Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 July 5

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From today's featured article

The black currawong (Strepera fuliginosa), also known as the black jay, is a large passerine bird endemic to Tasmania and nearby islands in the Bass Strait. One of three currawong species, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie in the family Artamidae. It is a large crow-like bird, around 50 cm (20 in) long, with yellow irises, a heavy bill, and black plumage with white wing patches. The sexes are similar in appearance. Three subspecies are recognised, one of which, S. f. colei of King Island, is vulnerable to extinction. The black currawong is generally sedentary, although populations at higher altitudes relocate to lower areas during the cooler months. The habitat includes densely forested areas as well as alpine heathland. It is rare below altitudes of 200 m (660 ft). Its omnivore diet includes a variety of berries, invertebrates, and small vertebrates. Less arboreal than the pied currawong, the black currawong spends more time foraging on the ground. It roosts and breeds in trees. (Full article...)

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Art Tomassetti

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In the news

COVID-19 pandemic

Presidential edition of the Russian constitution

The Russian electorate votes to amend the Russian constitution (pictured).
More than 170 people are killed in a landslide at a jade mine in Hpakant, Myanmar.
Amidst protests, China passes the Hong Kong national security law, bypassing the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
An attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi leaves eight people dead and seven others injured.

On this day

July 5

Thomas Cook

1594 – Sinhalese–Portuguese War: Portuguese forces began a failed attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Kandy on Ceylon.
1775 – The Second Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies adopted the Olive Branch Petition in the hopes of avoiding war with Great Britain.
1841 – Thomas Cook (pictured), founder of the travel company Thomas Cook & Son, organised his first excursion, escorting about 500 people from Leicester to Loughborough.
1950 – Korean War: In the first encounter between North Korean and American forces, an unprepared and undisciplined U.S. Army task force was routed at the Battle of Osan.

Joan of the Tower (b. 1321)
Sylvester Graham (b. 1794)
John Curtin (d. 1945)

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Today's featured picture

The Capitole is the heart of the municipal administration of the French city of Toulouse. The current façade, 135 m (443 ft) long and built of characteristic pink brick in the Neoclassical style, dates from 1750, while the structures surrounding the Place du Capitole, the large square in front of the building, were redesigned in the first half of the 19th century. Today, the Capitole serves as Toulouse's city hall, as well as housing an opera company and a national orchestra. A thorough redesign of the Place du Capitole in 1995 reserved the space for pedestrians, and incorporated a large Occitan cross on the ground, a symbol of the historical region of Occitania.

Photograph credit: Benh Lieu Song

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