title: Externsteine content: this rock is a platform reached by an uneven stairway. The top of rock Ia has been turned into a platform and is reached by a stone stairway that begins between rocks I and II. A rectangular chamber has been cut into the peak of rock II, known as the "Höhenkammer" (high chamber). It can be reached by a stair in rock III and a wooden construction linking rocks II and II. The platform seems to have been reduced from its original size by rockfalls. The chamber shows signs of wooden pegs that likely once supported wooden walls and/or a


title: Externsteine content: wooden ceiling. At the east of the "Höhenkammer" is an apse with a circular window and an altar. Towards the west is an alcove with columns carved into the rock. To the north there are pilasters and arched windows. The northwestern end is marked by the carving of a bearded man (likely dating from the Renaissance or Baroque). Remains indicate the past presence of further stairways on the rock. Finally, rock IV has been decorated with the coat of arms of the Counts of Lippe. Archaeological excavations have yielded some Upper Paleolithic stone tools dating to about 10,700 BC from


title: Externsteine content: 9,600 BC. Beneath a rock overhang on rock VIII, microliths from the Ahrensburg culture such as arrow heads or blades were found. Evidence of fire sites was also found. The area was thus frequented by nomadic groups who used the stones as a temporary shelter. The site is associated with archaeoastronomical speculation; a circular hole above the "altar stone" in the "Höhenkammer" has been identified in this context as facing in the direction of sunrise at the time of summer solstice. However, no archaeological evidence has been found that would substantiate use of the site between the end of the


title: Externsteine content: Upper Paleolithic and the Carolingian period (9th century). In the 1990s, artefacts found in the excavation conducted by in 1934/35 were analyzed. Attribution of objects found was either to the Mesolithic Ahrensburg culture (see above) or to the medieval period, with evidence of occupation in the Bronze or Iron Age conspicuously absent: All the ceramic and metal items found were younger than the Carolingian period, some stone artefacts were attributed to the Ahrensburg culture. Archaeological excavations at the site in the 1930s produced evidence for use from the late 10th to the 15th centuries. In addition, a drystone wall east


title: Externsteine content: of rock II (not extant today) could be linked to buildings here mentioned in medieval documents. Some additional records still exist today in photographs, but they can not be put into context due to the loss of written materials in World War II. Thermoluminescence dating in the caves support the findings. In the main and side chamber, the last large fires were used in the 14th or 15th century (one as early as the 11/12th century). In the "Kuppelgrotte" these tests have shown the last large fire to have burned in the 10th century. One (highly uncertain) result possibly even


title: Externsteine content: pointed to the 8th century (actual result: 735 with a margin of error of +/- 180 years). However, the first mention of the stones is in a document dated to around 1129, which refers to a farm "Holzhausen or Egesterenstein". The abbot of Werden Abbey, which owned the farm, had been passing through and was housed there. It is possible that mass was celebrated at the Externsteine at that point. A potential earlier mention occurs in a document dated 1093, but this is only extant in two copies from 1374 and 1380. It records the purchase of a farm at


title: Externsteine content: Holzhausen including an "Agisterstein" by the abbot of the (abbey) at Paderborn from a female Saxon noble called Ida. This is deemed plausible by historians since in the 16th century the abbey still had a farmstead at Holzhausen. However, the inscription in the main chamber of the grotto mentions a consecration in 1115 by "Henrico", which is deemed to be a reference to , bishop of Paderborn from 1084 to 1127. This implies a contradiction, since either the abbot or the bishop would be in charge of any local place of worship. Historians have suggested, though, that this may be


title: Externsteine content: an indication that the abbey did not in fact claim the Externsteine for itself thus leaving them to fall into the bishop's purview. Some authors have argued that the ecclesial carvings and alterations to the stones may suggest use of the site as a Christian sanctuary from the early 9th century. In particular, the Externsteine relief has been the subject of debate among art historians, formerly widely accepted as of Carolingian origin (9th century), scholarly consensus has placed it in the 12th century since the 1950s. From a stylistic point of view, historians today place the relief in the period


title: Externsteine content: 1160 to 1170. Even assuming a high medieval date, the relief represents the oldest monumental relief worked into a natural rock face found north of the Alps. In the early 13th century, temporal control of the area passed from the abbey to the House of Lippe. From 1366, the ecclesial control of Abdinghof over a chapel at the Externsteine is well documented. This lasted into the 17th century. It involved a hermitage at this location, with individuals named as hermits in 1385 and 1469. The document from 1385 also mentions an "Upper Altar", likely referring to the altar in the


title: Externsteine content: "Höhenkammer". There remains a contradiction between the use of the Externsteine as a simple roadhouse for travellers and as an hermitage on the one hand and the presence of the monumental relief and the Arcosolium on the other. These may indeed have been a reconstruction of the Holy Sepulchre. The remains visible today indicate the possibility that the Externsteine were intended as a destination for pilgrims unable to travel to Jerusalem. To that end many medieval churches created . However, it is unclear who could have built it here and why there is no written evidence of such a relatively


title: Externsteine content: elaborate undertaking. The site was within the County of Lippe, formerly a county within the Duchy of Saxony, which gained imperial immediacy by 1413, throughout the Early modern period. The hermitage apparently became a hideout for bandits and in the early 16th century was dissolved by the rulers. This was roughly at the time that the Reformation was introduced in Lippe (1538) and church activity at the site ceased. The original claims associating the Externsteine with Saxon pagan worship were made by Hermann Hamelmann, who in his "Delineatio Oppidorum Westfaliae" (1564) claimed to take the information from older authorities (which


title: Externsteine content: cannot now be recovered or identified), Around 1592, the Count's local forest warden lived in the caves. Circa 1660, Herman Adolph, Count of Lippe designed the area for use as a hunting lodge and "Lustschloss". This was a fortress of two squat round towers flanking a central gatehouse, built against the eastern side of the Externsteine. The excavated foundations show relatively thin walls, indicating that these walls were never intended as fortifications but were just ornamental. A stairwell next to rock I gave access to a viewing platform on top. Likely associated with this era is the bearded figure on


title: Externsteine content: the platform and the coat of arms inserted into rock IV. The structure was rarely used, and fell into dilapidation in the 18th century. In 1810, it was torn down at the request of Countess Pauline. The old long-distance trade road running between rocks III and IV was expanded and paved in 1813. The unstable "Wackelstein" was secured with iron hooks. At the same time, new stairs were constructed and a bridge between rocks II and III gave access to the "Höhenkammer". These improvements and better access via the road made the Externsteine an increasingly popular tourist destination, continuing a


title: Externsteine content: trend of the 18th century. Half-timbered 17th century buildings were replaced by new buildings, including several hotels. The Wiembecke stream flowing past the stones was dammed to form an artificial pond in 1836. The pond was later drained for the excavations of 1934/5, and restored after 1945. The period of Romantic nationalism of the 1860s to 1870s inspired a large number of publications speculating about the ancient history of the site. Many of these were contributed by local amateur historians and published in the "Zeitschrift für vaterländische Geschichte und Althertumskunde Westfalens". The contributions by Wilhelm Engelbert Giefers (1817–1880) were reprinted


title: Externsteine content: as a short monograph in 1867. Local amateur historian Gotthilf August Benjamin Schierenberg (1808–1894) seems to have been the first to identify the "pagan idol" mentioned by Hamelmann with the Saxon Irminsul. The first archaeological excavations were performed in 1881 and 1888, with limited results. Gustav Schierenberg was looking in vain for evidence of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 1881. In 1888, the "Westfälischer Altertumsverein" under Konrad Mertens was looking at the possible reconstruction of the Holy Sepulchre. From 1912 to 1953, a tramway ran along the Externsteine road, operated by "Paderborner Elektrizitätswerke und Straßenbahn AG" (PESAG). A


title: Externsteine content: stop was located right next to the stones. With the introduction of a road numbering system in 1932, the road passing between the stones became part of "Fernverkehrsstraße Nr. 1" (Aachen–Königsberg). The course of the road was relocated to the south-east in order to protect the stones in 1936. This is now "Bundesstraße 1". In 1926, the Externsteine were declared "one of the oldest and most important nature reserves in Lippe" and were placed under protection. Today the preserve measures approximately , and forms part of the "‘Teutoburg Forest’" nature reserve, Externsteine. Wilhelm Teudt was particularly interested in the Externsteine,


title: Externsteine content: which he suggested was the location of a central Saxon shrine, the location of Irminsul and an ancient sun observatory. Since the mid-1920s he had popularized them by calling them the "Germanic Stonehenge". Teudt popularized the identification of the site as that of the Saxon Irminsul destroyed by Charlemagne. Teudt was could refer to a total number of more than 40 publications on the Externsteine, including eleven substantial monographs, most of which he considered outdated. In 1932, the area was excavated (for the third time) by but no "cultural remains" were discovered. During the period of Nazi rule, the Externsteine


title: Externsteine content: became a focus of nationalistic propaganda. In 1933, the "Externsteine Foundation" was established and Heinrich Himmler became its president. Interest in the location was furthered by the "Ahnenerbe" division within the SS, who studied the stones for their value to Germanic folklore and history. After the Nazis came to power, Teudt was put in charge of additional excavations at the site and appointed to head the work done there by the "Reichsarbeitsdienst" in 1934/35. Teudt thought that the Externsteine had served as an observatory until its destruction by Charlemagne. He initiated the demolishing of tourist infrastructure (tramway, hotels) and the


title: Externsteine content: creation of a "sacred grove" or "Heiligtum" nearby. The SS used Serbian prisoners of war for the project. Since the 1950s, the Externsteine were developed into a popular tourist attraction. The section of the tramway line connecting to the Externsteine was closed in 1953. In 1958, visitor numbers were around 224,000 people annually. Today, between a half to one million people annually visit the stones, making the Externsteine one of the most frequently visited nature reserves in Westphalia. The site also remains of interest to various Neo-Pagans and nationalist movements. Because of its reputation as "pagan sacred site" in popular


