The russet sparrow is a passerine bird in the sparrow family Passeridae, distributed in eastern Asia. A chunky little seed-eating bird with a thick bill, it has a body length of 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in). Its plumage is mainly warm rufous above and grey below. It exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the plumage of both sexes patterned similarly to that of the corresponding sex of the house sparrow. Its vocalisations are sweet and musical chirps, which when strung together form a song. The russet sparrow is known well enough in the Himalayas to have a distinct name in some languages, and is depicted in Japanese art. It feeds mainly on the seeds of herbs and grains, but it also eats berries and insects, particularly during the breeding season. This diet makes it a minor pest in agricultural areas, but also a predator of insect pests. It is a social bird within its own species, but disperses to breed. The typical clutch has five or six whitish eggs. Both sexes incubate and feed the young.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russet_sparrow> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1631: Mumtaz Mahal, wife of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, died in childbirth; Jahan spent the next seventeen years constructing her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal> 1919: Hundreds of Canadian soldiers rioted in Epsom, England, leading to the death of a British police officer. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epsom_riot> 1952: Guatemalan Revolution: The Guatemalan Congress passed Decree 900, redistributing unused land greater than 224 acres (0.91 km2) in area to local peasants. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decree_900> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: everlasting: 1. Lasting or enduring forever; endless, eternal. 2. Chiefly of a deity or other supernatural being: having always existed and will continue to exist forever; eternal. 3. (philosophy) Synonym of sempiternal (“having infinite temporal duration, rather than outside time and thus lacking temporal duration altogether”) 4. (chiefly hyperbolic, informal) 5. Continuing for a long period; eternal. 6. Happening all the time, especially to a tiresome extent; constant, incessant, unending. 7. Of clothing or fabric: lasting a long time; very durable or hard- wearing. 8. (botany) Chiefly in the name of a plant: 9. Having flowers that retain their colour and form when dried. 10. Of a plant or plant part: Synonym of perennial (“active throughout the year, or having a life cycle of more than two growing seasons”) 11. (US, regional, archaic) Used as an intensifier. [...] <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/everlasting> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: On some deep cosmic level, we are all one, and within us we each contain the potential for good and for destruction, for compassion and hate, for generosity and greed. But even if I acknowledge the full range of impulses within myself, that doesn't erase the differences between a person acting from compassion and love, and another choosing to act from hate and greed. Moreover, it doesn't erase my responsibility to challenge a system which furthers hate and greed. If I don't resist such a system, I am complicit in what it does. --Starhawk <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Starhawk> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe write to: [email protected] Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
