title: "Hooded crow" content: nest resembles that of the carrion crow, but on the coast, seaweed is often interwoven in the structure, and animal bones and wire are also frequently incorporated. The four to six brown-speckled blue eggs are in size and weigh , of which 6% is shell. The altricial young are incubated for 17–19 days by the female alone, that is fed by the male. They fledge after 32 to 36 days. Incubating females have been reported to obtain most of their own food and later that for their young. The typical lifespan is unknown, but that of the carrion crow is


title: "Hooded crow" content: four years. The maximum recorded age for a hooded crow is 16 years, and 9 months. This species is a secondary host of the parasitic great spotted cuckoo, the European magpie being the preferred host. However, in areas where the latter species is absent, such as Israel and Egypt, the hooded crow becomes the normal corvid host. This species, like its relative, is seen regularly killed by farmers and on grouse estates. In County Cork, Ireland, the county's gun clubs shot over 23,000 hooded crows in two years in the early 1980s. The IUCN Red List does not distinguish the


title: "Hooded crow" content: hooded crow from the carrion crow, but the two species together have an extensive range, estimated at 10 million km (3.8 million mi), and a large population, including an estimated 14 to 34 million individuals in Europe alone. They are not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations), so are evaluated as Least Concern. The carrion crow/hooded crow hybrid zone is slowly spreading northwest, but the hooded crow has on the order of three million territories in just Europe (excluding Russia).


title: "Hooded crow" content: In Celtic folklore, the bird appears on the shoulder of the dying Cú Chulainn, and could also be a manifestation of the Morrígan, the wife of Tethra, or the Cailleach. This idea has persisted, and the hooded crow is associated with fairies in the Scottish highlands and Ireland; in the 18th century, Scottish shepherds would make offerings to them to keep them from attacking sheep. In Faroese folklore, a maiden would go out on Candlemas morn and throw a stone, then a bone, then a clump of turf at a hooded crow – if it flew over the sea, her


title: "Hooded crow" content: husband would be a foreigner; if it landed on a farm or house, she would marry a man from there, but if it stayed put, she would remain unmarried. The old name of Royston crow originates from the days when this bird was a common winter visitor to southern England, the sheep fields around Royston, Hertfordshire, providing carcasses on which the birds could feed. The local newspaper, founded in 1855, is called "The Royston Crow", and the hooded crow is also featured on the crest of the North Hertfordshire District Council. The hooded crow is one of the 37 Norwegian


title: "Hooded crow" content: birds depicted in the Bird Room of the Royal Palace in Oslo. Jethro Tull mentions the hooded crow on the song "Jack Frost and the hooded crow" as a bonus track on the digitally remastered version of "Broadsword and the Beast" and on their "The Christmas Album". Hooded crow The hooded crow ("Corvus cornix") (also called hoodie) is a Eurasian bird species in the "Corvus" genus. Widely distributed, it is also known locally as Scotch crow and Danish crow. In Ireland, it is called "caróg liath" or grey crow, just as in the Slavic languages and in Danish. In German,


title: "House sparrow" content: House sparrow The house sparrow ("Passer domesticus") is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. A small bird, it has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, and males have brighter black, white, and brown markings. One of about 25 species in the genus "Passer", the house sparrow is native to most of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, and much of Asia. Its intentional or accidental introductions to many regions, including parts of Australasia, Africa, and the Americas, make it the most


title: "House sparrow" content: widely distributed wild bird. The house sparrow is strongly associated with human habitation, and can live in urban or rural settings. Though found in widely varied habitats and climates, it typically avoids extensive woodlands, grasslands, and deserts away from human development. It feeds mostly on the seeds of grains and weeds, but it is an opportunistic eater and commonly eats insects and many other foods. Its predators include domestic cats, hawks, owls, and many other predatory birds and mammals. Because of its numbers, ubiquity, and association with human settlements, the house sparrow is culturally prominent. It is extensively, and usually


title: "House sparrow" content: unsuccessfully, persecuted as an agricultural pest. It has also often been kept as a pet, as well as being a food item and a symbol of lust, sexual potency, commonness, and vulgarity. Though it is widespread and abundant, its numbers have declined in some areas. The animal's conservation status is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. The house sparrow is typically about long, ranging from . It is a compact bird with a full chest and a large, rounded head. Its bill is stout and conical with a culmen length of , strongly built as an adaptation


title: "House sparrow" content: for eating seeds. Its tail is short, at long. The wing chord is , and the tarsus is . In mass, the house sparrow ranges from . Females usually are slightly smaller than males. The median mass on the European continent for both sexes is about , and in more southerly subspecies is around . Younger birds are smaller, males are larger during the winter, and females are larger during the breeding season. Birds at higher latitudes, colder climates, and sometimes higher altitudes are larger (under Bergmann's rule), both between and within subspecies. The plumage of the house sparrow is


title: "House sparrow" content: mostly different shades of grey and brown. The sexes exhibit strong dimorphism: the female is mostly buffish above and below, while the male has boldly coloured head markings, a reddish back, and grey underparts. The male has a dark grey crown from the top of its bill to its back, and chestnut brown flanking its crown on the sides of its head. It has black around its bill, on its throat, and on the spaces between its bill and eyes (lores). It has a small white stripe between the lores and crown and small white spots immediately behind the eyes


title: "House sparrow" content: (postoculars), with black patches below and above them. The underparts are pale grey or white, as are the cheeks, ear coverts, and stripes at the base of the head. The upper back and mantle are a warm brown, with broad black streaks, while the lower back, rump and upper tail coverts are greyish brown. The male is duller in fresh nonbreeding plumage, with whitish tips on many feathers. Wear and preening expose many of the bright brown and black markings, including most of the black throat and chest patch, called the "bib" or "badge". The badge is variable in width


title: "House sparrow" content: and general size, and may signal social status or fitness. This hypothesis has led to a "veritable 'cottage industry'" of studies, which have only conclusively shown that patches increase in size with age. The male's bill is black in the breeding season and horn (dark grey) during the rest of the year. The female has no black markings or grey crown. Its upperparts and head are brown with darker streaks around the mantle and a distinct pale supercilium. Its underparts are pale grey-brown. The female's bill is brownish-grey and becomes darker in breeding plumage approaching the black of the male's


title: "House sparrow" content: bill. Juveniles are similar to the adult female, but deeper brown below and paler above, with paler and less defined supercilia. Juveniles have broader buff feather edges, and tend to have looser, scruffier plumage, like moulting adults. Juvenile males tend to have darker throats and white postoculars like adult males, while juvenile females tend to have white throats. However, juveniles cannot be reliably sexed by plumage: some juvenile males lack any markings of the adult male, and some juvenile females have male features. The bills of young birds are light yellow to straw, paler than the female's bill. Immature males


title: "House sparrow" content: have paler versions of the adult male's markings, which can be very indistinct in fresh plumage. By their first breeding season, young birds generally are indistinguishable from other adults, though they may still be paler during their first year. Most house sparrow vocalisations are variations on its short and incessant chirping call. Transcribed as "chirrup", "tschilp", or "philip", this note is made as a contact call by flocking or resting birds, or by males to proclaim nest ownership and invite pairing. In the breeding season, the male gives this call repetitively, with emphasis and speed, but not much rhythm, forming


title: "House sparrow" content: what is described either as a song or an "ecstatic call" similar to a song. Young birds also give a true song, especially in captivity, a warbling similar to that of the European greenfinch. Aggressive males give a trilled version of their call, transcribed as "chur-"chur-r-r-it-it-it-it"". This call is also used by females in the breeding season, to establish dominance over males while displacing them to feed young or incubate eggs. House sparrows give a nasal alarm call, the basic sound of which is transcribed as "quer", and a shrill "chree" call in great distress. Another vocalisation is the "appeasement


title: "House sparrow" content: call", a soft "quee" given to inhibit aggression, usually given between birds of a mated pair. These vocalisations are not unique to the house sparrow, but are shared, with small variations, by all sparrows. Some variation is seen in the 12 subspecies of house sparrows, which are divided into two groups, the Oriental "P. d. indicus" group, and the Palaearctic "P. d. domesticus" group. Birds of the "P. d. domesticus" group have grey cheeks, while "P. d. indicus" group birds have white cheeks, as well as bright colouration on the crown, a smaller bill, and a longer black bib. The


title: "House sparrow" content: subspecies "P. d. tingitanus" differs little from the nominate subspecies, except in the worn breeding plumage of the male, in which the head is speckled with black and underparts are paler. "P. d. balearoibericus" is slightly paler than the nominate, but darker than "P. d. bibilicus". "P. d. bibilicus" is paler than most subspecies, but has the grey cheeks of "P. d. domesticus" group birds. The similar "P. d. persicus" is paler and smaller, and "P. d. niloticus" is nearly identical but smaller. Of the less widespread "P. d. indicus" group subspecies, "P. d. hyrcanus" is larger than "P. d.


