Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 April 30

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From today's featured article

Pittas (Pittidae) are a family of birds found in Asia, Australasia and Africa. There are numerous species in three genera, Pitta, Erythropitta and Hydrornis, all similar in general appearance and habits. They are Old World suboscines, closely related to the broadbills. Pittas are medium-sized by passerine standards, at 15 to 25 cm (5.9–9.8 in) in length, and stocky, with strong, longish legs and long feet. They have very short tails and stout, slightly decurved bills. Many have brightly coloured plumage. Most pitta species are tropical, although a few species can be found in temperate climates. They are mostly found in forests, but some live in scrub and mangroves. They usually forage alone on wet forest floors in areas with good ground cover. They eat earthworms, snails, insects and similar invertebrate prey, as well as small vertebrates. The main threat to pittas is habitat loss in the form of rapid deforestation; they are also targeted by the cage-bird trade. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Lord Downpatrick

... that the fashion designer Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick (pictured) is the closest relative of Queen Elizabeth II who cannot succeed to the British throne because of conversion to Catholicism?
... that the Pacific baza has been rumoured to imitate the calls of tree frogs when hunting, inducing them to return the call?
... that evidence given by Lincolnshire County Council chief executive David Bowles led to one council leader being jailed and his successor banned from being a county councillor, for seeking revenge against Bowles?
... that among the judges of the 1954 Armed Forces March Competition were the last two living cornet soloists to have performed under John Philip Sousa?
... that Stella Abidh is believed to be the first Indo-Trinidadian woman to become a medical doctor?
... that Western Australia was held scoreless in the pool A final at the 2016 AFL Youth Girls National Championships?
... that Rosl Schwaiger appeared as Mozart's Blonde at the Salzburg Festival in 1945 and the Glyndebourne Festival in 1957?
... that so many people attended a 2017 Pokémon Go live event in Yokohama, Japan, that the city declined to host it the following year?

In the news

Cyclone Kenneth

Flooding and winds from Cyclone Kenneth (satellite image shown) kill at least 45 people, injure more than 200 others, and cause serious damage in Mozambique and the Comoro Islands.
An earthquake in Luzon, the Philippines, kills at least 18 people.
Volodymyr Zelensky wins the Ukrainian presidential election.
At least 250 people are killed and hundreds of others are injured in multiple bombings at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka.

On this day

April 30: Reunification Day in Vietnam

Coxey's Army

1557 – Arauco War: Spanish forces of Governor Francisco de Villagra launched a surprise dawn attack against the Mapuche headed by their toqui Lautaro in what is now Chile.
1894 – A crowd of workers (pictured), unemployed due to the Panic of 1893, conducted the first significant popular protest march on Washington, D.C.
1945 – World War II: As Allied forces were closing in on Berlin, Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide in the Führerbunker after being married for one day.
1982 – Sixteen monks and a nun belonging to Ananda Marga in Calcutta, India, were dragged out of taxis by persons unknown in three different locations, beaten to death and then set on fire.
2009 – A Dutch man drove his car at high speed into a parade in an attempt to kill the Dutch royal family.

Robert Plot (d. 1696) · Dadasaheb Phalke (b. 1870) · Meredith L. Patterson (b. 1977)

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Today's featured picture

Messier 81, also known as Bode's Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It is about half the size of the Milky Way, with a diameter of 90,000 light years. Discovered by Johann Elert Bode on December 31, 1774, it has been studied extensively by astronomers due to its proximity to Earth, large size, and active galactic nucleus. Messier 81 can be viewed easily using binoculars and small telescopes, and under exceptional viewing conditions can be seen with the naked eye. The center of the galaxy has a supermassive black hole with around 70 million times the mass of the Sun.

Photograph credit: Ken Crawford

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