silk of commercial importance in India. Certain species of


title: Lagerstroemia content: crepe myrtle are used in landscaping and gardening as screens, lawn specimens, shrub borders, and container plants. The common crepe myrtle ("L. indica") from China and Korea was introduced "circa" 1790 to Charleston, South Carolina, in the United States by the French botanist André Michaux. In the wild, the species is most often found as a multistemmed large shrub, but 200 years of cultivation have resulted in a huge number of cultivars of widely varying characteristics. Today, crepe myrtle varieties can fill every landscape need, from tidy street trees to dense barrier hedges to fast-growing dwarf types of less than


title: Lagerstroemia content: , which can go from seed to bloom in a season (allowing gardeners in places where the plant is not winter-hardy to still enjoy the intense colors of the frilly flowers). In Europe, crepe myrtle is common in the south of France, the Iberian Peninsula, and most of Italy; in the United States, it is an iconic plant of gardens across the southern United States. While not as widely known, the Japanese crepe myrtle, "L. fauriei", from central and southern Japan, is becoming increasingly important, both as a landscaping plant and as a parent in complex hybrids with "L. indica".


title: Lagerstroemia content: This species is distinctly tree-like, with colorful deciduous bark and dark green leaves which are more resistant to fungal diseases than are those of its more popular relative. The Japanese name for this tree is which refers to the smooth, slippery bark. Flowers are as large as those of "L. indica", but are white with only the slightest pink flush appearing in some individuals. Japanese crepe myrtle is hardier to cold than many strains of "L. indica", a characteristic (along with fungal resistance, tree form and colorful bark) that makes it valuable as genetic material for hybridization. Cultivars available include


title: Lagerstroemia content: 'Kiowa', 'Fantasy', and 'Townhouse'. "Lagerstroemia speciosa", known as queen crepe myrtle, giant crepe myrtle, or "banabá", originates in subtropical and tropical India. It can be grown in any similar climate, but in the United States is suitable only for Florida, southernmost Texas, coastal southern California, and Hawaii. It is a large evergreen tree with colorful rosy-mauve flowers and striking white bark, suitable for public parks and avenues; only the seed-grown species is commonly available for sale, unlike "L. indica" and "L. fauriei", which have dozens of cultivars. Notes Further reading Lagerstroemia Lagerstroemia , commonly known as crape myrtle or crepe


title: "Maude (TV series)" content: program (during the heyday of topical sitcoms, which its presence helped to create), when it was regularly one of the top-ten highest-rated American television programs in any given week. In Great Britain, "Maude" was not shown nationally, although it was shown (beginning in 1975) in the ITV regions of Westward, Border, Tyne Tees, Anglia, Yorkshire, Granada and Channel. Satellite station Sky One ran the series in the early/mid 1990s. In the fifth season, "Maude" unexpectedly plunged from #4 to #31 in the Nielsen ratings as its lead-ins "Rhoda" and "Phyllis" began to struggle. In 1978, late in the sixth season,


title: "Adrienne Barbeau" content: interview for this 1-woman show that I am doing and the interviewer asked that... she asked 'What do people usually ask you,' and I said, 'They always want to know ... What It Was Like Working with Bea?' She was fantastic and you know, I realized years later, how much I took it for granted, because it was my first experience on television... I just assumed that everyone was as giving as she was, as professional as she was, that everyone who was doing a TV show showed up, knowing their lines and showed up on time and was willing


title: "Alliance (New Zealand political party)" content: which were often blamed on perceived "subservience" to Labour. In particular, many members of the party organisation were less willing to support Labour than the party's MPs were, leading to a rift between parliamentary leader Anderton and party president Matt McCarten. Eventually, Anderton decided to leave the Alliance and establish a new party. However, rules regarding changes of party allegiance meant that Anderton and his allies could not officially resign from the Alliance without also resigning from parliament, which they were unwilling to do. This led to the awkward situation of Anderton and his allies technically remaining part of the


title: "Rognvald Eysteinsson" content: Ímar, the "king of the Northmen of all Britain and Ireland", whose death is recorded in the "Annals of Ulster" in 873. There are at least two major similarities between the two figures include: both are grandsons of an Ímar/Ivarr and; like Rognvald, a close relative of Ragnall named Ímar was killed in battle in Scotland (Ímar ua Ímair, d. 904). There are several recurring themes in the "Orkneyinga saga", including strife between brothers, relationships between the jarls and the Norwegian crown, and raiding in the Hebrides, all of which are touched on during the saga's coverage of Rognvald's life


title: Supervenience content: can be used to support this claim. Throughout nature, convergent evolution produces incredibly similar phenotypes from a diverse set of taxa with fundamentally different genotypes underpinning the phenotypes. One example is evolution on islands which is a remarkably predictable example of convergent evolution where the same phenotypes consistently evolve for the same reasons. Organisms released from predation tend to become larger, while organisms limited by food tend to become smaller. Yet there are almost infinite numbers of genetic changes that might lead to changes in body size. Another example of convergent evolution is the loss of sight that almost universally


title: "Ben-Gurion University of the Negev" content: in Israel to date. BGU is ranked between 101st and 150th overall in computer science accordong to the 2015 Academic Ranking of World Universities in Computer Science for four consecutive years. Ben-Gurion University has five faculties with 51 academic departments and units: Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management. Ben-Gurion University has seven schools including the Kreitman School of Advanced Graduate Studies, the Joyce and Irving Goldman Medical School, the Leon and Mathilde Recanati School for Community Health Professions, the


title: "Pileated woodpecker" content: Pileated woodpecker The pileated woodpecker ("Dryocopus pileatus") is a woodpecker native to North America. This insectivorous bird is a mostly sedentary inhabitant of deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific coast. It is the second-largest woodpecker on the continent, after the critically endangered—and possibly extinct—ivory-billed woodpecker. The term "pileated" refers to the bird's prominent red crest, with the term from the Latin meaning "capped". Adults are long, span across the wings, and weigh , with an average weight of . Each wing measures , the tail measures ,