title: Externsteine content: culture, there have often been private gatherings or celebrations on the day of summer solstice and Walpurgis Night. The trend had been visible since the 1980s, but the growing number of visitors came to be seen as a problem in the late 2000s, with more than 3,500 on the site. The municipalities of the Lippe ("Landesverband Lippe") reacted by prohibiting camping, alcohol consumption and open fires on the site in 2010 and closed the parking at the site. A spokesman emphasized that the decision was not directed against "esotericists, druids and dowsers", but against large-scale parties of binge-drinkers. Since 2006


title: Externsteine content: the Externsteine site has been a "" (national geotope). Externsteine The Externsteine is a distinctive sandstone rock formation located in the Teutoburg Forest, near the town of Horn-Bad Meinberg in the Lippe district of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The formation is a tor consisting of several tall, narrow columns of rock which rise abruptly from the surrounding wooded hills. In a popular tradition going back to an idea proposed to Hermann Hamelmann in 1564, the Externsteine are identified as a sacred site of the pagan Saxons, and the location of the Irminsul idol reportedly destroyed by Charlemagne; there


title: "Fox sparrow" content: Fox sparrow The fox sparrow ("Passerella iliaca") is a large American sparrow. It is the only member of the genus "Passerella", although some authors split the species into four (see below). More specific information regarding plumage is available in the accounts for the various taxa. Adults are among the largest sparrows, heavily spotted and streaked underneath. All feature a messy central breast spot though it is less noticeable on the thick billed and slate-colored varieties. Plumage varies markedly from one group to another. These birds forage by scratching the ground, which makes them vulnerable to cats and other predators, though


title: "Fox sparrow" content: they are generally common. Fox sparrows migrate on the west coast of the United States. They mainly eat seeds and insects, as well as some berries. Coastal fox sparrows may also eat crustaceans. Fox sparrows nest in wooded areas across northern Canada and western North America from Alaska to California. They nest either in a sheltered location on the ground or low in trees or shrubs. A nest typically contains two to five pale green to greenish white eggs speckled with reddish brown. The review by Zink & Weckstein (2003), which added mtDNA cytochrome "b", NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 and


title: "Fox sparrow" content: 3, and D-loop sequence, confirmed the four "subspecies groups" of the fox sparrow that were outlined by the initial limited mtDNA haplotype comparison (Zink 1994). These should probably be recognized as separate species, but this was deferred for further analysis of hybridization. Particularly the contact zones between the slate-colored and thick-billed fox sparrows which are only weakly distinct morphologically were of interest; the other groups were found to be distinct far earlier. A further study of the nuclear genome, using microsatellites, showed similar separation between the four groups. The combined molecular data is unable to resolve the interrelationship of the


title: "Fox sparrow" content: subspecies group and of subspecies in these, but aids in confirming the distinctness of the thick-billed group. Biogeography indicates that the coastal populations were probably isolated during an epoch of glaciation of the Rocky Mountains range, but this is also not very helpful in resolving the remaining problems of within-group diversity, and inter-group relationships. Major taxonomic authorities currently differ in their treatment of the fox sparrow complex. The IOC World Bird List and HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World treat each of the four subspecies groups as a separate species, while the eBird/Clements checklist


title: "Fox sparrow" content: of birds of the world and Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World currently treat the complex as a single species. Fox sparrow The fox sparrow ("Passerella iliaca") is a large American sparrow. It is the only member of the genus "Passerella", although some authors split the species into four (see below). More specific information regarding plumage is available in the accounts for the various taxa. Adults are among the largest sparrows, heavily spotted and streaked underneath. All feature a messy central breast spot though it is less noticeable on the thick billed and slate-colored varieties.


title: "Economic freedom" content: an example to support his argument that the basic problem with "The Road to Serfdom" is "that it offered predictions which turned out to be false. The steady advance of government in places such as Sweden has not led to any loss of non-economic freedoms." While criticizing Hayek, Tullock still praises the classical liberal notion of economic freedom, saying, "Arguments for political freedom are strong, as are the arguments for economic freedom. We needn’t make one set of arguments depend on the other." The annual surveys "Economic Freedom of the World" (EFW) and "Index of Economic Freedom" (IEF) are two


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: Krak des Chevaliers Krak des Chevaliers (; ), also Crac des Chevaliers, Ḥoṣn al-Akrād (, literally "Castle of the Kurds"), formerly Crac de l'Ospital is a Crusader castle in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. The site was first inhabited in the 11th century by a settlement of Kurdish troops garrisoned there by the Mirdasids. As a result, it was known as "Hisn al-Akrad", meaning the "Castle of the Kurds". In 1142 it was given by Raymond II, Count of Tripoli, to the Knights Hospitaller. It remained in their possession until it fell


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: in 1271. It became known as "Crac de l'Ospital"; the name "Krak des Chevaliers" was coined in the 19th century. The Hospitallers began rebuilding the castle in the 1140s and were finished by 1170 when an earthquake damaged the castle. The order controlled a number of castles along the border of the County of Tripoli, a state founded after the First Crusade. Krak des Chevaliers was among the most important, and acted as a center of administration as well as a military base. After a second phase of building was undertaken in the 13th century, Krak des Chevaliers became a


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: concentric castle. This phase created the outer wall and gave the castle its current appearance. The first half of the century has been described as Krak des Chevaliers' "golden age". At its peak, Krak des Chevaliers housed a garrison of around 2,000. Such a large garrison allowed the Hospitallers to exact tribute from a wide area. From the 1250s the fortunes of the Knights Hospitaller took a turn for the worse and in 1271 Mamluk Sultan Baibars captured Krak des Chevaliers after a siege lasting 36 days, supposedly by way of a forged letter purportedly from the Hospitallers' Grand Master


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: that caused the Knights to surrender. Renewed interest in Crusader castles in the 19th century led to the investigation of Krak des Chevaliers, and architectural plans were drawn up. In the late 19th or early 20th century a settlement had been created within the castle, causing damage to its fabric. The 500 inhabitants were moved in 1933 and the castle was given over to the French state, which carried out a program of clearing and restoration. When Syria declared independence in 1946, it assumed control. Today, a village called al-Husn exists around the castle and has a population of nearly


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: 9,000. Krak des Chevaliers is located approximately west of the city of Homs, close to the border of Lebanon, and is administratively part of the Homs Governorate. Since 2006, the castles of Krak des Chevaliers and Qal'at Salah El-Din have been recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. It was partially damaged in the Syrian civil war from shelling and recaptured by the Syrian government forces in 2014. Since then, reconstruction and conservation work on the site had begun. Reports by the UNESCO and the Syrian government on the state of the site are produced yearly. The modern Arabic word


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: for a castle is "Kalaa" (), but Krak des Chavaliers is known as a ""Hosn"" (), or "fort". This derives from the name of an earlier fortification on the same site called "Ḥoṣn al-Akrād" (), meaning "fort of the Kurds". It was called by the Franks and then by a confusion with "karak" (fortress), . "Crat" was probably the Frankish version of "Akrād", the word for Kurds. After the Knights Hospitaller took control of the castle, it became known as ; the name (alternatively spelt ) was introduced by Guillaume Rey in the 19th century. The castle sits atop a


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: hill east of Tartus, Syria, in the Homs Gap. On the other side of the gap, away, was the 12th-century Gibelacar Castle (Hisn Ibn Akkar). The route through the strategically important Homs Gap connects the cities of Tripoli and Homs. To the north of the castle lies the Jebel Ansariyah, and to the south Lebanon. The surrounding area is fertile, benefiting from streams and abundant rainfall. Compared to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the other Crusader states had less land suitable for farming; however, the limestone peaks of Tripoli were well-suited to defensive sites. Property in the County of Tripoli, granted


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: to the Knights in the 1140s, included the Krak des Chevaliers, the towns of Rafanea and Montferrand, and the Beqa'a plain separating Homs and Tripoli. Homs was never under Crusader control, so the region around the Krak des Chevaliers was vulnerable to expeditions from the city. While its proximity caused the Knights problems with regard to defending their territory, it also meant Homs was close enough for them to raid. Because of the castle's command of the plain, it became the Knights' most important base in the area. According to the 13th-century Arab historian Ibn Shaddad, in 1031, the Mirdasid


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: emir of Aleppo and Homs, Shibl ad-Dawla Nasr, established a settlement of Kurdish tribesmen at the site of the castle, which was then known as ""Ḥiṣn al-Safḥ"". Nasr restored Hisn al-Safh to help reestablish the Mirdasids' access to the coast of Tripoli after they lost nearby Hisn Ibn Akkar to the Fatimids in 1029. Due to Nasr's garrisoning of Kurdish troops at the site, the castle became known as ""Ḥiṣn al-Akrād"" (Castle of the Kurds). The castle was strategically located at the southern edge of the Jibal al-Alawiyin mountain range and dominated the road between Homs and Tripoli. When building


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: castles, engineers often chose elevated sites, such as hills and mountains, that provided natural obstacles. In January 1099 on the journey to Jerusalem during the First Crusade, the company of Raymond IV of Toulouse came under attack from the garrison of Hisn al-Akrad, the forerunner of the Krak, who harried Raymond's foragers. The following day Raymond marched on the castle and found it deserted. The crusaders briefly occupied the castle in February of the same year but abandoned it when they continued their march towards Jerusalem. Permanent occupation began in 1110 when Tancred, Prince of Galilee took control of the


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: site. The early castle was substantially different from the extant remains and no trace of this first castle survives at the site. The origins of the Knights Hospitaller are unclear, but the order probably emerged around the 1070s in Jerusalem. It started as a religious order which cared for the sick, and later looked after pilgrims to the Holy Land. After the success of the First Crusade in capturing Jerusalem in 1099, many crusaders donated their new property in the Levant to the Hospital of St John. Early donations were in the newly formed Kingdom of Jerusalem, but over time