title: "House sparrow" content: indicus", "P. d. hufufae" is paler, "P. d. bactrianus" is larger and paler, and "P. d. parkini" is larger and darker with more black on the breast than any other subspecies. The house sparrow can be confused with a number of other seed-eating birds, especially its relatives in the genus "Passer". Many of these relatives are smaller, with an appearance that is neater or "cuter", as with the Dead Sea sparrow. The dull-coloured female can often not be distinguished from other females, and is nearly identical to those of the Spanish and Italian sparrows. The Eurasian tree sparrow is smaller


title: "House sparrow" content: and more slender with a chestnut crown and a black patch on each cheek. The male Spanish sparrow and Italian sparrow are distinguished by their chestnut crowns. The Sind sparrow is very similar but smaller, with less black on the male's throat and a distinct pale supercilium on the female. The house sparrow was among the first animals to be given a scientific name in the modern system of biological classification, since it was described by Carl Linnaeus, in the 1758 10th edition of "Systema Naturae". It was described from a type specimen collected in Sweden, with the name "Fringilla


title: "House sparrow" content: domestica". Later, the genus name "Fringilla" came to be used only for the common chaffinch and its relatives, and the house sparrow has usually been placed in the genus "Passer" created by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The bird's scientific name and its usual English name have the same meaning. The Latin word "passer", like the English word "sparrow", is a term for small active birds, coming from a root word referring to speed. The Latin word "domesticus" means "belonging to the house", like the common name a reference to its association with humans. The house sparrow is


title: "House sparrow" content: also called by a number of alternative English names, including "English sparrow", chiefly in North America; and "Indian sparrow" or "Indian house sparrow", for the birds of the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. Dialectal names include "sparr", "sparrer", "spadger", "spadgick", and "philip", mainly in southern England; "spug" and "spuggy", mainly in northern England; "spur" and "sprig", mainly in Scotland; and "spatzie" or "spotsie", from the German "Spatz", in North America. The genus "Passer" contains about 25 species, depending on the authority, 26 according to the "Handbook of the Birds of the World". Most "Passer" species are dull-coloured birds with short,


title: "House sparrow" content: square tails and stubby, conical beaks, between long. Mitochondrial DNA studies suggest that speciation in the genus occurred during the Pleistocene and earlier, while other evidence suggests speciation occurred 25,000 to 15,000 years ago. Within "Passer", the house sparrow is part of the "Palaearctic black-bibbed sparrows" group and a close relative of the Mediterranean "willow sparrows". The taxonomy of the house sparrow and its Mediterranean relatives is highly complicated. The common type of "willow sparrow" is the Spanish sparrow, which resembles the house sparrow in many respects. It frequently prefers wetter habitats than the house sparrow, and it is often


title: "House sparrow" content: colonial and nomadic. In most of the Mediterranean, one or both species occur, with some degree of hybridisation. In North Africa, the two species hybridise extensively, forming highly variable mixed populations with a full range of characters from pure house sparrows to pure Spanish sparrows. In much of Italy, a form apparently intermediate between the house and Spanish sparrows, is known as the Italian sparrow. It resembles a hybrid between the two species, and is in other respects intermediate. Its specific status and origin are the subject of much debate. In the Alps, the Italian sparrow intergrades over a roughly


title: "House sparrow" content: strip with the house sparrow, but to the south it intergrades over the southern half of Italy and some Mediterranean islands with the Spanish sparrow. On the Mediterranean islands of Malta, Gozo, Crete, Rhodes, and Karpathos, the other apparently intermediate birds are of unknown status. A large number of subspecies have been named, of which 12 were recognised in the "Handbook of the Birds of the World". These subspecies are divided into two groups, the Palaearctic "P. d. domesticus" group, and the Oriental "P. d. indicus" group. Several Middle Eastern subspecies, including "P. d. biblicus", are sometimes considered a third,


title: "House sparrow" content: intermediate group. The subspecies "P. d. indicus" was described as a species, and was considered to be distinct by many ornithologists during the 19th century. Migratory birds of the subspecies "P. d. bactrianus" in the "P. d. indicus" group were recorded overlapping with "P. d. domesticus" birds without hybridising in the 1970s, so the Soviet scientists Edward I. Gavrilov and M. N. Korelov proposed the separation of the "P. d. indicus" group as a separate species. However, "P. d. indicus"-group and "P. d. domesticus"-group birds intergrade in a large part of Iran, so this split is rarely recognised. In North


title: "House sparrow" content: America, house sparrow populations are more differentiated than those in Europe. This variation follows predictable patterns, with birds at higher latitudes being larger and those in arid areas being paler. However, how much this is caused by evolution or by environment is not clear. Similar observations have been made in New Zealand, and in South Africa. The introduced house sparrow populations may be distinct enough to merit subspecies status, especially in North America and southern Africa, and American ornithologist Harry Church Oberholser even gave the subspecies name "P. d. plecticus" to the paler birds of western North America. The house


title: "House sparrow" content: sparrow originated in the Middle East and spread, along with agriculture, to most of Eurasia and parts of North Africa. Since the mid-19th century, it has reached most of the world, chiefly due to deliberate introductions, but also through natural and shipborne dispersal. Its introduced range encompasses most of North America, Central America, southern South America, southern Africa, part of West Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and islands throughout the world. It has greatly extended its range in northern Eurasia since the 1850s, and continues to do so, as was shown by the colonisations around 1990 of Iceland and Rishiri Island,


title: "House sparrow" content: Japan. The extent of its range makes it the most widely distributed wild bird on the planet. The house sparrow has become highly successful in most parts of the world where it has been introduced. This is mostly due to its early adaptation to living with humans, and its adaptability to a wide range of conditions. Other factors may include its robust immune response, compared to the Eurasian tree sparrow. Where introduced, it can extend its range quickly, sometimes at a rate over per year. In many parts of the world, it has been characterised as a pest, and poses


title: "House sparrow" content: a threat to native birds. A few introductions have died out or been of limited success, such as those to Greenland and Cape Verde. The first of many successful introductions to North America occurred when birds from England were released in New York City, in 1852 to control the ravages of the linden moth. In North America, the house sparrow now occurs from the Northwest Territories of Canada to southern Panama, and it is one of the most abundant birds of the continent. The house sparrow was first introduced to Australia in 1863 at Melbourne and is common throughout the


title: "House sparrow" content: eastern part of the continent as far north as Cape York, but has been prevented from establishing itself in Western Australia, where every house sparrow found in the state is killed. House sparrows were introduced in New Zealand in 1859, and from there reached many of the Pacific islands, including Hawaii. In southern Africa, birds of both the European subspecies "P. d. domesticus" and the Indian subspecies "P. d. indicus" were introduced around 1900. Birds of "P. d. domesticus" ancestry are confined to a few towns, while "P. d. indicus" birds have spread rapidly, reaching Tanzania in the 1980s. Despite


title: "House sparrow" content: this rapid spread, native relatives such as the Cape sparrow also occur and thrive in urban habitats. In South America, it was first introduced near Buenos Aires around 1870, and quickly became common in most of the southern part of the continent. It now occurs almost continuously from Tierra del Fuego to the fringes of the Amazon basin, with isolated populations as far north as coastal Venezuela. The house sparrow is closely associated with human habitation and cultivation. It is not an obligate commensal of humans as some have suggested: birds of the migratory Central Asian subspecies usually breed away


title: "House sparrow" content: from humans in open country, and birds elsewhere are occasionally found away from humans. The only terrestrial habitats that the house sparrow does not inhabit are dense forest and tundra. Well adapted to living around humans, it frequently lives and even breeds indoors, especially in factories, warehouses, and zoos. It has been recorded breeding in an English coal mine below ground, and feeding on the Empire State Building's observation deck at night. It reaches its greatest densities in urban centres, but its reproductive success is greater in suburbs, where insects are more abundant. On a larger scale, it is most


title: "House sparrow" content: abundant in wheat-growing areas such as the Midwestern United States. It tolerates a variety of climates, but prefers drier conditions, especially in moist tropical climates. It has several adaptations to dry areas, including a high salt tolerance and an ability to survive without water by ingesting berries. In most of eastern Asia, the house sparrow is entirely absent, replaced by the Eurasian tree sparrow. Where these two species overlap, the house sparrow is usually more common than the Eurasian tree sparrow, but one species may replace the other in a manner that ornithologist Maud Doria Haviland described as "random, or


title: "House sparrow" content: even capricious". In most of its range, the house sparrow is extremely common, despite some declines, but in marginal habitats such as rainforest or mountain ranges, its distribution can be spotty. The house sparrow is a very social bird. It is gregarious during all seasons when feeding, often forming flocks with other species of birds. It roosts communally, its nests are usually grouped together in clumps, and it engages in social activities such as dust or water bathing and "social singing", in which birds call together in bushes. The house sparrow feeds mostly on the ground, but it flocks in


title: "House sparrow" content: trees and bushes. At feeding stations and nests, female house sparrows are dominant despite their smaller size, and they can fight over males in the breeding season. House sparrows sleep with the bill tucked underneath the scapular feathers. Outside of the reproductive season, they often roost communally in trees or shrubs. Much communal chirping occurs before and after the birds settle in the roost in the evening, as well as before the birds leave the roost in the morning. Some congregating sites separate from the roost may be visited by the birds prior to settling in for the night. Dust


title: "House sparrow" content: or water bathing is common and often occurs in groups. Anting is rare. Head scratching is done with the leg over the drooped wing. As an adult, the house sparrow mostly feeds on the seeds of grains and weeds, but it is opportunistic and adaptable, and eats whatever foods are available. In towns and cities, it often scavenges for food in garbage containers and congregates in the outdoors of restaurants and other eating establishments to feed on leftover food and crumbs. It can perform complex tasks to obtain food, such as opening automatic doors to enter supermarkets, clinging to hotel


title: "House sparrow" content: walls to watch vacationers on their balconies, and nectar robbing kowhai flowers. In common with many other birds, the house sparrow requires grit to digest the harder items in its diet. Grit can be either stone, often grains of masonry, or the shells of eggs or snails; oblong and rough grains are preferred. Several studies of the house sparrow in temperate agricultural areas have found the proportion of seeds in its diet to be about 90%. It will eat almost any seeds, but where it has a choice, it prefers oats and wheat. In urban areas, the house sparrow feeds


title: "House sparrow" content: largely on food provided directly or indirectly by humans, such as bread, though it prefers raw seeds. The house sparrow also eats some plant matter besides seeds, including buds, berries, and fruits such as grapes and cherries. In temperate areas, the house sparrow has an unusual habit of tearing flowers, especially yellow ones, in the spring. Animals form another important part of the house sparrow's diet, chiefly insects, of which beetles, caterpillars, dipteran flies, and aphids are especially important. Various noninsect arthropods are eaten, as are molluscs and crustaceans where available, earthworms, and even vertebrates such as lizards and frogs.