title: "Pileated woodpecker" content: the bill is and the tarsus measures . They are mainly black with a red crest, and have a white line down the sides of the throat. They show white on the wings in flight. The flight of these birds is strong and direct, but undulates in the way characteristic of woodpeckers. Adult males have a red line from the bill to the throat, in adult females these are black. Two species found in the Old World, the white-bellied and black woodpeckers, are closely related and occupy the same ecological niche in their respective ranges that the pileated occupies in


title: "Pileated woodpecker" content: North America. The only North American birds of similar plumage and size are the ivory-billed woodpecker of the southeastern United States and Cuba, and the related imperial woodpecker of Mexico. However, unlike the pileated, both of those species are extremely rare, if not extinct. Most reports of the ivory-billed woodpecker are believed to be erroneous reports of the far more common pileated. Up to four subspecies of pileated woodpeckers have been recognized historically. However, many authors only recognize two subspecies, the southernly "D. p." subsp. "pileatus" and the northerly "D. p." subsp. "abieticola", and the differences between the other two


title: "Pileated woodpecker" content: subspecies other than range are not well described. Generally, pileated woodpeckers follow Bergmann's rule being smaller and more compact in the south ("D. p." subsp. "pileatus") and larger in the north ("D. p." subsp. "abieticola"). The ranges of the potential four subspecies are described below. Their breeding habitat is forested areas across Canada, the eastern United States, and parts of the Pacific coast. This bird favors mature forests and heavily wooded parks. They specifically prefer mesic habitats with large, mature hardwood trees, often being found in large tracts of forest. However, they also inhabit smaller woodlots as long as they


title: "Pileated woodpecker" content: have a scattering of tall trees. Efforts to restore woodland by removing invasive honeysuckle and buckthorn seem to benefit them, as the removal of brush and shrubbery facilitates their foraging on the ground and in the lower stratum. These birds mainly eat insects, especially carpenter ants and wood-boring beetle larvae. They also eat fruits, nuts, and berries, including poison ivy berries. Pileated woodpeckers often chip out large and roughly rectangular holes in trees while searching out insects, especially ant colonies. They also lap up ants by reaching with their long tongues into crevices. They are self-assured on the vertical surfaces


title: "Pileated woodpecker" content: of large trees, but can seem awkward while feeding on small branches and vines. Pileated woodpeckers may also forage on or near the ground, especially around fallen, dead trees, which can contain a variety of insect life. They may forage around the sides of human homes or even cars, and can occasionally be attracted to suet-type feeders. Although they are less likely feeder visitors than smaller woodpeckers, pileateds may regularly be attracted to them in areas experiencing harsh winter conditions. Usually, pileated woodpeckers excavate their large nests in the cavities of dead trees. Woodpeckers make such large holes in dead


title: "Pileated woodpecker" content: trees that the holes can cause a small tree to break in half. The roost of a pileated woodpecker usually has multiple entrance holes. Pileated woodpeckers raise their young every year in a hole in a tree. In April, the hole made by the male attracts a female for mating and raising their young. Once the brood is raised, the pileated woodpeckers abandon the hole and do not use it the next year. When abandoned, these holes—made similarly by all woodpeckers—provide good homes in future years for many forest song birds and a wide variety of other animals. Owls and


title: "Pileated woodpecker" content: tree-nesting ducks may largely rely on holes made by pileateds in which to lay their nests. Even mammals such as raccoons may use them. Other woodpeckers and smaller birds such as wrens may be attracted to pileated holes to feed on the insects found in them. Ecologically, the entire woodpecker family is important to the well being of many other bird species. The pileated woodpecker also nests in boxes about off the ground. A pileated woodpecker pair stays together on its territory all year round and is not migratory. They defend the territory in all seasons, but tolerate floaters during


title: "Pileated woodpecker" content: the winter. When clashing with conspecifics, they engage in much chasing, calling, striking with the wings, and jabbing with the bill. Drumming is most commonly to proclaim a territory, and hollow trees are often used to make the most resonant sound possible. The display drum consists of a burst of 11 to 30 taps delivered in less than a second. Pileated woodpeckers have been observed to move to another site if any eggs have fallen out of the nest—a rare habit in birds. The cavity is unlined except for wood chips. Both parents incubate three to five eggs for 12


title: "Pileated woodpecker" content: to 16 days. The average clutch size is four per nest. The young may take a month to fledge. The oldest known pileated woodpecker was 12 years and 11 months old. Predators at the nest can include American martens, weasels, squirrels, rat snakes, and gray foxes. Free-flying adults have fewer predators, but can be taken in some numbers by Cooper's hawks, northern goshawks, red-tailed hawks, great horned owls, and barred owls. The pileated woodpecker occupies a large range and is quite adaptable. Its ability to survive in many wooded habitat types has allowed the species to survive human habitation of


title: "Pileated woodpecker" content: North America much better than the more specialized ivory-billed woodpecker. Pileated woodpeckers have a large population size, and despite being nonmigratory, are protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act. While the large birds control many insect populations, especially tree beetles, that may otherwise experience outbreaks, some people may consider them harmful if found on their property due to the considerable damage that pileated woodpeckers can do to trees and homes. Pileated woodpecker The pileated woodpecker ("Dryocopus pileatus") is a woodpecker native to North America. This insectivorous bird is a mostly sedentary inhabitant of deciduous forests in eastern North America, the


