Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 January 21

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Today's featured article
The Variegated Fairywren is a fairywren that lives in diverse habitats spread across most of Australia. Four subspecies are recognised. Exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism, the brightly coloured breeding male has chestnut shoulders and blue crown and ear coverts, while non-breeding males, females and juveniles have predominantly grey-brown plumage. Notably, females of the two subspecies rogersi and dulcis have mainly blue-grey plumage. Like other fairywrens, the Variegated Fairywren is a cooperative breeding species, with small groups of birds maintaining and defending small territories year-round. Groups consist of a socially monogamous pair with several helper birds who assist in raising the young. Male wrens pluck yellow petals and display them to females as part of a courtship display. These birds are primarily insectivorous and forage and live in the shelter of scrubby vegetation across 90% of continental Australia, which is a wider range than that of any other fairywren. (more...) Recently featured: Henry Cornelius Burnett – Nick Drake – Mauna Kea Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that all blackeye gobies (pictured) are born female, but some later become males? ... that "Michael", the Glee tribute episode to Michael Jackson, took more than a month to film and features performances of ten of his songs? ... that cattle can experience ergotism if they eat tobosa infected with the fungus? ... that Božena Němcová was the only author who got paid for her contribution to the Czech literary almanac Máj? ... that Canberra Capitals players Alice Coddington and Brigitte Ardossi majored in marketing while attending university in the United States? ... that National Hero of Indonesia Teuku Nyak Arif said of the Japanese occupation of Indonesia "we had driven out dogs only to have pigs come"? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
The U.S. Department of Justice shuts down file hosting site Megaupload as part of an investigation into alleged copyright infringement. Various websites participate in protests against U.S. bills SOPA and PIPA. In the Republic of China (Taiwan), Ma Ying-jeou (pictured) is re-elected as president and the Kuomintang retains its majority in the Legislative Yuan. The cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground and capsizes off the coast of Tuscany, with at least eleven fatalities. Anote Tong is re-elected President of Kiribati. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
January 21: Feast Day of Saint Agnes (Christianity); Flag Day in Quebec; National Hug Day in the United States 1789 – The Power of Sympathy by William Hill Brown, widely considered to be the first American novel, was published. 1931 – Sir Isaac Isaacs (pictured) became the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia. 1941 – Sparked by the murder of a German officer in Bucharest, Romania, the day before, members of the Iron Guard engaged in a rebellion and pogrom, killing 125 Jews. 1968 – Vietnam War: The Vietnam People's Army attacked Khe Sanh Combat Base, a U.S. Marines outpost in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, starting the Battle of Khe Sanh. 2008 – The Eyak language in Alaska became extinct after Marie Smith Jones, the language's last native speaker, died, an event that became a symbol in the fight against language extinction. More anniversaries: January 20 – January 21 – January 22 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now January 21, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A nymph of an unidentified species from the Coreidae family, known colloquially in North America as "squash bugs", because some species, such as Anasa tristis, are pests of squash plants and other curcubits. There are over 1,800 coreid species found throughout the world, mostly inhabiting tropical and subtropical regions.

Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

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