title: "House sparrow" content: Young house sparrows are fed mostly on insects until about 15 days after hatching. They are also given small quantities of seeds, spiders, and grit. In most places, grasshoppers and crickets are the most abundant foods of nestlings. True bugs, ants, sawflies, and beetles are also important, but house sparrows take advantage of whatever foods are abundant to feed their young. House sparrows have been observed stealing prey from other birds, including American robins. The house sparrow's flight is direct (not undulating) and flapping, averaging and about 15 wingbeats per second. On the ground, the house sparrow typically hops rather


title: "House sparrow" content: than walks. It can swim when pressed to do so by pursuit from predators. Captive birds have been recorded diving and swimming short distances under water. Most house sparrows do not move more than a few kilometres during their lifetimes. However, limited migration occurs in all regions. Some young birds disperse long distances, especially on coasts, and mountain birds move to lower elevations in winter. Two subspecies, "P. d. bactrianus" and "P. d. parkini", are predominantly migratory. Unlike the birds in sedentary populations that migrate, birds of migratory subspecies prepare for migration by putting on weight. House sparrows can breed


title: "House sparrow" content: in the breeding season immediately following their hatching, and sometimes attempt to do so. Some birds breeding for the first time in tropical areas are only a few months old and still have juvenile plumage. Birds breeding for the first time are rarely successful in raising young, and reproductive success increases with age, as older birds breed earlier in the breeding season, and fledge more young. As the breeding season approaches, hormone releases trigger enormous increases in the size of the sexual organs and changes in day length lead males to start calling by nesting sites. The timing of mating


title: "House sparrow" content: and egg-laying varies geographically, and between specific locations and years because a sufficient supply of insects is needed for egg formation and feeding nestlings. Males take up nesting sites before the breeding season, by frequently calling beside them. Unmated males start nest construction and call particularly frequently to attract females. When a female approaches a male during this period, the male displays by moving up and down while drooping and shivering his wings, pushing up his head, raising and spreading his tail, and showing his bib. Males may try to mate with females while calling or displaying. In response, a


title: "House sparrow" content: female will adopt a threatening posture and attack a male before flying away, pursued by the male. The male displays in front of her, attracting other males, which also pursue and display to the female. This group display usually does not immediately result in copulations. Other males usually do not copulate with the female. Copulation is typically initiated by the female giving a soft "dee-dee-dee" call to the male. Birds of a pair copulate frequently until the female is laying eggs, and the male mounts the female repeatedly each time a pair mates. The house sparrow is monogamous, and typically


title: "House sparrow" content: mates for life. Birds from pairs often engage in extra-pair copulations, so about 15% of house sparrow fledglings are unrelated to their mother's mate. Male house sparrows guard their mates carefully to avoid being cuckolded, and most extra-pair copulation occurs away from nest sites. Males may sometimes have multiple mates, and bigamy is mostly limited by aggression between females. Many birds do not find a nest and a mate, and instead may serve as helpers around the nest for mated pairs, a role which increases the chances of being chosen to replace a lost mate. Lost mates of both sexes


title: "House sparrow" content: can be replaced quickly during the breeding season. The formation of a pair and the bond between the two birds is tied to the holding of a nest site, though paired house sparrows can recognise each other away from the nest. Nest sites are varied, though cavities are preferred. Nests are most frequently built in the eaves and other crevices of houses. Holes in cliffs and banks, or tree hollows, are also used. A sparrow sometimes excavates its own nests in sandy banks or rotten branches, but more frequently uses the nests of other birds such as those of swallows


title: "House sparrow" content: in banks and cliffs, and old tree cavity nests. It usually uses deserted nests, though sometimes it usurps active ones. Tree hollows are more commonly used in North America than in Europe, putting the sparrows in competition with bluebirds and other North American cavity nesters, and thereby contributing to their population declines. Especially in warmer areas, the house sparrow may build its nests in the open, on the branches of trees, especially evergreens and hawthorns, or in the nests of large birds such as storks or magpies. In open nesting sites, breeding success tends to be lower, since breeding begins


title: "House sparrow" content: late and the nest can easily be destroyed or damaged by storms. Less common nesting sites include street lights and neon signs, favoured for their warmth; and the old open-topped nests of other songbirds, which are then domed over. The nest is usually domed, though it may lack a roof in enclosed sites. It has an outer layer of stems and roots, a middle layer of dead grass and leaves, and a lining of feathers, as well as of paper and other soft materials. Nests typically have external dimensions of 20 × 30 cm (8 × 12 in), but their


title: "House sparrow" content: size varies greatly. The building of the nest is initiated by the unmated male while displaying to females. The female assists in building, but is less active than the male. Some nest building occurs throughout the year, especially after moult in autumn. In colder areas house sparrows build specially created roost nests, or roost in street lights, to avoid losing heat during the winter. House sparrows do not hold territories, but they defend their nests aggressively against intruders of the same sex. House sparrows' nests support a wide range of scavenging insects, including nest flies such as "Neottiophilum praestum", "Protocalliphora"


title: "House sparrow" content: blowflies, and over 1,400 species of beetle. Clutches usually comprise four or five eggs, though numbers from one to 10 have been recorded. At least two clutches are usually laid, and up to seven a year may be laid in the tropics or four a year in temperate latitudes. When fewer clutches are laid in a year, especially at higher latitudes, the number of eggs per clutch is greater. Central Asian house sparrows, which migrate and have only one clutch a year, average 6.5 eggs in a clutch. Clutch size is also affected by environmental and seasonal conditions, female age,


title: "House sparrow" content: and breeding density. Some intraspecific brood parasitism occurs, and instances of unusually large numbers of eggs in a nest may be the result of females laying eggs in the nests of their neighbours. Such foreign eggs are sometimes recognised and ejected by females. The house sparrow is a victim of interspecific brood parasites, but only rarely, since it usually uses nests in holes too small for parasites to enter, and it feeds its young foods unsuitable for young parasites. In turn, the house sparrow has once been recorded as a brood parasite of the American cliff swallow. The eggs are


title: "House sparrow" content: white, bluish white, or greenish white, spotted with brown or grey. Subelliptical in shape, they range from in length and in width, have an average mass of , and an average surface area of . Eggs from the tropical subspecies are distinctly smaller. Eggs begin to develop with the deposition of yolk in the ovary a few days before ovulation. In the day between ovulation and laying, egg white forms, followed by eggshell. Eggs laid later in a clutch are larger, as are those laid by larger females, and egg size is hereditary. Eggs decrease slightly in size from laying


title: "House sparrow" content: to hatching. The yolk comprises 25% of the egg, the egg white 68%, and the shell 7%. Eggs are watery, being 79% liquid, and otherwise mostly protein. The female develops a brood patch of bare skin and plays the main part in incubating the eggs. The male helps, but can only cover the eggs rather than truly incubate them. The female spends the night incubating during this period, while the male roosts near the nest. Eggs hatch at the same time, after a short incubation period lasting 11–14 days, and exceptionally for as many as 17 or as few as


title: "House sparrow" content: 9. The length of the incubation period decreases as ambient temperature increases later in the breeding season. Young house sparrows remain in the nest for 11 to 23 days, normally 14 to 16 days. During this time, they are fed by both parents. As newly hatched house sparrows do not have sufficient insulation, they are brooded for a few days, or longer in cold conditions. The parents swallow the droppings produced by the hatchlings during the first few days; later, the droppings are moved up to away from the nest. The chicks' eyes open after about 4 days and, at


title: "House sparrow" content: an age of about 8 days, the young birds get their first down. If both parents perish, the ensuing intensive begging sounds of the young often attract replacement parents which feed them until they can sustain themselves. All the young in the nest leave it during the same period of a few hours. At this stage, they are normally able to fly. They start feeding themselves partly after 1 or 2 days, and sustain themselves completely after 7 to 10 days, 14 at the latest. In adult house sparrows, annual survival is 45–65%. After fledging and leaving the care of


title: "House sparrow" content: their parents, young sparrows have a high mortality rate, which lessens as they grow older and more experienced. Only about 20–25% of birds hatched survive to their first breeding season. The oldest known wild house sparrow lived for nearly two decades; it was found dead 19 years and 9 months after it was ringed in Denmark. The oldest recorded captive house sparrow lived for 23 years. The typical ratio of males to females in a population is uncertain due to problems in collecting data, but a very slight preponderance of males at all ages is usual. The house sparrow's main


title: "House sparrow" content: predators are cats and birds of prey, but many other animals prey on them, including corvids, squirrels, and even humans—the house sparrow has been consumed in the past by people in many parts of the world, and it still is in parts of the Mediterranean. Most species of birds of prey have been recorded preying on the house sparrow in places where records are extensive. Accipiters and the merlin in particular are major predators, though cats are likely to have a greater impact on house sparrow populations. The house sparrow is also a common victim of roadkill; on European roads,


title: "House sparrow" content: it is the bird most frequently found dead. The house sparrow is host to a huge number of parasites and diseases, and the effect of most is unknown. Ornithologist Ted R. Anderson listed thousands, noting that his list was incomplete. The commonly recorded bacterial pathogens of the house sparrow are often those common in humans, and include "Salmonella" and "Escherichia coli". "Salmonella" is common in the house sparrow, and a comprehensive study of house sparrow disease found it in 13% of sparrows tested. "Salmonella" epidemics in the spring and winter can kill large numbers of sparrows. The house sparrow hosts


title: "House sparrow" content: avian pox and avian malaria, which it has spread to the native forest birds of Hawaii. Many of the diseases hosted by the house sparrow are also present in humans and domestic animals, for which the house sparrow acts as a reservoir host. Arboviruses such as the West Nile virus, which most commonly infect insects and mammals, survive winters in temperate areas by going dormant in birds such as the house sparrow. A few records indicate disease extirpating house sparrow populations, especially from Scottish islands, but this seems to be rare. The house sparrow is infested by a number of


title: "House sparrow" content: external parasites, which usually cause little harm to adult sparrows. In Europe, the most common mite found on sparrows is "Proctophyllodes", the most common ticks are "Argas reflexus" and "Ixodes arboricola", and the most common flea on the house sparrow is "Ceratophyllus gallinae". "Dermanyssus" blood-feeding mites are also common ectoparasites of house sparrows, and these mites can enter human habitation and bite humans, causing a condition known as gamasoidosis. A number of chewing lice occupy different niches on the house sparrow's body. "Menacanthus" lice occur across the house sparrow's body, where they feed on blood and feathers, while "Brueelia" lice