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: the order extended its holdings to the Crusader states of the County of Tripoli and the Principality of Antioch. Evidence suggests that in the 1130s the order became militarised when Fulk, King of Jerusalem, granted the newly built castle at Beth Gibelin to the order in 1136. A papal bull from between 1139 and 1143 may indicate the order hiring people to defend pilgrims. There were also other military orders, such as the Knights Templar, which offered protection to pilgrims. Between 1142 and 1144 Raymond II, Count of Tripoli, granted the order property in the county. According to historian Jonathan


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: Riley-Smith, the Hospitallers effectively established a "palatinate" within Tripoli. The property included castles with which the Hospitallers were expected to defend Tripoli. Along with Krak des Chevaliers, the Hospitallers were given four other castles along the borders of the state which allowed the order to dominate the area. The order's agreement with Raymond II stated that if he did not accompany knights of the order on campaign, the spoils belonged entirely to the order, and if he was present it was split equally between the count and the order. Raymond II could further not make peace with the Muslims without


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: the permission of the Hospitallers. The Hospitallers made Krak des Chevaliers a center of administration for their new property, undertaking work at the castle that would make it one of the most elaborate Crusader fortifications in the Levant. After acquiring the site in 1142, they began building a new castle to replace the former Kurdish fortification. This work lasted until 1170, when an earthquake damaged the castle. An Arab source mentions that the quake destroyed the castle's chapel, which was replaced by the present chapel. In 1163 the Crusaders emerged victorious over Nur ad-Din in the Battle of al-Buqaia near


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: Krak des Chevaliers. Drought conditions between 1175 and 1180 prompted the Crusaders to sign a two-year truce with the Muslims, but without Tripoli included in the terms. During the 1180s, raids by Christians and Muslims into each other's territory became more frequent. In 1180, Saladin ventured into the County of Tripoli, ravaging the area. Unwilling to meet him in open battle, the Crusaders retreated to the relative safety of their fortifications. Without capturing the castles, Saladin could not secure control of the area, and once he retreated the Hospitallers were able to revitalise their damaged lands. The Battle of Hattin


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: in 1187 was a disastrous defeat for the Crusaders: Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, was captured, as was the True Cross, a relic discovered during the First Crusade. Afterwards Saladin ordered the execution of the captured Templar and Hospitaller knights, such was the importance of the two orders in defending the Crusader states. After the battle, the Hospitaller castles of Belmont, Belvoir, and Bethgibelin fell to Muslim armies. Following these losses, the Order focused its attention on its castles in Tripoli. In May 1188 Saladin led an army to attack Krak des Chevaliers, but on seeing the castle decided


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: it was too well defended and instead marched on the Hospitaller castle of Margat, which he also failed to capture. Another earthquake struck in 1202, and it may have been after this event that the castle was remodelled. The 13th-century work was the last period of building at Krak des Chevaliers and gave it its current appearance. An enclosing stone circuit was built between 1142 and 1170; the earlier structure became the castle's inner court or ward. If there was a circuit of walls surrounding the inner court that pre-dated the current outer walls, no trace of it has been


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: discovered. The first half of the 13th century has been characterised as Krak des Chevaliers' "golden age". While other Crusader strongholds came under threat, Krak des Chevaliers and its garrison of 2,000 soldiers dominated the surrounding area. It was effectively the center of a principality which remained in Crusader hands until 1271 and was the only major inland area to remain constantly under Crusader control during this period. Crusaders who passed through the area would often stop at the castle, and probably made donations. King Andrew II of Hungary visited in 1218 and proclaimed the castle the "key of the


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: Christian lands". He was so impressed with the castle that he gave a yearly income of 60 marks to the Master and 40 to the brothers. Geoffroy de Joinville, uncle of the noted chronicler of the Crusades Jean de Joinville, died at Krak des Chevaliers in 1203 or 1204 and was buried in the castle's chapel. The main contemporary accounts relating to Krak des Chevaliers are of Muslim origin and tend to emphasise Muslim success while overlooking setbacks against the Crusaders although they suggest that the Knights Hospitaller forced the settlements of Hama and Homs to pay tribute to the


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: Order. This situation lasted as long as Saladin's successors warred between themselves. The proximity of Krak des Chevaliers to Muslim territories allowed it to take on an offensive role, acting as a base from which neighboring areas could be attacked. By 1203 the garrison were making raids on Montferrand (which was under Muslim control) and Hama, and in 1207 and 1208 the castle's soldiers took part in an attack on Homs. Krak des Chevaliers acted as a base for expeditions to Hama in 1230 and 1233 after the amir refused to pay tribute. The former was unsuccessful, but the 1233


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: expedition was a show of force that demonstrated the importance of Krak des Chevaliers. In the 1250s, the fortunes of the Hospitallers at Krak des Chevaliers took a turn for the worse. A Muslim army estimated to number 10,000 men ravaged the countryside around the castle in 1252 after which the Order's finances declined sharply. In 1268 Master Hugh Revel complained that the area, previously home to around 10,000 people, now stood deserted and that the Order's property in the Kingdom of Jerusalem produced little income. He also noted that by this point there were only 300 of the Order's


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: brethren left in the east. On the Muslim side, in 1260 Baibars became Sultan of Egypt, following his overthrow of the incumbent ruler Qutuz, and went on to unite Egypt and Syria. As a result, Muslim settlements that had previously paid tribute to the Hospitallers at Krak des Chevaliers no longer felt intimidated into doing so. Baibars ventured into the area around Krak des Chevaliers in 1270 and allowed his men to graze their animals on the fields around the castle. When he received news that year of the Eighth Crusade led by King Louis IX of France, Baibars left


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: for Cairo to avoid a confrontation. After Louis died in 1271 Baibars returned to deal with Krak des Chevaliers. Before he marched on the castle the Sultan captured the smaller castles in the area, including Chastel Blanc. On 3 March, Baibars' army arrived at Krak des Chevaliers. By the time the Sultan appeared on the scene, the castle may already have been blockaded by Mamluk forces for several days. Of the three Arabic accounts of the siege only one was contemporary, that of Ibn Shaddad, although he was not present at the siege. Peasants who lived in the area had


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: fled to the castle for safety and were kept in the outer ward. As soon as Baibars arrived he erected mangonels, powerful siege weapons which he would later turn on the castle. In a probable reference to a walled suburb outside the castle's entrance, Ibn Shaddad records that two days later the first line of defences fell to the besiegers. Rain interrupted the siege, but on 21 March, immediately south of Krak des Chevaliers, Baibar's forces captured a triangular outwork possibly defended by a timber palisade. On 29 March, the attackers undermined a tower in the southwest corner causing it


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: to collapse whereupon Baibars' army attacked through the breach. In the outer ward they encountered the peasants who had sought refuge in the castle. Though the outer ward had fallen, with a handful of the garrison killed in the process, the Crusaders retreated to the more formidable inner ward. After a lull of ten days, the besiegers conveyed a letter to the garrison, supposedly from the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller in Tripoli, which granted permission for them to surrender. Although the letter was a forgery, the garrison capitulated and the Sultan spared their lives. The new owners of


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: the castle undertook repairs, focused mainly on the outer ward. The Hospitaller chapel was converted to a mosque and two "mihrabs" (prayer niches) were added to the interior. After the Franks were driven from the Holy Land in 1291, European familiarity with the castles of the Crusades declined. It was not until the 19th century that interest in these buildings was renewed, so there are no detailed plans from before 1837. Guillaume Rey was the first European researcher to scientifically study Crusader castles in the Holy Land. In 1871 he published the work "Etudes sur les monuments de l'architecture militaire


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: des Croisés en Syrie et dans l'ile de Chypre"; it included plans and drawings of the major Crusader castles in Syria, including Krak des Chevaliers. In some instances his drawings were inaccurate, however for Krak des Chavaliers they record features which have since been lost. Paul Deschamps visited the castle in February 1927. Since Rey had visited in the 19th century a village of 500 people had been established within the castle. Renewed inhabitation had damaged the site: underground vaults had been used as rubbish tips and in some places the battlements had been destroyed. Deschamps and fellow architect François


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: Anus attempted to clear some of the detritus; General Maurice Gamelin assigned 60 Alawite soldiers to help. Deschamps left in March 1927, and work resumed when he returned two years later. The culmination of Deschamp's work at the castle was the publication of "Les Châteaux des Croisés en Terre Sainte I: le Crac des Chevaliers" in 1934, with detailed plans by Anus. The survey has been widely praised, described as "brilliant and exhaustive" by military historian D. J. Cathcart King in 1949 and "perhaps the finest account of the archaeology and history of a single medieval castle ever written" by


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: historian Hugh Kennedy in 1994. As early as 1929 there were suggestions that the castle should be taken under French control. On 16 November 1933 Krak des Chevaliers was given into the control of the French state, and cared for by the Académie des Beaux-Arts. The villagers were moved and paid F1 million between them in compensation. Over the following two years a programme of cleaning and restoration was carried out by a force of 120 workers. Once finished, Krak des Chevaliers was one of the key tourist attractions in the French Levant. Pierre Coupel, who had undertaken similar work


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: at the Tower of the Lions and the two castles at Sidon, supervised the work. Despite the restoration, no archaeological excavations were carried out. The French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon, which had been established in 1920, ended in 1946 with the declaration of Syrian independence. The castle was made a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, along with Qal’at Salah El-Din, in 2006, and is owned by the Syrian government. Several of the castle's former residents built their houses outside the fortress and a village called al-Husn has since developed. Many of the al-Husn's roughly 9,000 Muslim residents benefit economically


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: from the tourism generated by the site. During the Syrian Civil War which began in 2011, UNESCO voiced concerns that the war might lead to the damage of important cultural sites such as Krak des Chevaliers. It has been reported that the castle was shelled in August 2012 by the Syrian Arab Army, and the Crusader chapel has been damaged. The castle was reported to have been damaged in July 2013 by an airstrike during the Siege of Homs, and once more on 18 August 2013 it was clearly damaged yet the amount of destruction is unknown. The Syrian Arab


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: Army recaptured the castle and the village of al-Hosn from rebel forces on March 20, 2014. Since then, both the UNESCO and the Syrian government have produced periodic reports about the state of the site, required reconstruction and conservation measures, and advance in these. Writing in the early 20th century, T. E. Lawrence, popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia, remarked that Krak des Chevaliers was "perhaps the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world, [a castle which] forms a fitting commentary on any account of the Crusading buildings of Syria". Castles in Europe provided lordly accommodation for


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: their owners and were centers of administration; in the Levant the need for defence was paramount and was reflected in castle design. Kennedy suggests that "The castle scientifically designed as a fighting machine surely reached its apogee in great buildings like Margat and Crac des Chevaliers." Krak des Chevaliers can be classified both as a spur castle, due to its site, and after the 13th-century expansion a fully developed concentric castle. It was similar in size and layout to Vadum Jacob, a Crusader castle built in the late 1170s. Margat has also been cited as Krak des Chevaliers' sister castle.