title: "Saint Etienne (band)" content: (intended at the time to be her first single release for her new label) and "When Are You Coming Home" (unreleased). The band also wrote and produced the 1993 single "One Goodbye in Ten" for Shara Nelson. Also in 1993, the "Xmas 93" EP featured Tim Burgess from The Charlatans on the lead track "I Was Born on Christmas Day." In 1995, the band co-recorded the "Reserection" EP with French pop singer Étienne Daho; later, they also worked on his album "Eden" and single "Le Premier Jour". For the band's first greatest hits compilation, "Too Young to Die – The


title: "Chicago Mercantile Exchange" content: acquisition was formally completed on August 22, 2008, and the NYMEX systems were fully integrated by September 30, 2009. Agricultural Commodity Contracts include: Live Cattle, Lean Hogs, Feeder Cattle, Class IV Milk, Class III Milk, Nonfat Dry Milk Powder, Dry Whey, Cheese, Butter, and Random Length Lumber. Since December 2017 bitcoin futures are traded. Chicago Mercantile Exchange The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) (often called "the Chicago Merc", or "the Merc") is an American financial and commodity derivative exchange based in Chicago and located at 20 S. Wacker Drive. The CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg


title: "Curses, Hexes and Spells" content: 1990-2000. The book also appears on several other lists of "banned"/challenged books in the United States such as the "New York Times" 50 Most Frequently Banned Books in which it is number 11. Curses, Hexes and Spells Curses, Hexes and Spells is a 1974 book by Daniel Cohen. Marketed as children's book, it explains what exactly "curses" are, and describes supposed curses on families (such as the House of Atreus in Greek Mythology, the House of Habsburg or the Kennedy family), creatures, places (the Bermuda Triangle, the Devil's Sea), wanderers (like the Flying Dutchman) and ghosts. It also describes a


title: "Ipswich Town F.C." content: FA Premier League Manager of the Year Award for Burley. However, the team took only one win in their opening seventeen league games the following season leaving them bottom in December. Despite a good run of form in January and February, Burley couldn't save the club from relegation back to the Championship at the end of the season. The loss of income due to relegation also led to the club going into financial administration. There was the minor consolation of again qualifying for the UEFA Cup, this time via the UEFA Fair Play ranking, and Ipswich survived two ties before


title: "Hairy woodpecker" content: Hairy woodpecker The hairy woodpecker ("Leuconotopicus villosus") is a medium-sized woodpecker, averaging approximately in length with a wingspan. With an estimated population in 2003 of over nine million individuals, the hairy woodpecker is listed by the IUCN as a species of least concern in North America. Some taxonomic authorities, including the American Ornithological Society, continue to place this species in the genus "Picoides", while others place it in "Dryobates". The hairy woodpecker inhabits mature deciduous forests in the Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Turks and Caicos Islands, and


title: "Hairy woodpecker" content: the United States. Mating pairs will excavate a hole in a tree, where they will lay, on average, four white eggs. Adults are mainly black on the upper parts and wings, with a white or pale back and white spotting on the wings; the throat and belly vary from white to sooty brown, depending on subspecies. There is a white bar above and one below the eye. They have a black tail with white outer feathers. Adult males have a red patch or two side-by-side patches on the back of the head; juvenile males have red or rarely orange-red on


title: "Hairy woodpecker" content: the crown. The hairy woodpecker measures from in length, in wingspan and in weight. It is virtually identical in plumage to the smaller downy woodpecker. The downy has a shorter bill relative to the size of its head, which is, other than size and voice, the best way to distinguish them in the field. These two species are not closely related, however, and are likely to be separated in different genera. Another way to tell the two species apart is the lack of spots on its white tail feathers (present in the downy). Their outward similarity is a spectacular example


title: "Hairy woodpecker" content: of convergent evolution. As to the reason for this convergence, only tentative hypotheses have been advanced; in any case, because of the considerable size difference, ecological competition between the two species is slight. These birds are mostly permanent residents. Birds in the extreme north may migrate further south; birds in mountainous areas may move to lower elevations. These birds forage on trees, often turning over bark or excavating to uncover insects. They mainly eat insects, but also fruits, berries and nuts, as well as sometimes tree sap. They are a natural predator of the European corn borer, a moth that


title: "Hairy woodpecker" content: costs the US agriculture industry more than $1 billion annually in crop losses and population control. They are also known to peck at wooden window frames and wood-sided homes that may house prey. Hairy woodpecker The hairy woodpecker ("Leuconotopicus villosus") is a medium-sized woodpecker, averaging approximately in length with a wingspan. With an estimated population in 2003 of over nine million individuals, the hairy woodpecker is listed by the IUCN as a species of least concern in North America. Some taxonomic authorities, including the American Ornithological Society, continue to place this species in the genus "Picoides", while others place it


title: "Downy woodpecker" content: Downy woodpecker The downy woodpecker ("Dryobates pubescens") is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America. Adult downy woodpeckers are the smallest of North America's woodpeckers but there are many smaller species elsewhere, especially the piculets. The total length of the species ranges from and the wingspan from . Body mass ranges from . Standard measurements are as follows: the wing chord is , the tail is , the bill is and the tarsus is . The downy woodpecker is mainly black on the upperparts and wings, with a white back, throat and belly and white spotting on the


title: "Downy woodpecker" content: wings. There is a white bar above the eye and one below. They have a black tail with white outer feathers barred with black. Adult males have a red patch on the back of the head whereas juvenile birds display a red cap. The downy woodpecker is virtually identical in plumage pattern to the larger hairy woodpecker, but it can be distinguished from the hairy by the presence of black spots on its white tail feathers and the length of its bill. The downy woodpecker's bill is shorter than its head, whereas the hairy woodpecker's bill is approximately equal to