title: "House sparrow" content: feed on feathers and "Philopterus fringillae" occurs on the head. House sparrows express strong circadian rhythms of activity in the laboratory. They were among the first bird species to be seriously studied in terms of their circadian activity and photoperiodism, in part because of their availability and adaptability in captivity, but also because they can "find their way" and remain rhythmic in constant darkness. Such studies have found that the pineal gland is a central part of the house sparrow's circadian system: removal of the pineal eliminates the circadian rhythm of activity, and transplant of the pineal into another individual


title: "House sparrow" content: confers to this individual the rhythm phase of the donor bird. The suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus have also been shown to be an important component of the circadian system of house sparrows. The photoreceptors involved in the synchronisation of the circadian clock to the external light-dark cycle are located in the brain and can be stimulated by light reaching them directly though the skull, as revealed by experiments in which blind sparrows, which normally can still synchronise to the light-dark cycle, failed to do so once India ink was injected as a screen under the skin on top of


title: "House sparrow" content: their skulls. Similarly, even when blind, house sparrows continue to be photoperiodic, i.e. show reproductive development when the days are long, but not when the days are short. This response is stronger when the feathers on top of the head are plucked, and is eliminated when India ink is injected under the skin at the top of the head, showing that the photoreceptors involved in the photoperiodic response to day length are located inside the brain. House sparrows have also been used in studies of nonphotic entrainment (i.e. synchronisation to an external cycle other than light and dark): for example,


title: "House sparrow" content: in constant darkness, a situation in which the birds would normally reveal their endogenous, non-24-hour, "free-running" rhythms of activity, they instead show 24-hour periodicity if they are exposed to two hours of chirp playbacks every 24 hours, matching their daily activity onsets with the daily playback onsets. House sparrows in constant dim light can also be entrained to a daily cycle based on the presence of food. Finally, house sparrows in constant darkness can be entrained to a cycle of high and low temperature, but only if the difference between the two temperatures is large (38 versus 6 °C); some


title: "House sparrow" content: of the tested sparrows matched their activity to the warm phase, and others to the cold phase. The house sparrow is closely associated with humans. They are believed to have become associated with humans around 10,000 years ago. Subspecies "P. d. bactrianus" is least associated with humans and considered to be evolutionarily closer to the ancestral noncommensal populations. Usually, the house sparrow is regarded as a pest, since it consumes agricultural products and spreads disease to humans and their domestic animals. Even birdwatchers often hold it in little regard because of its molestation of other birds. In most of the


title: "House sparrow" content: world, the house sparrow is not protected by law. Attempts to control house sparrows include the trapping, poisoning, or shooting of adults; the destruction of their nests and eggs; or less directly, blocking nest holes and scaring off sparrows with noise, glue, or porcupine wire. However, the house sparrow can be beneficial to humans, as well, especially by eating insect pests, and attempts at the large-scale control of the house sparrow have failed. The house sparrow has long been used as a food item. From around 1560 to at least the 19th century in northern Europe, earthenware "sparrow pots" were


title: "House sparrow" content: hung from eaves to attract nesting birds so the young could be readily harvested. Wild birds were trapped in nets in large numbers, and sparrow pie was a traditional dish, thought, because of the association of sparrows with lechery, to have aphrodisiac properties. Sparrows were also trapped as food for falconers' birds and zoo animals. In the early part of the 20th century, sparrow clubs culled many millions of birds and eggs in an attempt to control numbers of this perceived pest, but with only a localised impact on numbers. House sparrows have been kept as pets at many times


title: "House sparrow" content: in history, though they have no bright plumage or attractive songs, and raising them is difficult. The house sparrow has an extremely large range and population, and is not seriously threatened by human activities, so it is assessed as least concern for conservation on the IUCN Red List. However, populations have been declining in many parts of the world. These declines were first noticed in North America, where they were initially attributed to the spread of the house finch, but have been most severe in Western Europe. Declines have not been universal, as no serious declines have been reported from


title: "House sparrow" content: Eastern Europe, but have even occurred in Australia, where the house sparrow was introduced recently. In Great Britain, populations peaked in the early 1970s, but have since declined by 68% overall, and about 90% in some regions. In London, the house sparrow almost disappeared from the central city. The numbers of house sparrows in the Netherlands have dropped in half since the 1980s, so the house sparrow is even considered an endangered species. This status came to widespread attention after a female house sparrow, referred to as the "Dominomus", was killed after knocking down dominoes arranged as part of an


title: "House sparrow" content: attempt to set a world record. These declines are not unprecedented, as similar reductions in population occurred when the internal combustion engine replaced horses in the 1920s and a major source of food in the form of grain spillage was lost. Various causes for the dramatic decreases in population have been proposed, including predation, in particular by Eurasian sparrowhawks; electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones; and diseases. A shortage of nesting sites caused by changes in urban building design is probably a factor, and conservation organisations have encouraged the use of special nest boxes for sparrows. A primary cause of the


title: "House sparrow" content: decline seems to be an insufficient supply of insect food for nestling sparrows. Declines in insect populations result from an increase of monoculture crops, the heavy use of pesticides, the replacement of native plants in cities with introduced plants and parking areas, and possibly the introduction of unleaded petrol, which produces toxic compounds such as methyl nitrite. Protecting insect habitats on farms, and planting native plants in cities benefit the house sparrow, as does establishing urban green spaces. To raise awareness of threats to the house sparrow, World Sparrow Day has been celebrated on 20 March across the world since


title: "House sparrow" content: 2010. Over the recent years, the house sparrow population has been on the decline in many Asian countries, and this decline is quite evident in India. To promote the conservation of these birds, in 2012, the house sparrow was declared as the state bird of Delhi. To many people across the world, the house sparrow is the most familiar wild animal and, because of its association with humans and familiarity, it is frequently used to represent the common and vulgar, or the lewd. One of the reasons for the introduction of house sparrows throughout the world was their association with


title: "House sparrow" content: the European homeland of many immigrants. Birds usually described later as sparrows are referred to in many works of ancient literature and religious texts in Europe and western Asia. These references may not always refer specifically to the house sparrow, or even to small, seed-eating birds, but later writers who were inspired by these texts often had the house sparrow in mind. In particular, sparrows were associated by the ancient Greeks with Aphrodite, the goddess of love, due to their perceived lustfulness, an association echoed by later writers such as Chaucer and Shakespeare. Jesus's use of "sparrows" as an example


title: "House sparrow" content: of divine providence in the Gospel of Matthew also inspired later references, such as that in Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and the Gospel hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow". House sparrow The house sparrow ("Passer domesticus") is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. A small bird, it has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, and males have brighter black, white, and brown markings. One of about 25 species in the genus "Passer", the house sparrow is native to most of


title: "Soyuz 7" content: intended, but this seems unlikely, given the docking adapters carried by the spacecraft, and the fact that the Soyuz 8 crew were both veterans of the previous successful docking mission. This was the last time that the Soviet manned Moon landing hardware was tested in orbit, and the failure seems to have been one of the final nails in the coffin of the programme. The radio call sign of the spacecraft was , meaning "blizzard", which years later was re-used as the name of the entirely different spaceplane Buran. This word is apparently used as the name of an active


title: Ascites content: Comparable is also Numbers 5:11ff, where an accused adulteress is confirmed with swelling of the abdomen. Ascites Ascites is the abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen. Technically, it is more than 25 mL of fluid in the peritoneal cavity. Symptoms may include increased abdominal size, increased weight, abdominal discomfort, and shortness of breath. Complications can include spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. In the developed world, the most common cause is liver cirrhosis. Other causes include cancer, heart failure, tuberculosis, pancreatitis, and blockage of the hepatic vein. In cirrhosis, the underlying mechanism involves high blood pressure in the portal system and dysfunction


title: Sambucus content: Sambucus Sambucus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly called elder or elderberry. The genus was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified as Adoxaceae due to genetic and morphological comparisons to plants in the genus "Adoxa". The oppositely arranged leaves are pinnate with 5–9 leaflets (rarely 3 or 11). Each leaf is long, and the leaflets have serrated margins. They bear large clusters of small white or cream-colored flowers in late spring; these are followed by clusters of small black, blue-black, or red berries (rarely yellow or white).


title: Sambucus content: The genus occurs in temperate to subtropical regions of the world. More widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, its Southern Hemisphere occurrence is restricted to parts of Australasia and South America. Many species are widely cultivated for their ornamental leaves, flowers and fruit. Species recognized in this genus are: Ornamental varieties of "Sambucus" are grown in gardens for their showy flowers, fruits and lacy foliage. Native species of elderberry are often planted by people wishing to support native butterfly and bird species. Elderberry fruit or flowers are used as dietary supplements for minor diseases such as flu, colds, constipation, and other


title: Sambucus content: conditions, often served as a tea, extract, or in a capsule. There is insufficient research to know its effectiveness for such uses, or its safety profile - however, no illnesses caused by elderflower have been reported. Raw elderberries are 80% water, 18% carbohydrates, and less than 1% each of protein and fat (table). In a 100 gram amount, elderberries supply 73 calories and are a rich source of vitamin C, providing 43% of the Daily Value (DV). Elderberries also have moderate contents of vitamin B6 (18% DV) and iron (12% DV), with no other nutrients in significant content (table). The


title: Sambucus content: French, Austrians and Central Europeans produce elderflower syrup, commonly made from an extract of elderflower blossoms, which in central Europe is added to Palatschinken filling instead of blueberries. People throughout much of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe use a similar method to make a syrup which is diluted with water and used as a drink or as a flavoring in several food products. Fruit pies and relishes are produced with berries. Romanians produce a traditional soft drink in May and June called "socată" or "suc de soc". It is produced by letting the flowers macerate with water, yeast and lemon