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: The main building material at Krak des Chevaliers was limestone; the ashlar facing is so fine that the mortar is barely noticeable. Outside the castle's entrance was a "walled suburb" known as a "burgus", no trace of which remains. To the south of the outer ward was a triangular outwork and the Crusaders may have intended to build stone walls and towers around it. It is unknown how it was defended at the time of the 1271 siege, though it has been suggested it was surrounded by a timber palisade. South of the castle the spur on which it stands


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: is connected to the next hill, so that siege engines can approach on level ground. The inner defences are strongest at this point, with a cluster of towers connected by a thick wall. Between 1142 and 1170 the Knights Hospitaller undertook a building programme on the site. The castle was defended by a stone curtain wall studded with square towers which projected slightly. The main entrance was between two towers on the eastern side, and there was a postern gate in the northwest tower. At the center was a courtyard surrounded by vaulted chambers. The lay of the land dictated


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: the castle's irregular shape. A site with natural defences was a typical location for Crusader castles and steep slopes provided Krak des Chevaliers with defences on all sides bar one, where the castle's defences were concentrated. This phase of building was incorporated into the later castle's construction. When Krak des Chevaliers was remodelled in the 13th century, new walls surrounding the inner court were built. They followed the earlier walls, with a narrow gap between them in the west and south which was turned into a gallery from which defenders could unleash missiles. In this area, the walls were supported


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: by a steeply sloping glacis which provided additional protection against both siege weapons and earthquakes. Four large, round towers project vertically from the glacis; they were used as accommodation for the Knights of the garrison, about 60 at its peak. The southwest tower was designed to house the rooms of the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller. Though the defences which once crested the walls of the inner wards no longer survive in most places, it seems that they did not extend for the entire circuit. Machicolations were absent from the southern face. The area between the inner court and


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: the outer walls was narrow and not used for accommodation. In the east, where the defences were weakest, there was an open cistern filled by an aqueduct. It acted both as a moat and water supply for the castle. At the north end of the small courtyard is a chapel and at the southern end is an esplanade. The esplanade is raised above the rest of the courtyard; the vaulted area beneath it would have provided storage and could have acted as stabling and shelter from missiles. Lining the west of the courtyard is the hall of the Knights. Though


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: probably first built in the 12th century, the interior dates from the 13th-century remodelling. The tracery and delicate decoration is a sophisticated example of Gothic architecture, probably dating from the 1230s. The current chapel was probably built to replace the one destroyed by an earthquake in 1170. Only the east end of the original chapel, which housed the apse, and a small part of the south wall survive from the original chapel. The later chapel had a barrel vault and an uncomplicated apse; its design would have been considered outmoded by contemporary standards in France, but bears similarities to that


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: built around 1186 at Margat. It was divided into three roughly equal bays. A cornice runs round the chapel at the point where the vault ends and the wall begins. Oriented roughly east to west, it was long and wide with the main entrance from the west and a second smaller one in the north wall. When the castle was remodelled in the early 13th century, the entrance was moved to the south wall. The chapel was lit by windows above the cornice, one at the west end, one on either side of the east bay, and one on the


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: south side of the central bay, and the apse at the east end had a large window. In 1935 a second chapel was discovered outside the castle's main entrance, however it no longer survives. The second phase of building work undertaken by the Hospitallers began in the early 13th century and lasted decades. The outer walls were built in the last major construction on the site, lending the Krak des Chevaliers its current appearance. Standing high, the outer circuit had towers that projected strongly from the wall. While the towers of the inner court had a square plan and did


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: not project far beyond the wall, the towers of the 13th-century outer walls were rounded. This design was new and even contemporary Templar castles did not have rounded towers. The technique was developed at Château Gaillard in France by Richard the Lionheart between 1196 and 1198. The extension to the southeast is of lesser quality than the rest of the circuit and was built at an unknown date. Probably around the 1250s a postern was added to the north wall. Arrow slits in the walls and towers were distributed to minimise the amount of dead ground around the castle. Machicolations


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: crowned the walls, offering defenders a way to hurl projectiles towards enemies at the foot of the wall. They were so cramped archers would have had to crouch inside them. The box machicolations were unusual: those at Krak des Chevaliers were more complex that those at Saône or Margat and there were no comparable features amongst Crusader castles. However, they bore similarities to Muslim work, such as the contemporary defences at the Citadel of Aleppo. It is unclear which side imitated the other, as the date they were added to Krak des Chevaliers is unknown, but it does provide evidence


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: for the diffusion of military ideas between the Muslim and Christian armies. These defences were accessed by a wall-walk known as a chemin de ronde. In the opinion of historian Hugh Kennedy the defences of the outer wall were "the most elaborate and developed anywhere in the Latin east ... the whole structure is a brilliantly designed and superbly built fighting machine". When the outer walls were built in the 13th century the main entrance was enhanced. A vaulted corridor led uphill from the outer gate in the northeast. The corridor made a hairpin turn halfway along its length, making


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: it an example of a bent entrance. Bent entrances were a Byzantine innovation, but that at Krak des Chevaliers was a particularly complex example. It extended for , and along its length were murder-holes which allowed defenders to shower attackers with missiles. Anyone going straight ahead rather than following the hairpin turn would emerge in the area between the castle's two circuits of walls. To access the inner ward, the passage had to be followed round. Despite its predominantly military character, the castle is one of the few sites where Crusader art (in the form of frescoes) has been preserved.


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: In 1935, 1955, and 1978 medieval frescoes were discovered within Krak des Chevaliers after later plaster and white-wash had decayed. The frescos were painted on the interior and exterior of the main chapel and the chapel outside the main entrance, which no longer survives. Writing in 1982, historian Jaroslav Folda noted that at the time there had been little investigation of Crusader frescoes that would provide a comparison for the fragmentary remains found at Krak des Chevaliers. Those in the chapel were painted on the masonry from the 1170–1202 rebuild. Mold, smoke, and moisture have made it difficult to preserve


title: "Krak des Chevaliers" content: the frescoes. The fragmentary nature of the red and blue frescoes inside the chapel means they are difficult to assess. The one on the exterior of the chapel depicted the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Krak des Chevaliers Krak des Chevaliers (; ), also Crac des Chevaliers, Ḥoṣn al-Akrād (, literally "Castle of the Kurds"), formerly Crac de l'Ospital is a Crusader castle in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. The site was first inhabited in the 11th century by a settlement of Kurdish troops garrisoned there by the Mirdasids. As a


title: Chemosynthesis content: molecules. Two categories can be distinguished. In the rare sites at which hydrogen molecules (H) are available, the energy available from the reaction between CO and H (leading to production of methane, CH) can be large enough to drive the production of biomass. Alternatively, in most oceanic environments, energy for chemosynthesis derives from reactions in which substances such as hydrogen sulfide or ammonia are oxidized. This may occur with or without the presence of oxygen. Many chemosynthetic microorganisms are consumed by other organisms in the ocean, and symbiotic associations between chemosynthesizers and respiring heterotrophs are quite common. Large populations of


title: "Pinyon pine" content: Pinyon pine The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in the southwestern United States, especially in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. The trees yield edible nuts, which are a staple of the Native Americans, and still widely eaten as a snack and as an ingredient in New Mexican cuisine. The name comes from the Spanish "pino piñonero", a name used for both the American varieties and the stone pine common in Spain, which also produces edible pine nuts typical of Mediterranean cuisine. Harvesting techniques of the prehistoric Indians are still being used to today to collect the pinyon seeds for


title: "Pinyon pine" content: personal use or for commercialization. The pinyon nut or seed is high in fats and calories. Pinyon wood, especially when burned, has a distinctive fragrance, making it a common wood to burn in . The pinyon pine trees are also known to influence the soil in which they grow by increasing concentrations of both macronutrients and micronutrients. Some of the species are known to hybridize, the most notable ones being "P. quadrifolia" with "P. monophylla", and "P. edulis" with "P. monophylla". The two-needle piñon ("Pinus edulis") is the official state tree of New Mexico. Genetic differentiation in the pinyon pine


title: "Pinyon pine" content: has been observed associated to insect herbivory and environmental stress. There are eight species of true pinyon ("Pinus" subsection "Cembroides"): These additional Mexican species are also related and mostly called pinyons: The three bristlecone pine species of the high mountains of the southwestern United States, and the lacebark pines of Asia are closely related to the pinyon pines. The seeds of the pinyon pine, usually called "pine nuts" or simply "piñons", are an important food for Americans Indians, living in the mountains of southwestern United States and northern Mexico. All species of pine produce edible seeds, but in North America


title: "Pinyon pine" content: only pinyon produces seeds large enough to be a major source of food. The pinyon has probably been a source of food since shortly after the earliest arrival of "Homo sapiens" in the Great Basin and American Southwest (Oasisamerica. In the Great Basin, archaeological evidence indicates that the range of the pinyon pine expanded northward after the Ice Age, reaching its northernmost (and present) limit in southern Idaho about 4000 BCE. Early Native Americans undoubtedly collected the edible seeds, but, at least in some areas, evidence of large quantities of pinyon nut harvesting does not appear until about 600 CE.