title: "Downy woodpecker" content: head length. The downy woodpecker gives a number of vocalizations, including a short "pik" call. One may identify the woodpecker by pik-call, counting half a second between piks(a total of four must be heard). The rattle-call is a short burst that sounds similar to a bouncing ball, while that of the Hairy Woodpecker is a shorter burst of the same amplitude. Like other woodpeckers, it also produces a drumming sound(sounds like four taps )with its beak as it pecks into trees. Compared to other North American species its drums are slow. Despite their close resemblance, downy and hairy woodpeckers are


title: "Downy woodpecker" content: not very closely related, and they are likely to be separated in different genera; the outward similarity is a spectacular example of convergent evolution. Why they evolved this way cannot be explained with confidence; it may be relevant that the species exploit rather different-sized foodstuffs and do not compete very much ecologically. Some taxonomic authorities, including the American Ornithological Society, continue to place this species in the genus "Picoides". Downy woodpeckers are native to forested areas, mainly deciduous, of North America. Their range consists of most of the United States and Canada, except for the deserts of the southwest and


title: "Downy woodpecker" content: the tundra of the north. Mostly permanent residents, northern birds may migrate further south; birds in mountainous areas may move to lower elevations. Downy woodpeckers nest in a tree cavity excavated by the nesting pair in a dead tree or limb. In the winter, they roost in tree cavities. Downy Woodpeckers forage on trees, picking the bark surface in summer and digging deeper in winter. They mainly eat insects, also seeds and berries. They are a natural predator of the European corn borer, a moth that costs the US agriculture industry more than $1 billion annually in crop losses and


title: "Downy woodpecker" content: population control. In winter, especially, downy woodpeckers can often be found in suburban backyards with mature trees. There, they may feed on suet and shelled peanuts provided by mesh birdfeeders. Downy woodpecker The downy woodpecker ("Dryobates pubescens") is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America. Adult downy woodpeckers are the smallest of North America's woodpeckers but there are many smaller species elsewhere, especially the piculets. The total length of the species ranges from and the wingspan from . Body mass ranges from . Standard measurements are as follows: the wing chord is , the tail is , the


title: Coalville content: at a string bag she holds, which contains lumps of coal, a bobbin, books, a baby doll and another item, representing the mining, elastic, web weaving, toy manufacturing (Palitoy) and other industries of the town's past. The sculpture was unveiled on 11 October 1963 by Colonel P H Lloyd, Chairman of Leicestershire County Council, and stood in the New Broadway Shopping Centre until it was moved to its present location on High Street in 1988. On Owen Street stands the former billiard hall (and dance hall) where Palitoy first started making soft-bodied dolls in 1937. Palitoy continued to make toys


title: Coalville content: home to the Desford Colliery Band. The Coalville Constitutional Club was built in 1897 and stands almost opposite the former Railway Hotel. The building has an impressive internal foyer, incorporating an imposing wooden staircase of massive proportion and a well-preserved encaustic tile floor. A stone tablet, located in the lobby, lists the founding dignitaries. The Coalville Labour Club stands off Bridge Road and contains a function room which is regularly hired out for wedding receptions and private parties. This was built in the 1950s, the original Labour Club was a corrugated iron structure further down Bridge Road on the same


title: "Mary Walsh (actress)" content: "grandmotherly" advice. Sometimes Marg appeared as "Marg, Princess Warrior", a parody of the title character of "" portrayed by Lucy Lawless. Walsh is also noted for her comical segment chronicling the Canadian Auto Workers Union's tense blockade of the Volvo Halifax Assembly plant in 1998. In 2007, she revived Marg Delahunty for the Royal Canadian Air Farce's 300th episode. On October 24, 2011, Walsh was once again in the spotlight as she reprised the role of Marg Delahunty conducting an ambush interview of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford at his home. Ford's reaction and alleged verbal abuse directed at 911 operator


title: "Friendly artificial intelligence" content: says that AIs driven to maximize their future freedom of action (or causal path entropy) might be considered friendly if their planning horizon is longer than a certain threshold, and unfriendly if their planning horizon is shorter than that threshold. Luke Muehlhauser, writing for the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, recommends that machine ethics researchers adopt what Bruce Schneier has called the "security mindset": Rather than thinking about how a system will work, imagine how it could fail. For instance, he suggests even an AI that only makes accurate predictions and communicates via a text interface might cause unintended harm. Yudkowsky


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: Yellow-bellied sapsucker The yellow-bellied sapsucker ("Sphyrapicus varius") is a medium-sized woodpecker that breeds in Canada and the north-northeastern United States. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is one of four species in the genus "Sphyrapicus". First described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766, it is monotypic across its sizable range, although it does sometimes hybridize with red-breasted and red-naped sapsuckers. The genus name "Sphyrapicus" is a combination of the Greek words "sphura", meaning "hammer" and "pikos", meaning "woodpecker". The specific "varius" is Latin for "diverse". In the genus "Sphyrapicus", Williamson's sapsucker is basal, meaning that it is the earliest offshoot from the common ancestor


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: of the genus. The less basal clade is composed of the yellow-bellied sapsucker basal to the red-breasted sapsucker and the red-naped sapsucker. The yellow-bellied sapsucker has a length of around , and an average weight of , although this can range anywhere from . The forehead is coloured bright red in the male (and very occasionally yellow), and a lighter shade of red in the female. Sometimes, this is the only place on the head a female will have red colouration, if it has any at all, as the female rarely has a black head with a few buff spots.