title: Sambucus content: for 2–3 days. The last stage of fermentation is done in a closed pressure proof bottle to produce a fizzy drink. The beverage has also inspired Coca-Cola to launch an elderflower-based drink, Fanta Shokata. The flowers of "Sambucus nigra" are used to produce elderflower cordial. St-Germain, a French liqueur, is made from elderflowers. Hallands Fläder, a Swedish akvavit, is flavoured with elderflowers. Despite the similarity in name, the Italian liqueur sambuca is mostly made with star anise and fennel essential oils extracted by vapor distillation. It also contains elderflower extracts with which it is flavored to add a floral note,


title: Sambucus content: to smooth and round off the strong licorice flavor. Hollowed elderberry twigs have traditionally been used as spiles to tap maple trees for syrup. Although the ripe, cooked berries (pulp and skin) of most species of "Sambucus" are edible, uncooked berries and other parts of plants from this genus are poisonous. Leaves, twigs, branches, seeds, roots, flowers, and berries of "Sambucus" plants produce cyanidin glycosides and alkaloids, which have toxic properties. Ingesting a sufficient quantity of cyanidin glycosides and alkaloids from berry juice, flower tea, or beverages made from fresh leaves, branches, and fruit has been shown to cause illness,


title: Sambucus content: including nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and weakness. In August 1983, a group of twenty-five people in Monterey County, California became suddenly ill by ingesting elderberry juice pressed from fresh, uncooked "Sambucus mexicana" berries, leaves, and stems. The density of flavonoids (including cyanidin glycosides) is higher in tea made from flowers than it is in berries, and overall density of cyanidin glycosides is lower in flowers and berries collected from low-altitude trees compared to those at higher elevations. Elderberries are rich in anthocyanidins that combine to give elderberry juice an intense blue-purple coloration that turns reddish on dilution with water.


title: Sambucus content: These pigments are used as colorants in various products, and "elderberry juice color" is listed by the USFDA as allowable in certified organic food products. In Japan, elderberry juice is listed as an approved "natural color additive" under the Food and Sanitation Law. Fibers can be dyed with elderberry juice (using alum as a mordant) to give a light "elderberry" color. Although practitioners of traditional medicine have used black elderberry for hundreds of years, including as wine intended for treating rheumatism and pain from traumatic injury, there is no scientific evidence that such practices have any beneficial effect. Additionally, black


title: Sambucus content: elderberry has been utilized as a treatment for flu symptoms. While some preliminary research indicates that elderberry may relieve flu symptoms, the evidence is not strong enough to support its use for this purpose. In Northern California, elderberries are a food for migrating band-tailed pigeons. Elders are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including brown-tail, buff ermine, dot moth, emperor moth, engrailed moth, swallow-tailed moth and the V-pug. The crushed foliage and immature fruit have a strong fetid smell. Valley elderberry longhorn beetles in California are very often found around red or blue elderberry bushes.


title: Sambucus content: Females lay their eggs on the bark. The pith of elder has been used by watchmakers for cleaning tools before intricate work. Elder commonly grows near farms and homesteads. It is a nitrogen-dependent plant and thus is generally found near places of organic waste disposal. Elders are often grown as a hedgerow plant in Britain since they take very fast, can be bent into shape easily and grow quite profusely, thus having gained the reputation of being 'an instant hedge'. It is not generally affected by soil type or pH level and will virtually grow anywhere sufficient sunlight is available.


title: Sambucus content: Folklore related to elder trees is extensive and can vary according to region. In some myths, the elder tree is thought to ward off evil and give protection from witches, while other beliefs say that witches often congregate under the plant, especially when it is full of fruit. If an elder tree was cut down, a spirit known as the Elder Mother would be released and take her revenge. The tree could only safely be cut while chanting a rhyme to the Elder Mother. Made from the branch of an elder tree, the Elder Wand plays a pivotal role in


title: Sambucus content: the final book of the "Harry Potter" series, which was nearly named "Harry Potter and the Elder Wand" before author J. K. Rowling decided on "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". Sambucus Sambucus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly called elder or elderberry. The genus was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified as Adoxaceae due to genetic and morphological comparisons to plants in the genus "Adoxa". The oppositely arranged leaves are pinnate with 5–9 leaflets (rarely 3 or 11). Each leaf is long, and the leaflets have


title: "Songs in the Key of Life" content: Boz Scaggs, and the other favorite, Peter Frampton’s "Frampton Comes Alive!", which was also a huge critical and commercial success. Wonder was again absent from the ceremony, as he had developed an interest in visiting Africa. In February he traveled to Nigeria for two weeks, primarily to explore his musical heritage, as he put it. A satellite hook-up was arranged so that Stevie could be awarded his Grammys from across the sea. Bette Midler announced the results during the ceremony, and the audience was only able to see Wonder at a phone smiling and giving thanks. The video signal was


title: "Pinot noir" content: Pinot noir Pinot noir () is a red wine grape variety of the species "Vitis vinifera". The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for "pine" and "black." The word "pine" alludes to the grape variety having tightly clustered, pine cone-shaped bunches of fruit. Pinot noir grapes are grown around the world, mostly in the cooler climates, and the grape is chiefly associated with the Burgundy region of France. Pinot noir is also used to make the Italian wine Franciacorta. Other regions that have gained a reputation


title: "Pinot noir" content: for pinot noir include: the Willamette Valley of Oregon, the Carneros, Central Coast and Russian River AVAs of California, the Elgin and Walker Bay wine regions of South Africa, South Australia, Adelaide Hills, Tasmania and Yarra Valley, Victoria in Australia and the Central Otago, Martinborough and Marlborough wine regions of New Zealand. Pinot Noir is the most-planted varietal (38%) used in sparkling wine production in Champagne and other wine regions. Pinot noir is a difficult variety to cultivate and transform into wine. The grape's tendency to produce tightly packed clusters makes it susceptible to several viticultural hazards involving rot that


title: "Pinot noir" content: require diligent canopy management. The thin skins and low levels of phenolic compounds lends pinot to producing mostly lightly colored, medium bodied and low tannin wines that can often go through phases of uneven and unpredictable aging. When young, wines made from pinot noir tend to have red fruit aromas of cherries, raspberries and strawberries. As the wine ages, pinot has the potential to develop more vegetal and "barnyard" aromas that can contribute to the complexity of the wine. Pinot noir's home is France's Burgundy region, particularly in Côte-d'Or. It is also planted in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile,


title: "Pinot noir" content: northern parts of Croatia, Czech Republic, the Republic of Georgia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Hungary, Kosovo, the Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, New Zealand, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States and Uruguay. The United States has increasingly become a major pinot noir producer, with some of the best regarded coming from the Willamette Valley in Oregon and California's Sonoma County with its Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations. Lesser known appellations can be found in Mendocino County's Anderson Valley, as well as the Central Coast's Santa Lucia Highlands appellation, the Santa Maria Valley and Sta. Rita


title: "Pinot noir" content: Hills American Viticulture Area in Santa Barbara County. In New Zealand, it is principally grown in Martinborough, Marlborough, Waipara and Central Otago. The leaves of pinot noir are generally smaller than those of Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah. The pinot vine is typically less vigorous than either of these varieties. The grape cluster is small and conico-cylindrical; shaped like a pine cone. Some viticultural historians believe this shape similarity may have given rise to the name. In the vineyard pinot noir is sensitive to wind and frost, cropping levels (it must be low yielding for production of quality wines), soil types


title: "Pinot noir" content: and pruning techniques. In the winery it is sensitive to fermentation methods, yeast strains and is highly reflective of its "terroir" with different regions producing very different wines. Its thin skin makes it susceptible to bunch rot and similar fungal diseases. The vines themselves are susceptible to powdery mildew, especially in Burgundy infection by leaf roll and fanleaf viruses causes significant vine health problems. These complications have given the grape a reputation for being difficult to grow: Jancis Robinson calls pinot a "minx of a vine" and André Tchelistcheff declared that "God made Cabernet Sauvignon whereas the devil made Pinot


title: "Pinot noir" content: Noir." It is much less tolerant of harsh vineyard conditions than the likes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot or Grenache. However, pinot noir wines are among the most popular in the world. Joel Fleischman of "Vanity Fair" describes pinot noir as "the most romantic of wines, with so voluptuous a perfume, so sweet an edge, and so powerful a punch that, like falling in love, they make the blood run hot and the soul wax embarrassingly poetic." Master Sommelier Madeline Triffon calls pinot "sex in a glass". The tremendously broad range of bouquets, flavors, textures and impressions that pinot noir


title: "Pinot noir" content: can produce sometimes confuses tasters. In the broadest terms, the wine tends to be of light to medium body with an aroma reminiscent of black and/or red cherry, raspberry and to a lesser extent currant and many other fine small red and black berry fruits. Traditional red Burgundy is famous for its savory fleshiness and "farmyard" aromas (these latter sometimes associated with thiol and other reductive characters), but changing fashions, modern winemaking techniques, and new easier-to-grow clones have favored a lighter, more fruit-prominent, cleaner style. The wine's color when young is often compared to that of garnet, frequently being much


title: "Pinot noir" content: lighter than that of other red wines. This is entirely natural and not a winemaking fault as pinot noir has a lower skin anthocyanin (coloring matter) content than most other classical red / black varieties. Callistephin, the 3-"O"-glucoside of pelargonidin, an orange colored anthocyanidin, is also found in the berry skins of pinot noir grapes. However, an emerging, increasingly evident, style from California and New Zealand highlights a more powerful, fruit forward and darker wine that can tend toward Syrah (or even new world Malbec) in depth, extract, and alcoholic content. Pinot noir is also used in the production of


title: "Pinot noir" content: Champagne (usually along with Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier) and is planted in most of the world's wine growing regions for use in both still and sparkling wines. Pinot noir grown for dry table wines is generally low-yielding and of lesser vigour than many other varieties, whereas when grown for use in sparkling wines (e.g. Champagne) it is generally cropped at significantly higher yields. In addition to being used for the production of sparkling and still red wine, pinot noir is also sometimes used for rosé still wines, Beaujolais Nouveau-styled wines, and even vin gris white wines. Its juice is uncolored.