title: "Pinyon pine" content: Increased use of pinyon nuts was possibly related to a population increase of humans and a decline in the number of game animals, thereby forcing the Great Basin inhabitants to seek additional sources of food. The suitability of pinyon seeds as a staple food is reduced because of the unreliability of the harvest. Abundant crops of cones and seeds occur only every two to seven years, averaging a good crop every four years. Years of high production of seed tend to be the same over wide areas of the pinyon range. In 1878, naturalist John Muir described the Indian method


title: "Pinyon pine" content: of harvesting pinyon seeds in Nevada. In September and October, the harvesters knocked the cones off the pinyon trees with poles, stacked the cones into a pile, put brushwood on top, lit it, and lightly scorched the pinyon cones with fire. The scorching burned off the sticky resin coating the cones and loosened the seeds. The cones were then dried in the sun until the seeds could be easily extracted. Muir said the Indians closely watched the pinyon trees year-round and could predict the scarcity or abundance of the crop months before harvest time. In 1891, B. H. Dutcher observed


title: "Pinyon pine" content: the harvesting of pinyon seeds by the Panamint Indians (Timbisha people) in the Panamint Range overlooking Death Valley, California. The harvesting method was similar to the foregoing except that the pinyon seeds were extracted immediately after the cones had been scorched in the brushwood fire. Both the above accounts described a method of extracting the seeds from the green cones. Another method is to leave the cones on the trees until they are dry and brown, then beat the cones with a stick, knocking the cones loose or the seeds loose from the cones which then fall to the ground


title: "Pinyon pine" content: where they can be collected. The nomadic hunter-gathering people of the Great Basin usually consumed their pinyon seeds during the winter following harvest; the agricultural Pueblo people of the Rio Grande valley of New Mexico could store them for two or three years in underground pits. Each pinyon cone produces 10 to 30 seeds and a productive stand of pinyon trees in a good year can produce on of land. An average worker can collect about of unshelled pinyon seed in a day's work. Production per worker of 22 pounds of unshelled pinyon seeds—more than one-half that in shelled seeds—amounts


title: "Pinyon pine" content: to nearly 30,000 calories of nutrition. That is a high yield for the effort expended by hunter-gatherers. Moreover, the pinyon seeds are high in fat, often in short supply for hunter-gatherers. The pinyon jay ("Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus") takes its name from the tree, and pinyon nuts form an important part of its diet. It is very important for regeneration of pinyon woods, as it stores large numbers of the seeds in the ground for later use, and excess seeds not used are in an ideal position to grow into new trees. The Mexican jay is also important for the dispersal of


title: "Pinyon pine" content: some pinyon species, as, less often, is the Clark's nutcracker. Many other species of animal also eat pinyon nuts, without dispersing them. Pinyon pine The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in the southwestern United States, especially in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. The trees yield edible nuts, which are a staple of the Native Americans, and still widely eaten as a snack and as an ingredient in New Mexican cuisine. The name comes from the Spanish "pino piñonero", a name used for both the American varieties and the stone pine common in Spain, which also produces edible pine nuts


title: "Gefion Fountain" content: Gefion Fountain The Gefion Fountain () is a large fountain on the harbour front in Copenhagen, Denmark. It features a large-scale group of animal figures being driven by the Norse goddess Gefjon. It is located in Nordre Toldbod area next to Kastellet and immediately south of Langelinie. The fountain was donated to the city of Copenhagen by the Carlsberg Foundation on the occasion of the brewery’s 50-year anniversary. It was originally supposed to be located in the main town square outside city hall, but it was decided instead to build it near the Øresund in its current location near Kastellet


title: "Gefion Fountain" content: ("The Citadel"). It was designed by Danish artist Anders Bundgaard, who sculpted the naturalistic figures 1897-99. The basins and decorations were completed in 1908. The fountain was first activated on July 14, 1908. The fountain underwent extensive renovations starting in 1999. The fountain was out of commission for many years, and was re-inaugurated in September 2004. The fountain depicts the mythical story of the creation of the island of Zealand on which Copenhagen is located. The legend appears in "Ragnarsdrápa", a 9th-century Skaldic poem recorded in the 13th century Prose Edda, and in "Ynglinga saga" as recorded in Snorri Sturluson's


title: "Gefion Fountain" content: 13th century "Heimskringla". According to "Ynglinga saga", the Swedish king Gylfi promised Gefjun the territory she could plow in a night. She turned her four sons into oxen, and the territory they plowed out of the earth was then thrown into the Danish sea between Scania and the island of Fyn. The hole became a lake called "Lögrinn" and "Leginum" (locative). Snorri identifies the lake "Löginn", as the lake of Old Sigtuna west of Stockholm, i.e., Lake Mälaren, an identification that he returns to later in the "Saga of Olaf the Holy". The same identification of "Löginn"/"Leginum" as Mälaren appears


title: "Gefion Fountain" content: in "Ásmundar saga kappabana", where it is the lake by Agnafit (modern Stockholm), and also in "Knýtlinga saga". In spite of Snorri's identification, tourist information about the fountain identifies the resultant lake as Vänern , Sweden's largest lake, citing the fact that modern maps show that Zealand and the lake resemble each other in size and shape. Snorri, however, was well acquainted with Vänern as he had visited Västergötland in 1219. When he referred to this lake he called it "Vænir." The Gefion Fountain is seen at 0:48:47 in the 1972 "Olsen-banden" film "The Olsen Gang's Big Score". It also


title: "Gefion Fountain" content: appears in "Jeg elsker en anden" (1946), "Mor bag rattet" (1965), and "Min søsters børn vælter byen" (1968). Scholar Hilda Ellis Davidson comments that "some of the power of the old tale of Gefjon, creator of the islands, has been superbly expressed in the great fountain at the water's edge in Copenhagen, depicting her ploughing through the sea in a cloud of rising spray with her giant beasts." Gefion Fountain The Gefion Fountain () is a large fountain on the harbour front in Copenhagen, Denmark. It features a large-scale group of animal figures being driven by the Norse goddess Gefjon.


title: "Andy Roddick" content: won his next three matches, one in straight sets and the other two when his opponent retired. In the quarterfinals, Roddick once again lost to Federer, bringing his head-to-head record with Federer 1–14. There were no breaks of serve and only one break point total in the first two sets, that being on Federer's serve. Two weeks later, Roddick anchored the U.S. Davis Cup team during its 4–1 semifinal defeat of Sweden. Roddick won both his singles matches, opening the tie with a defeat of Joachim Johansson, and clinching it with a victory over Jonas Björkman. This was the ninth


title: "McMahon Line" content: of the McMahon Line according to the inside back cover map in Maxwell and according to notable Indian mountaineer Harish Kapadia who explored the area in 2005. His published map and text locate Longju a kilometer or two on the China side of the McMahon Line "near the Chinese garrison town of Migyitun" (which is now quite sizable, at 28-39-40 north latitude, over four kilometers north of the line.) (The rarely reliable coordinates in the Geonames database (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency) incorrectly place "Longju" in snow and ice 10 kilometers away from the river at over 12,000 feet in elevation.) In


title: "Chaos Crags" content: white firs and Jeffrey pines. There is also a small chokecherry tree at the eastern edge of the lake. Throughout Lassen Volcanic National Park, forests can be found featuring red fir, mountain alder, western white pine, white fir, lodgepole pine, Jeffrey pine, ponderosa pine, incense cedar, juniper, and live oak. Other plants found in the area consist of coyote mint, lupines, mule's ears, ferns, corn lilies, red mountain heathers, pinemat manzanitas, greenleaf manzanitas, bush chinquapins, catchflies, Fremont's butterweed, buckwheat, granite gilia, mountain pride, mariposa tulips, creambush, and a variety of chaparral shrubs. The various habitats in the Lassen Volcanic National


title: "Lesser whitethroat" content: Lesser whitethroat The lesser whitethroat ("Sylvia curruca") is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds in temperate Europe, except the southwest, and in western and central Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, wintering in Africa just south of the Sahara, Arabia and India. Unlike many typical warblers, the sexes are almost identical. This is a small species with a grey back, whitish underparts, a grey head with a darker "bandit mask" through the eyes and a white throat. It is slightly smaller than the whitethroat, and lacks the chestnut wings and uniform head-face color of that species.


title: "Lesser whitethroat" content: The lesser whitethroat's song is a fast and rattling sequence of "tet" or "che" calls, quite different from the whitethroat's scolding song. Like most "warblers", it is insectivorous, but will also take berries and other soft fruit. This is a bird of fairly open country and cultivation, with large bushes for nesting and some trees. The nest is built in low shrub or brambles, and 3–7 eggs are laid. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 edition of "Systema Naturae", from a specimen collected in southern Sweden. The genus name is from Modern Latin "silvia", a


title: "Lesser whitethroat" content: woodland sprite, related to "silva", a wood. The specific "curruca" is a Latin term for a bird mentioned by Juvenal. This species has been commonly assumed to be closely related to the whitethroat, as their common names imply. It was suggested that the two species separated in the last ice age similar to the pattern found in the chiffchaff and willow warbler, with their ancestor being forced into two enclaves, one in the southeast and one in the southwest of Europe. When the ice sheets retreated, the two forms supposedly no longer recognised each other as the same species. However,


title: "Lesser whitethroat" content: scientists researching this question have for quite some time realized that these two taxa are not particularly close relatives. Rather, the lesser whitethroat and its closest relatives Hume's whitethroat and the small whitethroat appear more related to a group of morphologically quite dissimilar species. These vary much in size and color pattern, but also lack chestnut wing patches and have a strong contrast between the usually dark head sides and the white or whitish throat. The latter group occurs from the southern parts of the lesser whitethroat complex' range into Africa and include the Orphean warbler group, the Arabian warbler,


title: "Lesser whitethroat" content: and the brown and Yemen warblers sometimes placed in "Parisoma". Thus, it rather appears as if the divergence of the lesser whitethroat complex and its closest living relatives is more ancient than assumed, and that it did not involve separation by ice sheets building up in Europe, but by aridification of the Arabian region (which also occurred throughout the Ice Ages). The lesser whitethroat complex has been split up into the present species, Hume's whitethroat, and the small whitethroat from which the Margelanic whitethroat may also be specifically distinct. In this superspecies, the lesser whitethroat seems to form the basal