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: The crown is bordered black, and is usually red, and is sometimes mixed with black in the female. There is a white stripe, starting above the eye, that extends and widens to the nape, being broken up by a thin black line on the hindneck. There is a broad black stripe going through the ear-coverts and down to the side of the neck. Below this black stripe is a white stripe that goes from the nasal tufts to the side of the breast. The throat and chin can be used to differentiated between the sexes, as they are white in


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: the female, and red in the male. The mantle of this sapsucker is white, and there are irregular black bars that extend from it to the rump. The lower rump is white, and the uppertail-coverts are white with some black webbing. The wing coverts are black, and there is a white panel on the medians and central greater-wing coverts. The flight feathers are black with white tips. The innermost tertials are white and black. The underwing is barred greyish and white. The uppertail is black, with some white webbing and white tips sometimes being present on the outer feathers. The


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: underparts, excluding the pale breast and above, are tinged yellow, transitioning to a whiter colour in the lower region of them. The side of the breast down to the undertail coverts have black arrowhead-shaped markings. The chisel-tipped bill is relatively short and straight, with a slate to blackish colour. The legs are blue-grey to green-grey in colour, and the irides are a deep brown. The juvenile is a dark olive-brown colour overall, with a buff-striped head and a streaked crown. The throat is usually white, although in the male, there may be some red. The upperparts are generally a mottled


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: pale and blackish colour. The breast is scaly, and the central part of the belly is a very pale yellow colour. The tail is barred more than in the adult. The yellow-bellied sapsucker, usually the male, utilizes a long distance nasal "neaaah, "owee-owee", "wee-wee-wee-wee" or "kwee-urk" at the start of breeding to attract its mate to various places within its territory. When birds of a family group meet, they exchange low "week week", "wurp wurp", or similar low calls. A scratchy "quirk quirk" is given when pairs meet at the breeding territory. When it is alarmed, this bird will utter


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: a soft mew call, getting louder and hoarser as the threat increases. During a conflict, it produces a shrill "quarr". This sapsucker drums on materials that reverberate loudly, with drums starting as rapid bursts but becoming more drawn out as time goes on. The bursts usually last between one and a half and five seconds. These drums were previously thought to be used to indicate quality of a nesting or feeding site, but it is likely that they are used as a form of long-distance communication. Trees chosen to drum on are dead, and thus are not those used for


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: feeding or nesting. The red-naped sapsucker is distinguished by having a red nape (back of the head). The hairy woodpecker has no red on the crown (front of the head) or throat and has blacker back. The downy woodpecker has same markings as the hairy woodpecker but is significantly smaller. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is found across Canada, eastern Alaska and the northeastern United States. These birds winter in the eastern United States, West Indies and Central America. This species has occurred as a very rare vagrant to Ireland and Great Britain. When this sapsucker is breeding, it is generally found


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: in deciduous and mixed coniferous forests up to in height. During the non-breeding season, on the other hand, it usually inhabits forests, but the edge of the forest, open woodland, and semi-open habitats are sometimes utilized. It is also seen at larger trees in pastures, clearings, and suburban areas, in addition to the occasional appearance in palm groves. During this time, the yellow-bellied sapsucker ranges from sea level to elevations of , and even in some areas, although the bird normally stays between altitudes of . The yellow-bellied sapsucker usually forages by itself, although it sometimes joins small groups in


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: the winter, and occasionally mixes into flocks of insectivores in the winter. Arthropods, tree sap, fruits, and nuts compose the majority of the yellow-bellied sapsucker's diet. It also takes bast and cambium from trees. Berries are occasionally eaten, and in the Northern Hemisphere spring, buds are eaten. Arthropod prey is usually in the form of Lepidoptera, Odonata, or both the young and adults of beetles and ants. During the nesting season, insects comprise about half the diet of the adults. During the late Northern Hemisphere summer and throughout the same hemisphere's autumn, sap is the primary food of choice. Cambium


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: is taken throughout the year, although it is primarily eaten during the Northern Hemisphere winter and spring. Fruit is mainly eaten during October to February. The chicks are fed by both sexes. The primary food is insects which are occasionally coated in tree sap before eaten by the chick. The size of these insects varies by the age of the chicks, with younger chicks being fed smaller insects. The chicks beg for food through vocalizations that can be heard away or more, likely stimulating the adults to catch more food. These vocalizations are usually done by the hungriest chick, with


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: the other joining in only when the parent is at the nest. Because of this, the hungriest chick gets fed first. When the chick leaves the nest, it relies on both insects from its parents and sap from the holes they drill. In the breeding season, this sapsucker prefers to take sap from the trees "Betula papyrifera", "Acer rubrum", "Amelanchier", and "Populus grandidentata". Other trees of the genera "Populus", "Betula", and "Acer" are also used, in addition to deciduous trees of the genera "Salix", "Carya", "Alnus" and coniferous trees of the genera "Pinus", "Picea", and "Abies". In the Northern Hemisphere


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: winter and spring, it usually feeds on conifers, while in its autumn, feeding on rough-barked trees is most common. Before feeding consistently on a tree, this sapsucker lays down exploratory bands near a live branch. These bands are laid down in horizontal rows. When it finds a tree that is photosynthesizing, then it lays down more holes to feed, about above the primary bands. These form columns. Each hole is started as an oval elongated horizontally, drilled through the bark and phloem layers to the outside of the xylem. They are then drilled further, with the sapsucker enlarging it vertically,


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: making it yield more sap, but only for a few days. The top holes in each column thus provides phloem sap, and this sapsucker also utilizes the bast from the edges of the holes drilled. In the winter, when the holes are drilled on conifers, bast is likely the most important food. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers nest in a large cavity excavated in a live deciduous tree, often choosing one that is has rotten heartwood; a suitable tree may be reused. It especially prefers "Populus tremuloides" trees that have conks of "Fomes fomentarius" var. "populinus". Other trees in the genus "Populus" and


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: those in the genus "Betula" are popular choices. A study in northern Canada found that the yellow-bellied sapsucker nested in trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ranging anywhere from , with an average DBH of about for nestling trees, compared to the average DBH in the area of about . A study in the northeastern United States, however, concluded that this sapsucker has a search image for trees with the ideal attributes; one of these attributes was having a DBH of . The study also concluded that a deviance from this search image can be caused by the