title: "Pinot noir" content: Pinot noir is almost certainly a very ancient variety that may be only one or two generations removed from wild, Vitis sylvestris, vines. Its origins are nevertheless unclear: In "De re rustica", Columella describes a grape variety similar to pinot noir in Burgundy during the 1st century CE; however, vines have grown wild as far north as Belgium in the days before phylloxera, and it is possible that pinot represents a direct domestication of (hermaphrodite-flowered) "Vitis sylvestris". Ferdinand Regner argued that pinot noir is a cross between Pinot Meunier (Schwarzriesling) and Traminer, but this claim has since been refuted. In


title: "Pinot noir" content: fact Pinot Meunier has been shown to be a chimerical mutation (in the epidermal cells) which makes the shoot tips and leaves prominently hairy-white and the vine a little smaller and early ripening. Thus Pinot Meunier is a chimera with two tissue layers of different genetic makeup, both of which contain a mutation making them non-identical to, and mutations of, pinot noir (as well as of any of the other color forms of pinot). As such, Pinot Meunier cannot be a parent of pinot noir, and, indeed, it seems likely that chimerical mutations which can generate pinot gris from other


title: "Pinot noir" content: pinot (principally blanc or noir) may in turn be the genetic pathway for the emergence of Pinot Meunier. Pinot gris is a pinot color sport (and can arise by mutation of pinot noir or pinot blanc), presumably representing a somatic mutation in either the VvMYBA1 or VvMYBA2 genes that control grape berry color. Pinot blanc is a further mutation and can either naturally arise from or give rise to pinot gris or pinot noir; the mutation–reversion path is multi-directional therefore. The "general" DNA profiles of both pinot gris and blanc are identical to pinot noir; and other pinots, pinot moure


title: "Pinot noir" content: and pinot teinturier, are also genetically similarly close. It should be noted therefore that almost any given pinot (of whatever berry color) can occur as a complete mutation or as a chimera of almost any other pinot As such, suggestions that pinot noir is the fundamental and original form of the pinots are both misleading and highly tendentious. Indeed, if anything, pinot blanc may be the original human-selected form of pinot, although given the genetic variability of this longstanding genetic line, thinking of pinot as a familial cluster of grapes sharing a fundamental and common genetic core is almost certainly


title: "Pinot noir" content: nearest the truth. It is this core around which the sub-varietally identifying color variations (blanc, rouge, noir, gris, rose, violet, tenteurier, moure, etc.) occur, along with the more striking chimeric morphological mutation that is Pinot Meunier, and the interesting further mutations of this variety as Pinot Meunier gris and as the non-hairy mutation which the Germans classify as 'Samtrot' (effectively 'Pinot red velvet'). A white berried sport of Pinot noir was propagated in 1936 by Henri Gouges of Burgundy, and there is now 2.5ha planted of this grape which Clive Coates calls Pinot Gouges, and others call Pinot Musigny. There


title: "Pinot noir" content: is however no published evidence, nor any obvious reason, to believe that this is other than a (possibly quite fine) form of Pinot blanc, having simply arisen as a selected natural mutation of the original Pinot noir in the Gouges' vineyard. In the UK, the name 'Wrotham Pinot' is a permitted synonym for Pinot Meunier and stems from a vine that one of the pioneers of UK viticulture, Edward Hyams, discovered in Wrotham (pronounced 'root-am' or 'root-em') in Kent in the late 1940s. It was in all probability the variety known as 'Miller's Burgundy' which had been widely grown on


title: "Pinot noir" content: walls and in gardens in Great Britain for many years. Archibald Barron writing in his book, "Vines and Vine Culture", the standard Victorian work on grape growing in the UK, states that the 'Millers Burgundy' also was: "found by" [the famous horticulturalist] "Sir Joseph Banks in the remains of an ancient vineyard at Tortworth, Gloucestershire – a county well known for its medieval vineyards". Hyams took the vine to Raymond Barrington Brock, who ran what was to become the Oxted Viticultural Research Station, and he trialed it alongside the many other varieties he grew. Brock said that when compared to


title: "Pinot noir" content: supplies of Meunier from France, Wrotham Pinot: had a higher natural sugar content and ripened two weeks earlier. Hyams, ever the journalist in search of a good story, claimed that this vine had been left behind by the Romans although he provided absolutely no evidence for this. Brock sold cuttings of 'Wrotham Pinot' and the variety became quite popular in early English "revival" vineyards in the late twentieth century, although it is unlikely that many vines from the cuttings supplied by Brock survive in any present UK vineyards. Indeed, despite the fact that today virtually all plantings of Meunier in


title: "Pinot noir" content: the UK stem from French and German nurseries, the name Wrotham Pinot is still a legally acceptable synonym for this variety, although little, if ever, used by UK growers. Pinot noir can be particularly prone to mutation (suggesting it has active transposable elements), and thanks to its long history in cultivation there are hundreds of different clones in vineyards and vine collections worldwide. More than 50 are officially recognized in France compared to only 25 of the much more widely planted Cabernet Sauvignon. The French Etablissement National Technique pour l'Amelioration de la Viticulture (ENTAV) has set up a program to


title: "Pinot noir" content: select the best clones of pinot. This program has succeeded in increasing the number of quality clones available to growers. In the new world, particularly in Oregon, wines of extraordinary quality continue to be made from the (ex-University of California at Davis) Pommard (principally UCD4) and Wadensvil (UCD 1A and / or 2A) clones. Gamay Beaujolais is a Californian misnomer for a UCD clone series of upright-growing ('Pinot droit') pinot noir. Planted mostly in California it also became established in New Zealand. In New Zealand, its disposition to poor fruit set in cool flowering conditions can be problematic. It has


title: "Pinot noir" content: been claimed that the 'Gamay Beaujolais' Pinot noir was brought to California by Paul Masson. But it was collected in France by Harold Olmo for UCD in the 1950s and was one of the first pinot noir vines this institution offered as a high health clonal line from about 1962 onward. However, it was misleadingly identified at UCD as a 'Gamay Beaujolais' type (of pinot noir). In general, these upright growing 'Pinot droit' clones are highly productive (in suitable, hot-to-warm, flowering conditions) and in California and New Zealand they give robust, burly, wines favored by those who like muscle rather


title: "Pinot noir" content: than charm and velvety finesse in their Pinot noir wines. In Burgundy, the use of (highly productive) Pinot droit clones is reportedly still widespread in inferior, Village appellation, or even non-appellation, vineyards and Pinot droit is consequently regarded, arguably with very good reason, as a (genetic) sub-form significantly inferior to classical, decumbent, 'Pinot fine' or 'Pinot tordu', clonal lines of Pinot. Frühburgunder (Pinot Noir Précoce) is an early-ripening form of Pinot noir. Across the Pinot family, ripening in typical climates can be dispersed by as much as four, and even six, weeks between the very earliest (including Précoce) clones and


title: "Pinot noir" content: the very latest ripening. Virus infection and excessive cropping significantly add to the delaying of Pinot noir ripening. Gouget noir is sometimes confused as being a clone of Pinot noir but DNA analysis has confirmed that it is a distinct variety. In August 2007, French researchers announced the sequencing of the genome of Pinot noir. It is the first fruit crop to be sequenced, and only the fourth flowering plant. In the Middle Ages, the nobility and church of northeast France grew some form of Pinot in favored plots, while peasants grew a large amount of the much more productive,


title: "Pinot noir" content: but otherwise distinctly inferior, Gouais blanc. Cross-pollination may have resulted from such close proximity, with the genetic distance between the two parents imparting hybrid vigor leading to the viticultural selection of a diverse range of offspring from this cross (which may, nevertheless, have also resulted from deliberate human intervention). In any case, however it occurred, offspring of the Pinot - Gouais cross include: Chardonnay, Aligoté, Auxerrois, Gamay, Melon and eleven others. Pinot noir was not necessarily the Pinot involved here; any member of the Pinot family appears genetically capable of being the Pinot parent to these ex-Gouais crosses. In 1925,


title: "Pinot noir" content: Pinot noir was crossed in South Africa with the Cinsaut grape (known locally by the misnomer 'Hermitage') to create a unique variety called Pinotage. Pinot noir is produced in several wine growing areas of Australia, notably in the Southern Highlands in New South Wales, Yarra Valley, Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula, Beechworth, South Gippsland, Sunbury, Macedon Ranges and Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Adelaide Hills in South Australia, Great Southern Wine Region in Western Australia, all Tasmania, and the Canberra District in the Australian Capital Territory. In Austria, Pinot noir is usually called Blauburgunder (literally Blue Burgundy) and produced in Burgenland and


title: "Pinot noir" content: Lower Austria. Austrian Pinot noir wines are dry red wines similar in character to the red wines of Burgundy, mostly aged in French barriques. Some of the best Austrian Pinots come from Neusiedlersee and Blaufraenkischland (Burgenland), and Thermenregion (Lower Austria). Pinot noir has been grown in Ontario for some time in the Niagara Peninsula and especially the Niagara-on-the-Lake and Short Hills Bench wine regions, as well as in Prince Edward County and on the north shore of Lake Ontario. It has also been grown recently in the Okanagan; here it is grown predominantly on the Naramata bench and in the


title: "Pinot noir" content: northern Okanagan, Lower Mainland, and Vancouver Island wine regions of British Columbia. It is also grown in the Annapolis Valley region of Nova Scotia and the Lanaudière and Brome-Missisquoi regions of Quebec. Pinot noir is produced at the Leyda Valley, one of the minor wine district of the Aconcagua wine region of Chile. Pinot noir is increasingly being planted in the U.K. and is now the second most widely planted variety, (305-ha in 2012) almost all of it for sparkling wine. Pinot noir has made France's Burgundy appellation famous, and vice versa. Wine historians, including John Winthrop Haeger and Roger


title: "Pinot noir" content: Dion, believe that the association between Pinot and Burgundy was the explicit strategy of Burgundy's Valois dukes. Roger Dion, in his thesis regarding Philip the Bold's role in promoting the spread of Pinot noir, holds that the reputation of Beaune wines as "the finest in the world" was a propaganda triumph of Burgundy's Valois dukes. In any event, the worldwide archetype for pinot noir is that grown in Burgundy, where it has been cultivated since AD 100. Burgundy's Pinot noir produces wines which can age well in good years, developing complex fruit and forest floor flavours as they age, often


title: "Pinot noir" content: reaching peak 15 or 20 years after the vintage. Many of the wines are produced in small quantities. Today, the Côte d'Or escarpment of Burgundy has about of Pinot noir. Most of the region's finest wines are produced from this area. The Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais regions in southern Burgundy have another . In Jura département, across the river valley from Burgundy, the wines made from pinot noir are lighter. In Champagne it is used in blending with Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. It can also appear unblended, in which case it may be labeled "blanc de noirs". The Champagne appellation


title: "Pinot noir" content: has more Pinot planted than any other area of France. In Sancerre it is used to make red and rosé wines, much lighter in style that those of Burgundy, refreshing served chilled, especially in warmer years when they are less thin. In Alsace it is generally used to make , similar in character to red Burgundy and Beaujolais wines but usually consumed chilled. Prominent examples are Rouge de Barr and Rouge d'Ottrott. Pinot noir is the only red wine produced in Alsace. In Germany it is called Spätburgunder ("lit." "Late Burgundian"), and is now the most widely planted red grape.