title: "Lesser whitethroat" content: European lineage. Only two subspecies are nowadays unequivocally recognized for the lesser whitethroat, and they intergrade throughout Central Europe: Two more taxa occur in the intergradation zone with the small whitethroat, stretching from the northern Caspian Sea area into Mongolia. The phylogeny of these is not well-researched, and they might eventually turn out to belong to either species or be stereotyped hybrids: Similarly, "Sylvia curruca caucasica" is intermediate between the lesser and Hume's whitethroats. A bird which wintered at Landsort Bird Observatory, Sweden, differed in the analyzed mtDNA sequences from all known taxa in the complex, although it most closely


title: "Lesser whitethroat" content: resembled "halimodendri" in the field. As mtDNA is inherited from the mother only, were this bird a hybrid this should have been recognizable. Lesser whitethroat The lesser whitethroat ("Sylvia curruca") is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds in temperate Europe, except the southwest, and in western and central Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, wintering in Africa just south of the Sahara, Arabia and India. Unlike many typical warblers, the sexes are almost identical. This is a small species with a grey back, whitish underparts, a grey head with a darker "bandit mask" through the eyes


title: "ATR 42" content: ATR 42 The ATR 42 is a twin-turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and manufactured in France and Italy by ATR (Aerei da Trasporto Regionale or Avions de transport régional), a joint venture formed by French aerospace company Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and Italian aviation conglomerate Aeritalia (now Leonardo S.p.A.). The number "42" in its name is derived from the aircraft's standard seating configuration in a passenger-carrying configuration, which typically varies between 40 and 52 passengers. During the 1980s, French aerospace company Aérospatiale and Italian aviation conglomerate Aeritalia merged their separate work upon a new generation of regional aircraft together. For this


title: "ATR 42" content: purpose, a new jointly owned company was established, ATR, for the purpose of developing, manufacturing, and marketing their first airliner, which was later designated as the ATR 42. On 16 August 1984, the first model of the series, designated as the "ATR 42–300", performed the type's maiden flight. Type certification from French and Italian aviation authorities was granted during September 1985, and the aircraft performed its first revenue-earning flight, operated by launch customer Air Littoral, during December of that year. To date, all of the ATR series have been manufactured at the company's final assembly line in Toulouse, France; ATR


title: "ATR 42" content: benefits from its sharing of resources and technology with Airbus SE, which has continued to hold a 50 percent stake in the company. Improved models of the aircraft have been introduced, incorporating new avionics such as a glass cockpit, and the adoption of newer engine versions for enhanced performance, such as increased efficiency and reliability along with reductions in operational costs. The aircraft serves as the basis for the larger ATR 72, which was also developed during the late 1980s to complement its smaller sibling. The ATR 42 and ATR 72 have been produced side-by-side for decades. During the 1960s


title: "ATR 42" content: and 1970s, European aircraft manufacturers had, for the most part, undergone considerable corporate restructuring, including mergers and consolidations, as well as moved towards collaborative multi-national programmes, such as the newly launched Airbus A300. In line with this trend towards intra-European cooperation, French aerospace company Aérospatiale and Italian aviation conglomerate Aeritalia commenced discussions on the topic of working together to develop an all-new regional airliner. Prior to this, both companies had been independently conducting studies for their own aircraft concepts, the "AS 35" design in the case of Aerospatiale and the "AIT 230" for Aeritalia, to conform with demand within this


title: "ATR 42" content: sector of the market as early as 1978. On 4 November 1981, a formal Cooperation Agreement was signed by Aeritalia chairman Renato Bonifacio and Aerospatiale chairman Jacques Mitterrand in Paris, France. This agreement signaled not only the merger of their efforts but of their separate concept designs together into a single complete aircraft design for the purpose of pursuing its development and manufacture as a collaborative joint venture. This agreement served not only as the basis and origins of the ATR company, but also as the effective launch point of what would become the fledgling firm's first aircraft, which was


title: "ATR 42" content: designated as the "ATR 42". By 1983, ATR's customer services division has been set up, readying infrastructure worldwide to provide support for ATR's upcoming aircraft to any customer regardless of location. On 16 August 1984, the first model of the type, known as the "ATR 42–200", conducted its maiden flight from Toulouse Airport, France. During September 1985, both the French Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Italian Italian Civil Aviation Authority awarded type certification for the type, clearing it to commence operational service. On 3 December 1985, the first production aircraft, designated as the "ATR 42-300", was delivered


title: "ATR 42" content: to French launch customer Air Littoral; the first revenue service was performed later that same month. During January 1986, already confident of the ATR 42's success and of the demand for an enlarged version of the aircraft, ATR announced that the launch of a programme to develop such an aircraft, which was designated as the ATR 72 to reflect its increased passenger capacity. By the end of 1986, the ATR 42 had accumulated a sizable backlog of orders, which in turn led to a ramping up of the type's rate of production. During August 1988, ATR's marketing efforts in the


title: "ATR 42" content: lucrative North American market resulted in the securing of a large order of 50 ATR-300s from US operator Texas Air Corporation; that same year, another American regional carrier, Trans World Express, received the 100th production aircraft. On 1 July 1989, ATR opened their new global training centre for the type in Toulouse, which provided centralised and modern facilities for the training to airline staff and other personnel across the world. During June 1999, the ATR global training center became one of the first European institutions to be recognised as a Type Rating Training Organization (TRTO), as defined by the Joint


title: "ATR 42" content: Aviation Authorities (JAA). During September 1989, it was announced that ATR had achieved its original target of 400 sales of the ATR. That same year, deliveries of the enlarged ATR 72 commenced; shortly thereafter, it became common for both types to be ordered together. Since the smaller ATR 42 is assembled on the same production line as the ATR 72, along with sharing the majority of subsystems, components, and manufacturing techniques, the two types support each other to remain in production. This factor may have been crucial as, by 2015, the ATR 42 was the only 50-seat regional aircraft that


title: "ATR 42" content: was still being manufactured. In order to maintain a technological edge on the highly competitive market for regional airliners during the 1990s, several modifications and improved versions of the ATR 42 were progressively introduced. The initial ATR 42-300 model remained in production until 1996, while the first upgraded (and broadly similar) model, designated as the "ATR 42-320", was also produced until 1996. The -320 variant principally differed in that it was powered by a pair of the more-powerful PW121 engines, giving it improved performance over the 300. Another variant, the "ATR 42-300QC", was a dedicated 'quick-change' (convertible) freight/passenger version of


title: "ATR 42" content: the standard −300 series. The next major production version was the "ATR 42−500" series, the development of which having been originally announced on 14 June 1993. Performing its maiden flight on 16 September 1994, and awarded certification by the British Civil Aviation Authority and France's (DGCA) during July 1995; the -500 model was an upgraded aircraft, equipped with new PW127 engines, new six-bladed propellers, improved hot and high performance, increased weight capacity and an improved passenger cabin. On 31 October 1995, the first ATR 42-500 was delivered to Italian operator Air Dolomiti; on 19 January 1996, the first revenue service


title: "ATR 42" content: to be performed by the type was conducted. In addition to new aircraft models, various organisational changes were also implemented. On 10 July 1998, ATR launched its new Asset Management Department. On June 2001, EADS and Alenia Aeronautica, ATR's parent companies, decided to reinforce their partnership, regrouping all industrial activities related to regional airliners underneath the ATR consortium. On 3 October 2003, ATR became one of the first aircraft manufacturers to be certified under ISO 9001-2000 and EN/AS/JISQ 9100, the worldwide quality standard for the aeronautics industry. During July 2004, ATR and Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer announced a cooperation agreement


title: "ATR 42" content: on the AEROChain Portal for the purpose of delivering improved customer service. During April 2009, ATR announces the launch of its 'Door-2-Door' service as a new option in its comprehensive customer services range. The current production version is the "ATR 42-600" series. On 2 October 2007, ATR CEO Stéphane Mayer announced the launch of the −600 series aircraft; the ATR 42–600 and ATR 72–600 featured various improvements to increase efficiency, dispatch reliability, lower fuel burn and operating costs. While broadly similar to the earlier -500 model; differences include the adoption of improved PW127M engines, a new glass cockpit, and a


title: "ATR 42" content: variety of other minor improvements. Using the test registration "F-WWLY", the prototype ATR 42–600 first flew on 4 March 2010. The first aircraft was delivered to Tanzanian airline Precision Air in November 2012. As a consequence of strong demand for the -600 series, ATR decided to invest in the establishment of a second, more modern final assembly line and acquisition of more hangar space at their Toulouse site, along with a new large completion and delivery area; overall, the manufacturing operation expanded to four times the footprint that it had in 2005. Speaking in October 2015, ATR CEO Patrick de


title: "ATR 42" content: Castelbajac stated that the firm was set to produce in excess of 90 aircraft that year, and that the new manufacturing facilities could support a production rate of up to 120 per year. At the time, the company had a backlog of orders for 300 aircraft, sufficient for three years’ of production. During 2017, a new in-house financing and leasing division was established by ATR in order to offer customers a greater degree of support and expand the company's range of services. Considerable emphasis has been placed upon the continuous development of ATR's aircraft models. During the late-2010s, ATR conducted


title: "ATR 42" content: a feasibility study into developing the ATR 42's short takeoff and landing capabilities, potentially enabling the type to make using of runways as short as 800 meters (2,625 feet) via the adoption of enhanced brakes and a drastically modified tail unit; the company viewed this measure as expanding the aircraft's potential and opening new sales possibilities. By introducing a steep approach capability and operating costs that compare to 30-seaters Additionally, during the mid-2010s, reports emerged that the development of a further stretched 90-seat ATR model was under consideration as well; allegedly, shareholder Airbus was relatively unenthusiastic on proceeding with such