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: rarity of the trees that fulfill such criteria. This bird is monogamous, and nests in pairs, with both sexes working to make the nest. Excavation of the cavity is done mostly by the male, with excavation usually being done continuously for 15 to 30 minutes at a time. Excavation takes about 15 to 28 days, although further hollowing out is done by both sexes after the chicks hatch. The cavity itself is anywhere from above ground, although it is usually found between heights of . This sapsucker is also territorial, with territories having a radius ranging from about away from


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: the nest. Territories in less wooded areas are often larger than those in areas heavily wooded. The male usually arrives on the nesting grounds about one week before the female. The sapsucker arrives early in the Northern Hemisphere spring, often before heavy snowfall has stopped. The actual breeding season is from April to July. During nest excavation, a bird may perform a courtship flight. This flight consists of the sapsucker rapidly flapping its wings below its partner. It seems to build the pair bond and help increase attachment to the nest. Members of a pair also perform a dance where


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: they bob their heads and repeatedly opening their wings halfway. They also have the courtship ritual of touching their bills together. Courtship additionally consists of giving "quirk" notes and, from a distance, "kwee-urk" calls. Copulation can consist of the female perching perpendicularly on a branch, the male mounting her back, gradually falling backwards and to the left, until he is upside down and at a right angle to the female. This bird lays a clutch of four to seven eggs, with clutches being larger for birds in the northern part of the range. The eggs themselves are white and spotless,


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: measuring around . During egg laying, the female is dominate, sometimes driving the male away from the nest. Both sexes incubate the eggs during the 10 to 13 day incubation period, with the male usually doing so over the night. Sapsuckers are restless but quiet during this time, and the eggs are left uncovered about 16% of the time during the incubation period. Weather usually does not affect incubation, although on particularly hot days, the parents incubate the eggs for less time. When the chicks hatch, they are brooded for 8 to 10 days by both sexes. Nests with less


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: young are brooded more, presumably because smaller broods lose heat faster. After 25 to 29 days, the young leave the nest for this first time, and become independent after about two weeks. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is parasitized by "Haemoproteus velans", a Sporozoan parasite that is transmitted to this bird through species of the genus "Culicoides". It is also host to "Philopterus californiens", a louse. Adults and nestlings can be killed by raccoons, especially if the nest is either too low or not deep enough. Sapsuckers are also especially susceptible to raccoon attacks when nesting in trees other than "P. tremuloides"


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: infected by "F. fomentarius". This is theorized to contribute to the evolution of a search image for ideal nesting trees. Other nest predators include snakes. Because the feeding habits of the yellow-bellied sapsucker can injure trees and attract insects, it is sometimes considered a pest. The birds can cause serious damage to trees, and intensive feeding has been documented as a source of tree mortality. Sapsucker feeding can kill a tree by girdling, which occurs when a ring of bark around the trunk is severely injured. Ring shake—spaces between rings of growth in trees—can be a result of sapsucker injury.


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: Certain tree species are particularly susceptible to dying after being damaged by yellow-bellied sapsuckers. For example, a USDA forest study that examined trees injured by yellow-bellied sapsuckers noted a mortality of 67% for "Betula populifolia", 51% for "B. papyrifera", and 40% for "Acer rubrum". In other tree species, injuries inflicted by yellow-bellied sapsuckers can result in significantly less mortality. The USDA study noted that only 3% of "Picea rubens" and 1% of "Tsuga canadensis" that were injured by sapsuckers succumbed to their wounds. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is considered to be least concern by the IUCN, even though it has a


title: "Yellow-bellied sapsucker" content: decreasing population. This is because of its large range of about . In addition, it has a large population, being common in its range, although it is not easily seen when not breeding. It has low genetic diversity; about half of that of most birds. In the United States, yellow-bellied sapsuckers are listed and protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, making taking, killing, or possessing it illegal without a permit. Yellow-bellied sapsucker The yellow-bellied sapsucker ("Sphyrapicus varius") is a medium-sized woodpecker that breeds in Canada and the north-northeastern United States. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is one of four species in


title: "Red-headed woodpecker" content: Red-headed woodpecker The red-headed woodpecker ("Melanerpes erythrocephalus") is a small or medium-sized woodpecker from temperate North America. Their breeding habitat is open country across southern Canada and the eastern-central United States. It is rated as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Endangered species, having been downlisted from near threatened in 2018. The red-bellied woodpecker also has its most prominent red part of its plumage on the head, but it looks quite different in other respects. The red-headed woodpecker was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work


title: "Red-headed woodpecker" content: "Systema Naturae". The specific epithet is derived from the Ancient Greek words ἐρυθρός, "erythros" 'red' and κεφαλή, "kephalē" 'head'. There are three subspecies recognized: Adults are strikingly tri-colored, with a black back and tail and a red head and neck. Their underparts are mainly white. The wings are black with white secondary remiges. Adult males and females are identical in plumage. Juveniles have very similar markings, but have an all grey head. While red-bellied woodpeckers have some bright red on the backs of their necks and heads, red-headed woodpeckers have a much deeper red that covers their entire heads and


title: "Red-headed woodpecker" content: necks, as well as a dramatically different overall plumage pattern. These are mid-sized woodpeckers. Both sexes measure from in length, with a wingspan of . They weigh from with an average of . Each wing measures , the tail measures , the bill measures and the tarsus measures . The maximum longevity in the wild is 9.9 years. They give a "tchur-tchur" call or drum on their territory. These birds fly to catch insects in the air or on the ground, forage on trees or gather and store nuts. They are omnivorous, eating insects, seeds, fruits, berries, nuts, and occasionally