title: "Pinot noir" content: Historically much German wine produced from Pinot noir was pale, often rosé like the red wines of Alsace; over-cropping and bunch-rot were major contributing factors to this. However, recently, despite the northerly climate, darker, richer reds have been produced, often barrel (barrique) aged, in regions such as Baden, Palatinate (Pfalz) and Ahr. These are rarely exported and are often expensive in Germany for the better examples. As "Rhenish", German Pinot noir is mentioned several times in Shakespearean plays as a highly prized wine. There is also a smaller-berried, early ripening, lower yield variety called Frühburgunder (Pinot Noir Précoce, "lit." "Early


title: "Pinot noir" content: Burgundian") which is grown in Rheinhessen and Ahr area and can produce good wines. In the last 20 years, efforts have been made to develop and husband good quality high health clones of Frühburgunder selected from Württemberg vineyards. In Italy, where Pinot noir is known as Pinot nero, it has traditionally been cultivated in South Tyrol, the Collio Goriziano, Franciacorta, Oltrepò Pavese, Veneto, Friuli and Trentino. It is also planted in Tuscany. In South Tyrol the variety is first noted 1838 as "Bourgoigne noir" in a grape wine buy list of the "k.u.k. Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft von Tirol und Vorarlberg, Niederlassung Bozen"


title: "Pinot noir" content: and later called "Blauburgunder" like in Austria. The first analytical descriptions are from Edmund Mach (founder of Ist. Agr. San Michele a.A.) in the year 1894: Friedrich Boscarolli - Rametz/Meran - Rametzer Burgunder 1890, Chorherrenstift Neustift - Blauburgunder 1890, R.v.Bressendorf - Vernaun/Meran - Burgunder 1890, C. Frank - Rebhof Gries Bozen - Burgunder 1889, Fr. Tschurtschenthaler - Bozen - Burgunder 1890 & 1891, Fr. Tschurtschenthaler - Bozen - Kreuzbichler 1889 & 1891 & 1887. Large amounts of Pinot were planted in central Moldova during the 19th century, but much was lost to the ravages of phylloxera; Soviet control of Moldova


title: "Pinot noir" content: from 1940 to 1991 also reduced the productivity of vineyards. Pinot noir is New Zealand's largest red wine variety, and second largest variety overall behind sauvingnon blanc. In 2014, pinot noir vines covered and produced 36,500 tonnes of grapes. Pinot noir is a grape variety whose "importance" in New Zealand is extremely high. However, initial results were not promising for several reasons, including high levels of leaf roll virus in older plantings, and, during the 1960s and 1970s, the limited number and indifferent quality of Pinot noir clones available for planting. However, since this time importation of high quality clones


title: "Pinot noir" content: and much-improved viticulture and winemaking has seen pinot noir, from Martinborough in the north to Central Otago in the south, win international awards and accolades. As the industry has matured, many of the country's top producers have made the decision no longer to submit their wines to reviews or shows. In Slovenia, the pinot noir is produced especially in the Slovenian Littoral, particularly in the Goriška Brda sub-region. In smaller amounts, the Pinot noir is also produced in Slovenian Styria. The wine is usually called Modri Pinot (Blue Pinot) or also Modri Burgundec (Blue Burgundy). With the growth of the


title: "Pinot noir" content: South African wine industry into newer areas, Pinot noir is now also to be found in cool climate Walker Bay and Elgin, the two oldest Pinot regions in the country. Not often found, Pinot noir has been produced in small amounts in Lleida province, Catalonia, under the appellation "Costers del Segre" DO. There is also a small vineyard of Pinot noir within DO Montsant which has the wine produced in Celler de Capçanes although as Pinot noir is not a permitted grape varietal within the DO, it is released under the broader DO Catalunya. Pinot noir is a popular grape


title: "Pinot noir" content: variety all over Switzerland. In German-speaking regions of Switzerland it is often called Blauburgunder. Pinot noir wines are produced in Neuchâtel, Schaffhausen, Zürich, St. Gallen and Bündner Herrschaft. In Valais, Pinot noir is also blended with Gamay to produce the well known Dôle. By volume most Pinot noir in America is grown in California, with Oregon second in production. Other growing regions are the states of Washington, Michigan, and New York. California wine regions known for producing Pinot noir are: Oregon wine regions known for producing Pinot noir: Richard Sommers of HillCrest Vineyard in the Umpqua Valley of Oregon is


title: "Pinot noir" content: the father of Oregon Pinot noir. An early graduate of UC Davis, Sommers moved north after graduation with the idea of planting Pinot noir in the Coastal valleys of Oregon. He brought cuttings to the state in 1959 and made his first commercial planting at HillCrest Vineyard in Roseburg Oregon in 1961. For this he was honored by the Oregon State House of Representatives (HR 4A). In 2011 the State of Oregon honored him for this achievement and also for producing the first commercial bottling in the state in 1967. It was announced by the state of Oregon in the


title: "Pinot noir" content: summer of 2012 that an historical marker would be placed at the winery in the summer of 2013. Sommers, who graduated from UC Davis in the early 1950s, brought Pinot Noir cuttings to Oregon's Umpqua Valley in 1959 and planted them at HillCrest Vineyard in 1961. These first Pinot noir cuttings came from Louis Martinis Sr.'s Stanley Ranch located in the Carneros region of Napa Valley. The first commercial vintage from these grapes was the noted 1967 Pinot noir although test bottlings were made as early as 1963. In the 1970s several other growers followed suit. In 1979, David Lett


title: "Pinot noir" content: took his wines to a competition in Paris, known in English as the Wine Olympics, and they placed third among Pinots. In a 1980 rematch arranged by French wine magnate Robert Drouhin, the Eyrie vintage improved to second place. The competition established Oregon as a world-class Pinot noir producing region. The Willamette Valley of Oregon is at the same latitude as the Burgundy region of France, and has a similar climate in which the finicky Pinot noir grapes thrive. In 1987, Drouhin purchased land in the Willamette Valley, and in 1989 built Domaine Drouhin Oregon, a state-of-the-art, gravity-fed winery. Throughout


title: "Pinot noir" content: the 1980s, the Oregon wine industry blossomed. Being lighter in style, Pinot noir has benefited from a trend toward more restrained, less alcoholic wines around 12% alcohol by volume. During 2004 and the beginning of 2005, Pinot noir became considerably more popular among consumers in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Asia as a result of the film "Sideways", and its deleterious effect on Merlot sales. Throughout the film, the main character speaks fondly of Pinot Noir while denigrating Merlot. Following the film's U.S. release in October 2004, Merlot sales dropped 2% while Pinot Noir sales increased 16% in the


title: "Pinot noir" content: Western United States. A similar trend occurred in British wine outlets. A 2009 study by Sonoma State University found that "Sideways" slowed the growth in Merlot sales volume and caused its price to fall, but the film's main effect on the wine industry was a rise in the sales volume and price of Pinot Noir and in overall wine consumption. A 2014 study by Vineyard Financial Associates estimated that "Sideways" cost Merlot farmers over US$400m in lost revenue in the decade after its release. Pinot noir Pinot noir () is a red wine grape variety of the species "Vitis vinifera".


title: "Edward Foss" content: in Gough Square, Fleet Street, 16 October 1787. He was educated under Dr. Charles Burney, his mother's brother-in-law, at Greenwich, and remained there until he was articled in 1804 to his father, whose partner he became in 1811. In 1822 he became a member of the Inner Temple, but never proceeded further towards a call to the bar. On his father's death, in 1830, Foss moved to Essex Street, and carried on the practice alone until 1840, when he retired. During his professional career he had, owing to his literary tastes and connections, been specially concerned with questions relating to


title: "Samuel Daniel" content: to do with the popular drama that was such a striking development of his culture in his era. As a result, he was largely insulated from the turmoil that sometimes enveloped the popular drama—though not totally: a 1604 performance of his play "Philotas" led to his being called before the Privy Council. The hero of the play was perceived to resemble Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex—a troubling connection, given the Earl's 1601 execution for treason. In 1605, "Certain Small Poems" appeared, with the tragedy of "Philotas". "Certaine small Workes heretofore divulged by Samuel Daniel" (1607) was a heavily revised


title: "Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein" content: to the throne, became "Her Serene Highness The Princess of Liechtenstein". They have four children and 15 grandchildren: The Prince is an honorary member of K.D.St.V. Nordgau Prag Stuttgart, a Catholic students' fraternity that is a member of the Cartellverband der katholischen deutschen Studentenverbindungen. The Prince donated $12 million in 2000 to found the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-determination (LISD) at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. In his childhood he joined the Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Liechtensteins in Vaduz. He is also a former member of the Viennese Scout Group ""Wien 16-Schotten"". He is a member of