title: "ATR 42" content: a development, while ATR CEO Fabrice Brégier favoured a focus on resolving manufacturing issues. On 21 August 1990, US airline American Eagle placed a large order for 100 ATRs, composed of 41 ATR 42s and 59 ATR 72s, further consolidating ATR's position in North America. On 5 September 1997, American Eagle took delivery of the 500th ATR to be built. On 5 June 1998, Tarom, the national carrier of Romania, accepted delivery of its first two ATR 42-500, of a batch of seven aircraft ordered a year earlier. On 28 June 1998, ATR gains foothold in the Cuban market following


title: "ATR 42" content: an order from airline Cubana de Aviacion for the ATR 42. During 2000, the combined global ATR fleet attained its 10,000,000th flight, during which a cumulative distance of approximately 4 billion kilometres (2.5 billion statute miles) had been traversed and around 450 million passengers had flown onboard ATR-built aircraft. 2007 set a new record for the programme's sales, a total of 113 new ATR aircraft having been ordered during a single year. 2011 was another record-breaking year for sales at ATR. According to ATR's CEO Filippo Bagnato, sales had continued to grow during the Great Recession despite the downturn experienced


title: "ATR 42" content: by most aviation companies as "fuel consumption that can be half that of the alternatives and [with] lower maintenance costs". Bagnato noted the strength of Africa as a market for the type, as well at the firm's aircraft being capable of serve destinations that would otherwise be inaccessible with other aircraft due to the austere conditions of many airstrips and runways in the region, as well as the ability to operate autonomously without any reliance upon ground support equipment. For 2013, ATR claimed a 48 per cent global market share for regional aircraft deliveries between 50 and 90 seats (comprising


title: "ATR 42" content: both turboprops and jets), making it the dominant manufacturer within this sector of the market. That same year, during which firm orders for 10 ATR 42-600s and 79 ATR 72-600s were recorded, leasing companies were responsible for 70 per cent of these; according to ATR's CEO Filippo Bagnato: "Years ago, we were not even considered by the lessors; now they see ATRs as a good investment". During May 1997, ATR had achieved its first breakthrough sale in China, placed by operator China Xinjiang Airlines and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). By 2013, while the Asia Pacific region had


title: "ATR 42" content: comprised the majority of ATR's sales when geographically ranked; however, orders from Chinese airlines remained elusive; Bagnato ascribed this anomaly to local market conditions dictating the typical use of larger aircraft, as well as a Chinese government policy of imposing high tariffs on the import of foreign-built fixed-wing aircraft. During late 2014, ATR set up a new office in Beijing and hired several former Airbus sales personnel with the aim of launching the type on the Chinese market. ATR believed that many of the already-flown routes did not suit larger 150-seat aircraft; however, of the roughly 2,600 commercial aircraft flying


title: "ATR 42" content: in China at that time, only 68 had a capacity of less than 90 seats and of these, fewer than 20 aircraft were powered by turboprop engines. In response to airlines often wanting to phase out their early production ATR models to replace them with the latest generation ATR series, as well as to answer demand from cargo operators for the type, ATR has operated two separate dedicated freighter conversion programmes, known as the Bulk Freighter (tube version) and the ULD Freighter. Both conversions involve complete stripping of furnishings along with the addition of floor strengthening, new window plugs and


title: "ATR 42" content: 9g restraining nets, six additional longitudinal tracks for added flexibility, and an E-Class cabin; the ULD model can accommodate standard ULD-packaged cargo, such as LD3 containers or 88x108in (2.2x2.7m) pallets, which were loaded via a large cargo door located on the port forward side. Undertaken by a range of companies, such as Alenia subsidiary Aeronavali, Texas-based M7 Aerospace; French firms Indraéro Siren and Aeroconseil, Canadian Infinion Certification Engineering, and Spanish company Arrodisa, by October 2012, in excess of one-fifth of all first-generation ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft had already been converted to freighters. During January 2017, Japanese regional airliner


title: "ATR 42" content: Japan Air Commuter (JAC) has taken delivery of its first ATR 42-600, becoming the first owner-operator of the type in the nation. The aircraft was one of nine to have been ordered by JAC, along with options for a further 14 ATR 42s, as a replacement for its aging Saab 340 fleet; reportedly, the airline is considering replacing its Bombardier Q400s with ATRs as well. The −200 was the original ATR 42 prototype and only a few were built for testing purposes. It was powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW120 engines rated at . The −300 was the standard


title: "ATR 42" content: production version. This model was manufactured until 1996. It was powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW120 engines rated at . The −320 was an improved version of the −300 powered by PW121 engines (2100 shp). It was designed to have better performance especially in hot and high conditions. The ATR 42−400 is an upgraded version of the −320 using six-bladed propellers on otherwise identical PW121 engines. Three ATR 42−400 were delivered to the Government of Italy as the ATR 42 "Surveyor" version. The only two civilian ATR 42-400 produced (msn 487 & 491) were delivered to CSA Czech Airlines


title: "ATR 42" content: in 1995/1996 as an interim upgrade prior to delivery of -500s. In 2006 these two aircraft were sold to Conviasa. The ATR 42-500 is a further upgraded version, the first delivery of which occurring during October 1995. It has many improvements for performance and passenger comfort including new engines, new propellers, a newly designed cabin, and increased weight. It has six-bladed propellers powered by PW127E engines rated at for improved hot and high performance and increased cruise speed. The engines are flat rated for +45C. Propellers are electrically controlled and are made from composite. It has an increased maximum takeoff


title: "ATR 42" content: weight, allowing for more cargo and greater range. Due to the six-bladed propellers and better insulation, it has reduced noise levels. The newest version have CATII capability and dual Honeywell HT1000 FMS installation. During October 2007, the launch of the ATR 42−600 series was announced. Akin to the ATR 72–600, the –600 series featured the PW127M as its standard engine (providing 5% additional thrust, thus improving performance on short runways, in hot weather and on high altitude; the "boost function" activates the additional power as needed. It also features a Glass Cockpit flight deck, complete with five wide LCD screens,


title: "ATR 42" content: that replaced the previous EFIS (Electronic Flight Instrument System); additionally, a Multi-Purpose Computer (MPC) enhances flight safety and operational capabilities. Avionics supplied by Thales provides CAT III and RNP capabilities. It also includes lighter, more comfortable seats and larger overhead baggage bins. According to the third issue of its EASA's Type Certificate, "ATR 42-600" is ATR's marketing designation for the -500 series when fitted with the NAS (New Avionic Suite) or 'Glass Cockpit'. The "ATR 42-600" designation is not recognised by EASA as a certified aircraft model or variant, and is not used on ATR certified/approved documentation; instead, only "Mod


title: "ATR 42" content: 5948", "ATR 42-500 with Mod 5948", "ATR 42-500 fitted with NAS", or ATR 42-500 "600 version" is used. Bulk (tube versions) and ULD freighter (large cargo door). An STC exists to convert all ATR-42 variants to all-cargo transport aircraft. FedEx, Aviavilsa, UPS, and DHL are major operators of the type. The ATR-42 "Surveyor" is a maritime patrol version of the −400. VIP transport and in-flight inspection versions of the −500 also exist. In July 2017, 232 ATR 42s were in airline service and 10 were in order backlog : 106 in Americas, 67 in Europe, 38 in Asia Pacific &


title: "ATR 42" content: Middle East and 21 in Africa ; its airline operators with more than 5 aircraft were : Besides those, FedEx Express operates 26 ATR 42s. Currently, Empire Airlines operates 4 examples of the ATR 42-500 for Hawaiian Airlines under the Ohana by Hawaiian brand. On August 1, 2017 Silver Airways placed orders for 20 ATR 42-600 aircraft, marking the entry of the -600 into the U.S. market. As of December 2017, 5 ATR 42s were in military service. The ATR 42 has been involved in 46 aviation accidents and incidents including 33 hull losses. Those resulted in 276 fatalities. ATR


title: "Saint-Vincent Cemetery" content: Saint-Vincent Cemetery Saint-Vincent Cemetery () is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Saint-Vincent Cemetery was opened on January 5, 1831. It was Montmartres second cemetery, built after the Cimetière du Calvaire had been filled. Saint-Vincent Cemetery is located in rue Lucien-Gaulard in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France. It is a short walk from the Montmartre Cemetery and near the Sacré-Cœur. The Lapin Agile is located behind the wall, behind the grave of Maurice Utrillo. The cemetery is a short walk from the Lamarck – Caulaincourt métro station and is serviced by line 12. The nearest railway stations


title: "Saint-Vincent Cemetery" content: are Gare du Nord and Gare de Pont-Cardinet. There is a Vélib' station at Rue du Coulaincourt (18017). Saint-Vincent Cemetery Saint-Vincent Cemetery () is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Saint-Vincent Cemetery was opened on January 5, 1831. It was Montmartres second cemetery, built after the Cimetière du Calvaire had been filled. Saint-Vincent Cemetery is located in rue Lucien-Gaulard in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France. It is a short walk from the Montmartre Cemetery and near the Sacré-Cœur. The Lapin Agile is located behind the wall, behind the grave of Maurice Utrillo. The cemetery is a short


title: "Hunters & Collectors" content: 1998. The group reformed in 2013 with the 1998 line-up. Originally Hunters & Collectors were influenced by Krautrock and productions of Conny Plank, featuring strong percussive influences, noisy guitar, and driving bass lines. Their sound was in the vein of the Talking Heads album, "Remain in Light" (1980). Hunters & Collectors utilised Plank to produce two of their early albums, "The Fireman's Curse" (1983) and "The Jaws of Life" (1984), but neither charted into the Top 50 of the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. Their first Top 10 album, "Human Frailty" (1986), also featured their logo, a H &


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: Black-billed cuckoo The black-billed cuckoo ("Coccyzus erythropthalmus") is a New World species in the Cuculidae (cuckoo) family. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name "kokkuzo", means to call like a common cuckoo, and "erythropthalmus" is from "eruthros", "red" and "ophthalmos", "eye". It is very similar and overlaps in range with the closely related yellow-billed cuckoo. A distinguishing characteristic of family Cuculidae is laying eggs in the nests of other birds. Although many cuckoos are obligate brood parasites, "C. erythropthalmus" often incubate their own chicks. Adults have a long, graduated brown tail and a black, slightly downcurved bill.