title: "Red-headed woodpecker" content: small rodents and even the eggs of other birds. About two thirds of their diet is made up of plants. They nest in a cavity in a dead tree, utility pole, or a dead part of a tree that is between above the ground. They lay 4 to 7 eggs in early May which are incubated for two weeks. Two broods can be raised in a single nesting season. Northern birds migrate to the southern parts of the range, with most having arrived on the breeding range by late April, and having left for winter quarters by late October; southern


title: "Red-headed woodpecker" content: birds are often permanent residents. The red-headed woodpecker is rated as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Endangered species. It was formerly rated as near threatened, having been reclassified from Least Concern in 2004 after it appeared to have suffered a 65.5% decline in population over 40 years. However, increased habitat management has caused its numbers to stabilize, thus leading to its downlisting. It was once common bird species found in southern Canada and the east-central United States. Consistent long-term population declines have resulted in red-headed woodpecker's threatened status in Canada and


title: "Red-headed woodpecker" content: several states in the US. This has led to an immediate need for conservation, which, so far, has been the focus of limited studies. Throughout most of its range it inhabits areas that have been heavily altered by humans. Factors suggested for red-headed woodpecker declines include: loss of overall habitat and, within habitats, standing dead wood required for nest sites, limitations of food supply, and possible nest-site competition with other cavity nesters such as European starlings or red-bellied woodpeckers. Unfortunately few of these factors have been substantiated. Of the 600 Canadian Important Bird Areas only seven report the red-headed woodpecker


title: "Red-headed woodpecker" content: in their area: Cabot Head, Ontario on the Georgian Bay side of the tip of Bruce Peninsula; Carden Plain, Ontario east of Lake Simcoe; Long Point Peninsula and Marshes, Ontario along Lake Erie near London, Ontario; Point Abino, Ontario on Lake Erie near Niagara Falls; Port Franks Forested Dunes, Ontario northeast of Sarnia on Lake Huron; Kinosota/Leifur, Manitoba at the northwest side of Lake Manitoba south of The Narrows and east of Riding Mountain National Park; and along South Saskatchewan River from Empress, Alberta to Lancer Ferry in Saskatchewan. In 1996, the United States Postal Service issued a 2-cent postage


title: "Red-headed woodpecker" content: stamp depicting a perched red-headed woodpecker. The stamp was discontinued at some time thereafter, but re-issued in 1999 and remained available for purchase until 2006. Red-headed woodpecker The red-headed woodpecker ("Melanerpes erythrocephalus") is a small or medium-sized woodpecker from temperate North America. Their breeding habitat is open country across southern Canada and the eastern-central United States. It is rated as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Endangered species, having been downlisted from near threatened in 2018. The red-bellied woodpecker also has its most prominent red part of its plumage on the head,


title: "Stu Hart" content: focusing on an submission-like and technical style of wrestling, despite this and being popular in general he was not given a major spotlight by the writers and after marrying Helen Smith, whom he met in New York City, he moved back Canada and created his own promotion which would be known as Stampede Wrestling and took over the surrounding wrestling territory which covered most of western Canada. The territory would go on to become known as the Stampede territory thenceforth. Hart's promotion featured a large variety of outside stars from the wrestling industry as well as homegrown talent for whom


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: Helicoverpa zea "Helicoverpa zea, "commonly known as the corn earworm, is a species (formerly in the genus "Heliothis") in the family Noctuidae. The larva of the moth "Helicoverpa zea" is a major agricultural pest. Since it is polyphagous (feeds on many different plants) during the larval stage, the species has been given many different common names, including the cotton bollworm and the tomato fruitworm. It also consumes a wide variety of other crops. The species is widely distributed across the Americas with the exception of northern Canada and Alaska. It has become resistant to many pesticides, but can be controlled


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: with integrated pest management techniques including deep ploughing, trap crops, chemical control using mineral oil, and biological controls. The species migrates seasonally, at night, and can be carried downwind up to 400 km. Pupae can make use of diapause to wait out adverse environmental conditions, especially at high latitudes and in drought. The corn earworm is found in temperate and tropical regions of North America, with the exception of northern Canada and Alaska as it cannot overwinter in these areas. "Helicoverpa zea" found in the eastern United States also does not overwinter successfully. They live in Kansas, Ohio, Virginia, and


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: southern New Jersey, but survival rate is mainly affected by the severity of the winter. Corn earworm moths regularly migrate from southern regions to northern regions depending on winter conditions. They are also found in Hawaii, the Caribbean islands, and most of South America, including Peru, Argentina, and Brazil. Cotton earworms have also been reported from China in 2002. Eggs are individually deposited on leaf hairs and corn silks (not in reference given). The eggs are initially pale green in color, but over time they turn yellowish and then grey. Eggs are 0.5 mm in height and average about 0.55


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: mm in diameter. They hatch after 66 to 72 hours of development. Once larvae have breached the chorion, they spend up to 85% of their time emerging from their shell. In this eclosion process, the larvae work to make the exit hole larger than their heads. Larvae spend the rest of the time making a silk meshwork around the exit hole; this both helps them escape the shell and helps them find the shell afterwards so they can feed on it. After feeding on their shell, larvae rest about 3 minutes before they begin feeding on the plant material around


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: them. Following hatching, larvae feed on the reproductive structures of the plant and usually develop through four to six instars. Initially, the young larva feed together, and this stage is their most destructive stage. Through maturation, older larvae become aggressive and cannibalistic, leaving one or two larvae per feeding site (See Interfamilial Predation). They usually have orange heads, black thorax plates, and a body color that is primarily black. Their bodies can also be brown, pink, green, and yellow with many thorny microspines. Mature larvae migrate to the soil, where they pupate for 12 to 16 days. Larvae pupate 5


