Wikipedia:Main Page history/2016 July 2

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From today's featured article

The barn owl (Tyto alba) is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is found in most parts of the world, with one major lineage in the New World, one in Australasia, and another in Eurasia and Africa. The 28 subspecies, between 33 and 39 cm (13 and 15 in) in length, have wingspans ranging from 80 to 95 cm (31 to 37 in). Their colours vary, but most have mottled grey or brown plumage and paler underparts, with a white, heart-shaped face. The barn owl relies on acute hearing to detect small mammals and other prey, hunting almost exclusively at night. It does not hoot, but utters an eerie, drawn-out shriek. It mates for life unless one of a pair dies, when a new pair bond may be formed. The nest is in a hollow tree, old building or cliff; the female does all the incubation, and she and the young chicks rely on the male for food. When large numbers of small prey are available, barn owl populations can expand rapidly. Globally, the species is not threatened, except for some subspecies with restricted ranges. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

César Camacho Quiroz in 2015

... that César Camacho Quiroz (pictured) was selected to become Governor of the State of Mexico and president of the PRI, both times to replace newly designated cabinet members?
... that Porth Wen Brickworks on the north coast of Anglesey made fire bricks from locally quarried quartzite?
... that actors Peter Mullan and Jack Lowden, who portray pioneering golfing legends Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris in the 2016 film Tommy's Honour, had no prior golfing experience?
... that the Padma Bhushan, along with other Indian civilian awards, was briefly suspended in the 1990s?
... that Hamza Ali died at age 20, having already played first-class cricket for Hampshire County Cricket Club and List A cricket for Rawalpindi Rams?
... that pit vipers eat Amazonian hocicudos?
... that Dutch Nazi, actor, and theater critic Adriaan van Hees became depressed when he discovered he was part Jewish, but still volunteered for the SS—and was denied?

In the news

Alexander Van der Bellen (left) and Norbert Hofer (right)

The Constitutional Court of Austria annuls the second round of voting in the 2016 presidential election, requiring the round to be re-held (candidates Alexander Van der Bellen and Norbert Hofer pictured).
An armed attack at Istanbul Atatürk Airport leaves at least 42 people dead and 230 others injured.
The conservative People's Party, led by Mariano Rajoy, gains the most seats in the Spanish repeat election but remains short of a majority.
Flash flooding in West Virginia kills at least 23 people.
After the United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union, British Prime Minister David Cameron announces he will resign by October.

On this day...

July 2: Feast day of Martinian and Processus (Roman Catholic Church)

The Raft of the Medusa

706 – In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang interred the final bodies in the Qianling Mausoleum, which remained unopened until the 1960s.
1816 – The French frigate Méduse ran aground off the coast of today's Mauritania, with the survivors escaping on a makeshift raft, which was depicted in Théodore Géricault's painting The Raft of the Medusa (pictured).
1950 – A mentally ill Buddhist monk set fire to the Golden Pavilion at Kinkaku-ji, destroying what is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in Japan.
1976 – More than a year after the end of the Vietnam War, North and South Vietnam officially united under communist rule to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
2002 – American aviator Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon, completing an almost 14-day trip after landing in Queensland, Australia.

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Today's featured picture

The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge that crosses the Gardon River in southern France. Located near the town of Vers-Pont-du-Gard, the bridge is part of the Nîmes aqueduct built in the first century AD to carry water from a spring at Uzès to the Roman colony of Nemausus (Nîmes). Because of the uneven terrain between the two points, the mostly underground aqueduct followed a long, winding route that called for a bridge across the gorge of the Gardon River. The Pont du Gard is the highest of all elevated Roman aqueducts, and, along with the Aqueduct of Segovia, one of the best preserved.

Photograph: Benh Lieu Song

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