title: "Pont du Gard" content: Pont du Gard The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct that crosses the Gardon River near the town of Vers-Pont-du-Gard in southern France. The Pont du Gard, built as three tiers of archways to bring water to the city of Nîmes, is the highest of all elevated Roman aqueducts, and one of the best preserved. It was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1985 because of its historical importance. The aqueduct bridge is part of the Nîmes aqueduct, a system built in the first century AD to carry water from a spring at Uzès to


title: "Pont du Gard" content: the Roman colony of "Nemausus" (Nîmes). Because of the uneven terrain between the two points, the mostly underground aqueduct followed a long, winding route that called for a bridge across the gorge of the Gardon River. The bridge has three tiers of arches, stands high, and descends a mere – a gradient of only 1 in 18,241 – while the whole aqueduct descends in height by only over its entire length, which is indicative of the great precision that Roman engineers were able to achieve using simple technology. The aqueduct formerly carried an estimated of water a day to the


title: "Pont du Gard" content: fountains, baths and homes of the citizens of Nîmes. It may have been in use as late as the 6th century, with some parts used for significantly longer, but a lack of maintenance after the 4th century led to clogging by mineral deposits and debris that eventually choked off the flow of water. After the Roman Empire collapsed and the aqueduct fell into disuse, the Pont du Gard remained largely intact, due to the importance of its secondary function as a toll bridge. For centuries the local lords and bishops were responsible for its upkeep, in exchange for the right


title: "Pont du Gard" content: to levy tolls on travellers using it to cross the river, although some of its stones were looted and serious damage was inflicted on it in the 17th century. It attracted increasing attention starting in the 18th century, and became an important tourist destination. It underwent a series of renovations between the 18th and 21st centuries, commissioned by the local authorities and the French state, which culminated in 2000 with the opening of a new visitor centre and the removal of traffic and buildings from the bridge and the area immediately around it. Today it is one of France's most


title: "Pont du Gard" content: popular tourist attractions, and has attracted the attention of a succession of literary and artistic visitors. The location of "Nemausus" (Nîmes) was somewhat inconvenient when it came to providing a water supply. Plains lie to the city's south and east, where any sources of water would be at too low an altitude to be able to flow to the city, while the hills to the west made a water supply route too difficult from an engineering point of view. The only real alternative was to look to the north and in particular to the area around "Ucetia" (Uzès), where there


title: "Pont du Gard" content: are natural springs. The Nîmes aqueduct was built to channel water from the springs of the Fontaine d'Eure near Uzès to the "castellum divisorum" (repartition basin) in Nemausus. From there, it was distributed to fountains, baths and private homes around the city. The straight-line distance between the two is only about but the aqueduct takes a winding route measuring around . This was necessary to circumvent the southernmost foothills of the Massif Central, known as the . They are difficult to cross, as they are covered in dense vegetation and garrigue and indented by deep valleys. It was impractical for


title: "Pont du Gard" content: the Romans to attempt to tunnel through the hills, as it would have required a tunnel of between , depending on the starting point. A roughly V-shaped course around the eastern end of the Garrigues de Nîmes was therefore the only practical way of transporting the water from the spring to the city. The Fontaine d'Eure, at above sea level, is only higher than the repartition basin in Nîmes, but this provided a sufficient gradient to sustain a steady flow of water to the 50,000 inhabitants of the Roman city. The aqueduct's average gradient is only 1 in 3,000. It


title: "Pont du Gard" content: varies widely along its course, but is as little as 1 in 20,000 in some sections. The Pont du Gard itself descends in , a gradient of 1 in 18,241. The average gradient between the start and end of the aqueduct is far shallower than was usual for Roman aqueducts – only about a tenth of the average gradient of some of the aqueducts in Rome. The reason for the disparity in gradients along the aqueduct's route is that a uniform gradient would have meant that the Pont du Gard would have been infeasibly high, given the limitations of the


title: "Pont du Gard" content: technology of the time. By varying the gradient along the route, the aqueduct's engineers were able to lower the height of the bridge by to above the river – still exceptionally high by Roman standards, but within acceptable limits. This height limit governed the profile and gradients of the entire aqueduct, but it came at the price of creating a "sag" in the middle of the aqueduct. The gradient profile before the Pont du Gard is relatively steep, descending at per kilometre, but thereafter it descends by only over the remaining . In one section, the winding route between the


title: "Pont du Gard" content: Pont du Gard and St Bonnet required an extraordinary degree of accuracy from the Roman engineers, who had to allow for a fall of only per of the conduit. ´It is estimated that the aqueduct supplied the city with around of water a day that took nearly 27 hours to flow from the source to the city. The water arrived in the "castellum divisorum" at Nîmes – an open, shallow, circular basin 5.5 m in diameter by 1 m deep. It would have been surrounded by a balustrade within some sort of enclosure, probably under some kind of small but


title: "Pont du Gard" content: elaborate pavilion. When it was excavated, traces of a tiled roof, Corinthian columns and a fresco decorated with fish and dolphins were discovered in a fragmentary condition. The aqueduct water entered through an opening wide, and ten large holes in the facing wall, each wide, directed the water into the city's main water pipes. Three large drains were also located in the floor, possibly to enable the nearby amphitheatre to be flooded rapidly to enable "naumachia" (mock naval battles) to be held. The spring still exists and is now the site of a small modern pumping station. Its water is


title: "Pont du Gard" content: pure but high in dissolved calcium carbonate leached out of the surrounding limestone. This presented the Romans with significant problems in maintaining the aqueduct, as the carbonates precipitated out of the water during its journey through the conduit. This caused the flow of the aqueduct to become progressively reduced by deposits of calcareous sinter. Another threat was posed by vegetation penetrating the stone lid of the channel. As well as obstructing the flow of the water, dangling roots introduced algae and bacteria that decomposed in a process called biolithogenesis, producing concretions within the conduit. It required constant maintenance by "circitores",


title: "Pont du Gard" content: workers responsible for the aqueduct's upkeep, who crawled along the conduit scrubbing the walls clean and removing any vegetation. Much of the Nîmes aqueduct was built underground, as was typical of Roman aqueducts. It was constructed by digging a trench in which a stone channel was built and enclosed by an arched roof of stone slabs, which was then covered with earth. Some sections of the channel are tunnelled through solid rock. In all, of the aqueduct was constructed below the ground. The remainder had to be carried on the surface through conduits set on a wall or on arched


title: "Pont du Gard" content: bridges. Some substantial remains of the above-ground works can still be seen today, such as the so-called "Pont Rue" that stretches for hundreds of metres around Vers and still stands up to high. Other surviving parts include the Pont de Bornègre, three arches carrying the aqueduct across a stream; the Pont de Sartanette, near the Pont du Gard, which covers across a small valley; and three sections of aqueduct tunnel near Sernhac, measuring up to long. However, the Pont du Gard is by far the best preserved section of the entire aqueduct. Built on three levels, the Pont is high


title: "Pont du Gard" content: above the river at low water and long. Its width varies from at the bottom to at the top. The three levels of arches are recessed, with the main piers in line one above another. The span of the arches varies slightly, as each was constructed independently to provide flexibility to protect against subsidence. Each level has a differing number of arches: The first level of the Pont du Gard adjoins a road bridge that was added in the 18th century. The water conduit or "specus", which is about high and wide, is carried at the top of the third


title: "Pont du Gard" content: level. The upper levels of the bridge are slightly curved in the upstream direction. It was long believed that the engineers had designed it this way deliberately to strengthen the bridge's structure against the flow of water, like a dam wall. However, a microtopographic survey carried out in 1989 showed that the bend is caused by the stone expanding and contracting by about a day under the heat of the sun. Over the centuries, this process has produced the current deformation. The Pont du Gard was constructed largely without the use of mortar or clamps. It contains an estimated 50,400


title: "Pont du Gard" content: tons of limestone with a volume of some ; some of the individual blocks weigh up to 6 tons. Most of the stone was extracted from the local quarry of Estel located approximately downstream, on the banks of the Gardon River. The coarse-grained soft reddish shelly limestone, known locally as "Pierre de Vers", lends itself very well to dimension stone production. The blocks were precisely cut to fit perfectly together by friction alone, eliminating the need for mortar. The builders also left inscriptions on the stonework conveying various messages and instructions. Many blocks were numbered and inscribed with the required


title: "Pont du Gard" content: locations, such as "fronte dextra" or "fronte sinistra" (front right or front left), to guide the builders. The method of construction is fairly well understood by historians. The patron of the aqueduct – a rich individual or the city of Nîmes itself – would have hired a large team of contractors and skilled labourers. A surveyor or "mensor" planned the route using a "groma" for sighting, the "chorobates" for levelling, and a set of measuring poles five or ten Roman feet long. His figures and perhaps diagrams were recorded on "wax tablets", later to be written up on scrolls. The


title: "Pont du Gard" content: builders may have used templates to guide them with tasks that required a high degree of precision, such as carving the standardised blocks from which the water conduit was constructed. The builders would have made extensive use of cranes and block and tackle pulleys to lift the stones into place. Much of the work could have been done using simple sheers operated by a windlass. For the largest blocks, a massive human-powered treadmill would have been used; such machines were still being used in the quarries of Provence until as late as the start of the 20th century. A complex


title: "Pont du Gard" content: scaffold was erected to support the bridge as it was being built. Large blocks were left protruding from the bridge to support the frames and scaffolds used during construction. The aqueduct as a whole would have been a very expensive undertaking; Émile Espérandieu estimated the cost to be over 30 million sesterces, equivalent to 50 years' pay for 500 new recruits in a Roman legion. Although the exterior of the Pont du Gard is rough and relatively unfinished, the builders took care to ensure that the interior of the water conduit was as smooth as possible so that the flow


title: "Pont du Gard" content: of water would not be obstructed. The walls of the conduit were constructed from dressed masonry and the floor from concrete. Both were covered with a stucco incorporating minute shards of pottery and tile. It was painted with olive oil and covered with "maltha", a mixture of slaked lime, pork grease and the viscous juice of unripe figs. This produced a surface that was both smooth and durable. Although the Pont du Gard is renowned for its appearance, its design is not optimal as the technique of stacking arches on top of each other is clumsy and inefficient (and therefore