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: to 10 cm below the soil surface. Pupae are brown in color; they measure 5.5 mm wide and 17 to 22 mm long. The biggest environmental factor that affects the pupal developmental rate is temperature, primarily soil temperature. This is because proper insulation facilitates development, and soil temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius correlate to higher pupal mortality. Another factor that influences pupal development is soil moisture. Pupal mortality is high in wet soil, where the moisture level is between 18 and 25 percent. Dehydration can also lead to high death rates among pupae, if soil moisture is as low as


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: 1 to 2 percent. Adults have forewings that are yellowish brown in color and have a dark spot located in the center of their body. The moths have a wingspan ranging from 32 to 45mm, and live over thirty days in optimal conditions. However, the life span ranges from five to fifteen days on average. They are nocturnal and hide in vegetation during the day. Adult moths collect nectar or other plant exudates from a large number of plants, and live for 12 to 16 days. Females can lay up to 2,500 eggs in their lifetime. The corn earworm is


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: a major agricultural pest, with a large host range encompassing corn and many other crop plants. "H. zea" is the second-most important economic pest species in North America, next to the codling moth. The estimated annual cost of the damage is more than US$100 million, though expenditure on insecticide application has reached up to $250 million. The moth's high fecundity, ability to lay between 500 and 3,000 eggs, polyphagous larval feeding habits, high mobility during migration, and a facultative pupal diapause have led to the success of this pest. Two kinds of control measures have been advocated since the 19th


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: century. One aims at total pest population reduction, while the other is aimed at protection of the particular crop. , integrated pest management (IPM), an array of techniques and approaches to control pests, was recommended. Practices such as deep ploughing, mechanical destruction, and trap crops are also used to kill different instars. Chemical control is widely successful, and includes the use of applying mineral oil inside the tip of each corn ear, which suffocates the young larvae. Pesticides are one method by which corn earworm populations are controlled; however, since they have been widely used, the insects have become resistant


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: to many pesticides. The use of biological controls, such as the bacterium "Bacillus thuringiensis" and various forms of nematodes, is also common, although not without their own problems. Corn earworm moths are not always vulnerable to the bacterium, and they are only afflicted by nematodes once the larvae have pupated and dropped to the ground. Strains of maize have been genetically modified to produce the same toxin as the bacterium, and are referred to as "Bt-corn". More than 100 insect species prey on "H. zea", usually feeding on eggs and larvae. The insidious flower bug ("Orius insidiosus"), a pirate bug,


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: feeds on the eggs of "H. zea", thus acting as a biological control agent. Some plants emit a blend of chemicals in response to damage from "H. zea", which attract parasitic insects. "Cardiochiles nigriceps, "a solitary endoparasitoid wasp, makes use of these volatile plant compounds to identify the presence of "H. zea". When the wasps find damaged host plants, they hover around and then search for the host with their antennae. When the females find their prey, they use their antennae to position themselves and deposit eggs into the host. The braconid wasp "Microplitis croceipes", which deposits its eggs inside


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: a living caterpillar, is also an important parasitoid of both "H. zea" and the related species "Heliothis virescens". When larval densities are high, a fungal pathogen, "Nomuraea rileyi", can cause an outbreak of disease. However, pupal mortality is high not because of predators, but because of harsh weather conditions, collapsing pupal chambers, and disease. As the larvae mature, they become increasingly aggressive. Although they have host plants surrounding them, "H. zea" larvae attack and eat other insects. When presented with a second-instar larva of "Urbanus proteus", the corn earworm larva grasps the insect, rolls onto its side to form a


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: semicircle, and begins feeding on the insect's posterior end. If the "U. proteus" begins to bite out of defense, "H. zea" rotates the larva 180° and uses its mandibles to puncture the head capsule, killing the insect. Then, the "H. zea" larva rotates the "U. proteus" back to its original position and continues feeding until the insect is entirely consumed. Even when presented with up to five "U. proteus" larvae, "H. zea" engages in the unique behavior, as the larvae have a higher affinity for lepidopterous prey over plant material. "H. zea" raised in a low-moisture environment has a lower


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: pupal weight and a longer developmental time than those raised in environments of high moisture, so a nutritional benefit exists to such aggressive feeding behavior under such conditions. "Helicoverpa zea" is a seasonal, nocturnal migrant, and adults disperse, weather permitting, when there are poor reproductive conditions. In short-range dispersal, the moths move within the crop and low over the foliage. This type of dispersal is mostly independent of wind currents. Long-range dispersal involves adults flying up to 10 meters above the ground and moving downwind from crop to crop. Migratory flights occur up to 1–2 km above the ground and


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: can last for hours. Migration of 400 km is common for such flights as moths are carried downwind. "Helicoverpa zea" caterpillars are usually intercepted on produce transported by air-freight transportation. Most activity is restricted to the night-time. Some moths display vertical take-off flight, which carries them above the flight boundary layer and allows them to undertake migratory movement in upper wind systems. During mating, males engage in high-speed directed flight in search of pheromone plumes (See Pheromone Production). Pupae have the ability to enter facultative diapause, the state of arrested development and growth in response to a change in the


title: "Helicoverpa zea" content: environment. By preparing themselves for a major change in environmental conditions, they can increase reproductive success. Diapause increases with increasing latitude. In tropical conditions, populations breed continuously, and only 2-4% of pupae diapause. In subtropical and temperate regions, most individuals diapause. Individuals who don't enter diapause in these areas emerge in late fall and die without reproducing. Drought-responsive diapause has also been observed in the summer. "Helicoverpa zea" has a wide host range, attacking vegetables that include corn, tomato, artichoke, asparagus, cabbage, cantaloupe, collards, cowpea, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, lima bean, melon, okra, pea, pepper, potato, pumpkin, snap bean, spinach, squash,