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: The head and upper parts are brown and the underparts are white. The feet are zygodactylous. Juveniles are drabber and may contain some rufous coloration on the wing. The adults have a narrow, red orbital ring while the juveniles' is yellow. Black-billed cuckoo chicks have white, sparsely-distributed, sheath-like down that contrasts heavily with their black skin. They also have complex, creamy-colored structures on their mouth and tongue, which may appear like warts or some type of parasitic infection however they are normal for the species. "C. erythropthalmus" may be found in a variety of habitats. They are most commonly found


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: around the edges of mature deciduous or mixed forests and much less frequently in coniferous forests. They can also be found in much younger growth forests with a lot of shrubs and thickets. Wetlands with a lot of alder and willow are another prime location to see them. Lastly, they can also inhabit more open areas such as abandoned farmland, golf courses and residential parks. Whatever the habitat may be, they are usually quite well hidden and tend to stick to the edges of these habitats. The chosen habitat must also have a water source nearby such as a lake,


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: river, marsh or pond. On their wintering grounds in South America, they can inhabit tropical rainforests, deciduous or semiopen woodlands as well as scrub forests. When breeding, the species is distributed in wooded areas across much of the United States, east of the Rockies. Their range just barely extends into North Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee. They are not present to the south of those states when breeding. They can also be found in southern regions of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. They're also present in the maritime provinces of Prince Edward Island, eastern New Brunswick and western Nova


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: Scotia. When migrating in spring and fall, they can also be seen in southern United States as well as all of Central America. They migrate to northwestern South America in the fall, where they will spend the winter. Although they are mainly an eastern North American species, there have been confirmed reports of them in British Columbia, Washington and California. The species is also a rare vagrant to western Europe and Greenland. These birds forage in shrubs or trees. They mainly eat insects, especially tent caterpillars, but also some snails, eggs of other birds and berries. It is known to


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: beat caterpillars against a branch before consuming them to remove some of the indigestible hairs. Remaining hairs accumulate in the stomach until the bird sheds the stomach lining and disgorges a pellet in a manner similar to owls. Invasive gypsy moths may also serve as an important food source for black-billed cuckoos. Most birds cannot consume gypsy moth caterpillars because of their hair-like setae however, cuckoos can consume them because of their ability to shed their abdominal lining. During outbreak years of these insects, the abundance of black-billed cuckoos increased on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) routes. This increase is not


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: due to higher reproductive rate because then the black-billed cuckoo populations would only increase the next year. The abundance is higher because the cuckoos flock towards the outbreak areas. This is supported by the fact that cuckoo abundance is actually lower than average in the areas surrounding the outbreaks, suggesting a large influx of the birds towards outbreaks. They are able to find these areas due to post-migratory nomadic behavior. Once reaching their breeding ground, they search vast expanses of forest for the most suitable breeding area, in this case, where there is an abundance of food. Similar patterns have


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: also been observed during outbreaks of tent caterpillars, fall webworms and cicadas. When they are a couple days old, the chicks can make a buzzing sound that resembles an insect and a few days later, they can make a low barking call when disturbed. The call of this species is 2-5 sets of "coo" notes that are high-pitched, rapid and repetitive. There is a slight pause between each set. The phonetics are often written "coo-coo-coo-coo, coo-coo-coo-coo, coo-coo-coo-coo, ...". Adults usually call during the day when breeding however they begin calling at night, in the middle of summer. Prior to copulation,


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: the male lands on a branch near the female with an insect in its beak. The female will then flick her tail up and down intermittently for about 15 minutes while the male sits there motionless. The male then mounts the female, with the insect still in its mouth, and the two copulate. The male then either eats the food item or gives it to the female for her to eat. Females usually lay 2-3 blue-green eggs, sometimes 4 or 5, which may take on a marbled appearance after a couple days of incubation. Adults incubate the eggs for 10–13


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: days. The young black-billed cuckoos, as well as others cuckoos in the genus "Coccyzus", leave the nest 7–9 days after hatching, which is quite young when compared to other birds. The young are not able to fly right away however they can still move quite large distances by jumping between tree branches. During this period, they are more vulnerable to predators because they cannot fly away as the adults could. Due to this vulnerability, the juveniles can slowly assume an erect posture to conceal themselves. They stretch their neck out and point their bill upwards, while keeping their eyes open


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: and remaining motionless. If the threat starts to back off, the cuckoo will relax its pose. Outbreaks of tent caterpillars can have a positive effect on black-billed cuckoo populations. During these outbreaks, the adults begin laying eggs earlier in the season. They can also produce larger clutches and may even increase their parasitic activities. Black-billed cuckoos are known to lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. They can lay eggs in the nests of other black-billed cuckoos, called conspecific parasitism, or in the nests of other songbirds, known as interspecific parasitism. The females will usually parasitize nests in


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: the afternoon because the nests are often unguarded at this time. This cuckoo species is thought to have a laying interval of about a day so if two eggs show up in a nest on the same day, you can rightfully assume that one is a parasitic egg. Many cuckoos are obligate brood parasites, meaning they only lay eggs in other birds' nests and never take care of their own young. Birds that do this, such as the common cuckoo or the brown-headed cowbird, lay relatively small eggs because their expected hosts are usually smaller birds. Cuckoos in the genus


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: "Coccyzus", lay relatively large eggs even though they still parasitize smaller birds. Yellow warblers are the smallest birds recorded caring for black-billed cuckoo eggs. In experiments, these wood warblers were found to accept the cuckoo eggs 63% of the time even though their own eggs are only a quarter of the size. Even with the size difference, the warbler parent is often still able to raise the cuckoo as long as it can provide the chick with sufficient nutrition and incubation. The black-billed cuckoo was originally placed in genus "Cuculus". This genus comprises Old World cuckoos that are all obligate


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: brood parasites. Upon further genetic testing, it was placed into genus "Coccyzus" that comprises nine species of New World cuckoos. The black-billed and yellow-billed cuckoos are the only two that migrate into North America while the other seven are permanent residents of either Central or South America. Even though these two cuckoos overlap in range, they are not sister taxa. This suggests that the two species invaded North America separately. Although family Cuculidae is monophyletic, the genus "Coccyzus" was found to be polyphyletic. Although the black-billed cuckoo is classified as Least Concern (LN) on the IUCN red list, its population


title: "Black-billed cuckoo" content: is still on the decline. It faces many of the same challenges as many other North American songbirds. Pesticides are having a large effect on them because the chemicals are depleting their food resources. Other threats include the loss of habitat, especially in their wintering tropical habitats, as well as urbanization. As with other migratory birds, they frequently encounter large buildings on their migratory routes which they may collide with, resulting in death. Black-billed cuckoo The black-billed cuckoo ("Coccyzus erythropthalmus") is a New World species in the Cuculidae (cuckoo) family. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name


title: "Gulf fritillary" content: Gulf fritillary The Gulf fritillary or passion butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) is a bright orange butterfly of the family Nymphalidae and subfamily Heliconiinae. That subfamily was formerly set apart as a separate family, the Heliconiidae. The Heliconiinae are "longwing butterflies", which have long, narrow wings compared to other butterflies. Gulf fritillary is the only member of genus Agraulis. "Agraulis vanillae" is most commonly found in the southern areas of the United States, specifically in many regions of Florida and Texas. Gulf fritillaries have a chemical defense mechanism in which they release odorous chemicals in response to predator sightings. As a result,


title: "Gulf fritillary" content: common predators learn to avoid this species. Pheromones play a critical role in male-female courtship behaviors, with male gulf fritillaries emitting sex pheromones that contribute to mate choice in females. In its adult form, the gulf fritillary is a medium-sized butterfly that has extended forewings and a wingspan range of 6.5 to 9.5 cm. This butterfly exhibits sexual dimorphism as females are typically distinctively larger in size than males. The underside of the wings is brown and speckled with silvery white dots. In contrast, the top surface layer of the wings is deep orange in color with black streaks running


title: "Gulf fritillary" content: across. In addition to the size difference between the two sexes, females are usually darker in color and are more marked with black streaks as compared to the males. Gulf fritillaries are found primarily in the southern parts of the U.S., such as many regions of Texas and Florida. However, this butterfly’s range can extend from the southern U.S. into parts of Mexico and Central America and sometimes as far as parts of South America. Gulf fritillaries are found in open habitats, like in moderately sunny areas near open grasslands, parks, and woodlands. Gulf fritillaries are also commonly seen in


title: "Gulf fritillary" content: local butterfly gardens across the U.S. The majority of host plants for gulf fritillaries come from "Lantana" and "Passiflora", two genera of flowering plants in the "Verbenaceae" and "Passifloraceae" families, respectively. Many of the adult butterflies use "Lantana" plants as their main nectar and food source whereas the "Passiflora" plants serve as the main resource and foodplants for the larvae. The Passiflora host plants are frequently called passion vines; in some Texan counties where this butterfly's population is high, gulf fritillaries will feed on specific species such as "Passiflora lutea" and "Passiflora affinis". These passion vine plants are suitable host


title: "Gulf fritillary" content: plants as they provide a good structure for larval host habitats which enables young populations of gulf fritillaries to be sufficiently nurtured and protected. The role of host plants is also integral to the oviposition of gulf fritillaries, as the female butterflies lay their eggs on or near the host plant. The process of oviposition in gulf fritillaries begins with the female butterfly flying low and slightly above the vegetation (most likely the typical host plants like "Passiflora incarnata" or "Passiflora lutea") and lasts until the female pauses above an individual plant. Then, the female makes contact with the host


title: "Gulf fritillary" content: plant by landing; the female then deposits an egg to complete the process of oviposition. The driving factor behind what causes the female to oviposit on or near the host plant is most likely due to the certain chemical composition of the specific genus of the host plant. Once the female recognizes the chemical composition (by using the antennae), the female will oviposit. Eggs are small and spherically shaped; the female gulf fritillary lays the eggs individually one by one on or near the host plant. Typical host plants include several species of the "Passiflora" genus. The eggs are initially