Cinnamon hummingbird
The cinnamon hummingbird (Amazilia rutila) is a species of hummingbird in the "tribe of the emeralds", Trochilini. Currently, four regional subspecies are recognized. It is predominantly found along the Pacific western coast of Mexico and south through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, with some also residing in Belize and the southern Mexican states of Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatán. Cinnamon hummingbirds are typically found at or just slightly above sea level, often inhabiting coastal and lowland areas, as well as further inland in warmer locations in the southern parts of their range. The hummingbird has a length of approximately 9.5 to 11.5 centimetres (3.7 to 4.5 in), and on average weighs about 5 to 5.5 grams (0.18 to 0.19 oz). Its diet usually consists of food foraged from the understory to the mid-story, but it will also visit taller flowering trees. The cinnamon hummingbird feeds on nectar from a very wide variety of flowering plants and also eats insects. It is a territorial species, defending its feeding sites from intrusion by other hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. This cinnamon hummingbird feeding from a flower in flight was photographed in Los Tarrales Natural Reserve near Patulul, Guatemala.Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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Modern statue of Jochi

Jochi (c. 1182 – c. 1225) was a prince in the Mongol Empire. For months before his birth, his mother Börte had been a captive of the Merkit tribe, one of whom forcibly married and raped her. Although there was thus doubt over his parentage, Börte's husband Genghis Khan considered Jochi his son and treated him as such. Many Mongols, most prominently Börte's next son Chagatai, disagreed; these tensions eventually caused Jochi's exclusion from the line of succession. After Genghis founded the Mongol Empire in 1206, he entrusted Jochi with nine thousand warriors and a large territory in the west of the Mongol heartland; Jochi campaigned extensively to extend Mongol power in the region. He also commanded an army during the invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire, but tensions arose between him and his family during the siege of Gurganj in 1221. They were still estranged when Jochi died of ill health. His descendants continued to rule his territories, which became known as the Golden Horde. (Full article...)

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Mawali tribal sheikhs, 1880s
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