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The black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) is in the grebe family of water birds. During the breeding season, the head, neck, and breast are dark, with some yellow behind the eyes; the flanks are tawny rufous to maroon-chestnut; and the abdomen is white. The non-breeding bird has greyish flanks and no yellow feathers. This species is present in parts of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas. It catches insects on the surface of the water, in flight, or occasionally on foliage, and dives to catch crustaceans, molluscs, tadpoles, and small frogs and fish. It makes a floating cup nest on an open lake, in which three or four eggs hatch after a 21-day incubation period. After about 10 days, the parents divide the brood between themselves, and after roughly 10 more days, the chicks become independent. The black-necked grebe travels as far as 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi) during migration, in the course of which it pauses to moult. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Making a Stand, Leeds

... that a seven-metre-tall (23 ft) "sculptural forest" (pictured) was created during Leeds 2023, inspired by the region's ancient woodland?
... that the Scottish surgeon John Blair was the only dux of his high school to receive his gold medal in the presence of his wife and child?
... that the 2023 drama film Time Still Turns the Pages won the Audience Choice Award at the 60th Golden Horse Awards?
... that the abandoned New World Department Store in Bangkok became home to thousands of fish?
... that Singaporean chef and restaurateur Tan Kue Kim cooked while wearing a S$40,000 gold Rolex watch?
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... that as she commenced chemotherapy, Irish singer Majella O'Donnell raised more than €350,000 for the Irish Cancer Society with a sponsored head shave live on The Late Late Show?
... that US president Calvin Coolidge left Mystic, South Dakota, in a lumber wagon?

In the news

Luís Montenegro

In Portugal, the Democratic Alliance (leader Luís Montenegro pictured) wins the most seats in a snap legislative election.
At the Academy Awards, Oppenheimer wins seven awards, including Best Picture.
Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama, author of Dragon Ball, dies at the age of 68.
Sweden becomes the thirty-second member state of NATO.

On this day

March 17: Saint Patrick's Day (Christianity); Anniversary of the Unification of Italy (1861)

Dorchester Heights Monument

1864 – Second Schleswig War: In an attempt to end a Danish blockade, Eduard von Jachmann led a Prussian squadron in an attack against a Danish fleet led by Edvard van Dockum.
1902 – The Dorchester Heights Monument (pictured), memorializing the siege of Boston during the American Revolutionary War, was dedicated.
1957 – A plane crash on the slopes of Mount Manunggal killed Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others.
1979 – The Penmanshiel Tunnel in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland collapsed during refurbishing construction, killing two workers, and leading to the abandonment of the tunnel.
2004 – Unrest in Kosovo broke out, resulting in the deaths of 28, the wounding of more than 600 others, and the destruction of several Serb Orthodox churches and shrines.

Jocelin of Glasgow (d. 1199)
Menno van Coehoorn (d. 1704)
Pattie Boyd (b. 1944)
Shu Xiuwen (d. 1969)

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Today's featured picture

The green shield bug (Palomena prasina) is a species of shield bug in the family Pentatomidae. It is commonly found throughout Europe, including Great Britain and Ireland, in a large variety of habitats, including gardens. The species displays different colouration during each nymphal stage, light brown, black or green-black, and in the final stage, the imago, is bright green with short wings. The imago stage is usually reached in September, with hibernation occurring in November. This green shield bug was photographed on Cumnor Hill in Oxfordshire, England.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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