The Wikipedia article of the day for October 16, 2017 is Long-tailed ground roller.
The long-tailed ground roller is a bird species found in arid spiny forests near the coast of southwestern Madagascar. Requiring shade and a deep layer of leaves on the ground, it has low population densities throughout its habitat. This species of ground roller primarily relies on its strong legs, as its wings are relatively weak. It is a medium-sized bird with a plump silhouette, dark brown upperparts with black streaks, light gray underparts, a white throat framed by black malar stripes, a black breastband, and sky-blue feathers at the edge of its wings and long tail. Calls are rarely made outside of the breeding season. It feeds primarily on invertebrates, including ants, beetles, butterflies, and worms, which it finds by searching through deep leaf litter or by remaining still and watching attentively. It is classified as a vulnerable species; the forests where it lives are not protected, and it is losing habitat to slash-and-burn agriculture, charcoal collection, and logging.
The Wikipedia article of the day for October 15, 2017 is Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is a first-person shooter video game set in the Halo universe. An enhanced remake of Halo: Combat Evolved, the game was released on November 15, 2011—the 10th anniversary of the original title’s launch—for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game console, and re-released as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection for the Xbox One in 2014. It was developed by 343 Industries, Saber Interactive, and Certain Affinity. Anniversary’s enhancements include a high-definition visual overhaul, support for cooperative and multiplayer gameplay via the Xbox Live online service, new and remastered sound effects and music, and extras such as achievements and hidden in-game collectibles. The game is the first in the series to include Kinect support. Critical reception to Anniversary was generally positive, with praise for the updated graphics and ability to toggle between the remastered and original visuals. Complaints included technical glitches, faults with the original game’s level design, and the multiplayer mode’s implementation.
The Wikipedia article of the day for October 14, 2017 is Battle of Hastings.
The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, about 7 miles (11 kilometres) northwest of Hastings. The death of the childless King Edward the Confessor in January of that year led to a bloody struggle for the throne. After Harold defeated his own brother Tostig and the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in September, William landed his invasion forces in the south of England at Pevensey. Harold marched swiftly to meet him, gathering forces as he went. The English army, with perhaps 10,000 infantry, met an invading force of perhaps 3,500 infantry and 3,500 cavalry and archers. After failing to break the English battle lines, the Normans pretended to flee in panic, then turned on their pursuers. Harold’s death, probably near the end of the battle, led to the retreat and defeat of most of his army and to the Norman conquest of England. William was crowned as king on Christmas Day 1066.
The Wikipedia article of the day for October 13, 2017 is Ben Paschal.
Ben Paschal (October 13, 1895 – November 10, 1974) was an American Major League Baseball player for eight seasons between 1915 and 1929. He spent most of his career as the fourth outfielder and right-handed pinch hitter of the Murderers’ Row championship teams of the New York Yankees in the late 1920s. He is best known for hitting .360 in the 1925 season while standing in for Babe Ruth, who missed the first 40 games with a stomach ailment. Paschal was described as a five-tool player, excelling at running, throwing, fielding, hitting percentage and power hitting. His playing time with the Yankees was limited because they already had future Baseball Hall of Famers Ruth and Earle Combs, along with Bob Meusel, in the outfield. Paschal was considered one of the best bench players in baseball during his time with the Yankees, and sportswriters agreed that he would have started for most other teams in the American League. He was one of the best pinch hitters in the game at a time when the term was still relatively new to baseball.
The Wikipedia article of the day for October 12, 2017 is Saturn.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Named after the Roman god of agriculture, it is a gas giant with an average radius about nine times that of Earth. Although it has only one-eighth the average density of Earth, it is over 95 times more massive. The planet probably has a core of iron–nickel and rock, surrounded by a deep layer of metallic hydrogen, an intermediate layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium, and a gaseous outer layer. Ammonia crystals give the upper atmosphere a pale yellow hue. Electrical current within the metallic hydrogen layer is thought to give rise to the planetary magnetic field. Wind speeds can reach 1,800 km/h (500 m/s), higher than on Jupiter, but not as high as on Neptune. A prominent ring system with nine continuous main rings and three smaller arcs is composed mostly of ice particles, with some rocky debris and dust. Saturn has hundreds of moonlets and at least 62 moons, including Titan, the second-largest moon in the Solar System and the only one with a substantial atmosphere.
The Wikipedia article of the day for October 11, 2017 is Fork-marked lemur.
Fork-marked lemurs (the genus Phaner) are primates native to Madagascar. Weighing around 350 grams (0.77 lb) or more, they are some of the largest members of the family of dwarf and mouse lemurs in the suborder Strepsirrhini. They have a dorsal forked stripe, dark rings around their eyes, and large membranous ears. Like other members of their family, they are nocturnal, and sleep in tree holes and nests during the day. Males are very vocal, making repeated calls at the beginning and end of the night. Monogamous pairing is typical; females are dominant, and are thought to have only one offspring every two years or more. Fork-marked lemurs run quadrupedally across branches in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from dry deciduous forests to rainforests. Their diet consists primarily of tree gum and other exudates, though they may obtain some of their protein by hunting small arthropods later at night. Three of the four species are endangered and the other is listed as vulnerable. Their populations are in decline due to habitat destruction.
The Wikipedia article of the day for October 10, 2017 is Paul Kruger.
Paul Kruger (10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and President of the South African Republic from 1883 to 1900. He was the face of the Boer cause against Britain during the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. As a child in the late 1830s, he took part in the Great Trek of people migrating east, away from the British Cape Colony. He witnessed the signing of the Sand River Convention with Britain in 1852 and over the next decade played a prominent role in the forging of the South African Republic, leading its commandos and resolving disputes between the rival Boer leaders and factions. After the South African Republic was annexed by Britain as the Transvaal, he became the leading figure in the movement to restore its independence, culminating in the Boers’ victory in the First Boer War of 1880–81 and Britain’s recognition of the republic as a fully independent state. During his presidency, tensions with Britain increased as thousands of predominantly British settlers arrived with the Witwatersrand Gold Rush. His portrait is on the Krugerrand, a gold bullion coin still being produced.