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Today's featured article
Gerald Durrell (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer and zookeeper. He was born in British India and moved to England in 1928. In 1935 the family moved to Corfu, but the outbreak of World War II forced them to return to the United Kingdom. In the 1940s he began animal-collecting trips for zoos, and published well-received accounts of these, starting with The Overloaded Ark. His account of the years in Corfu, titled My Family and Other Animals, appeared in 1956 and became a bestseller. He founded the Jersey Zoo in 1959, intending it to be an institution for the study of animals and for captive breeding. Durrell and his second wife, Lee McGeorge, made several television documentaries in the 1980s, including Durrell in Russia and Ark on the Move. They co-authored The Amateur Naturalist, which became his most successful book, selling well over a million copies. His ashes were buried at Jersey Zoo. (Full article...) Recently featured: Maria Trubnikova Cyfeilliog Liza Soberano Archive By email More featured articles About
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Flag of Okinawa Prefecture ... that the white ring on the flag of Okinawa Prefecture (pictured) represents the "O" in "Okinawa"? ... that Emirati princess Mahra Al Maktoum invoked triple talaq to divorce her husband, which is traditionally only done by the husband? ... that according to some estimates, as many as 35 million soldiers became prisoners of war in World War II? ... that following his December 2024 arrest for murder, Luigi Mangione was described as "somewhat of an online sex symbol"? ... that the Mseilha Fort is strategically located to oversee the crossing of the Jaouz River near Lebanon's Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory? ... that Saint Amata of Assisi was interviewed and testified during the process of the canonization of her aunt, Saint Clare of Assisi? ... that journalism students at New Mexico State University were willing to work for free to save their newscast on the school's TV station? ... that the Rockwell PPS-8 microprocessor had a number of features that made Adam Osborne call it "most unusual" and "difficult to understand"? ... that an Oregon Senate President crawled along a ledge of the State Capitol to access an unsecured window of the absent governor’s office to place bills on his desk? Archive Start a new article Nominate an article

In the news

Luke Littler

Luke Littler (pictured) wins the PDC World Darts Championship.
A spree shooter in Cetinje, Montenegro, kills 12 people and injures 4 others.
Romania and Bulgaria become full members of the Schengen Area.
In New Orleans, an attacker rams a truck into a crowd and opens fire, killing at least 14 people and injuring 35 others.

On this day...

January 7: Christmas (Eastern Christianity; Julian calendar); Victory over Genocide Day in Cambodia; Laba Festival in China (2025)

CQD in Morse code

1797 – The Italian tricolour was first adopted as an official flag by the government of the Cispadane Republic.
1904 – The Marconi International Marine Communication Company specified CQD (audio featured) as the distress signal to be used by its operators.
1939 – French physicist Marguerite Perey identified francium, the last element to be discovered in nature rather than by synthesis.
1979 – The People's Army of Vietnam captured Phnom Penh, marking the end of large-scale fighting in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War.
2020 – After 253 days without an operational government, a second round of investiture votes produced Spain's first coalition government since the Second Republic.

Francis Poulenc (b. 1899)
Melly Goeslaw (b. 1974)
Richard Hamming (d. 1998)
Run Run Shaw (d. 2014)

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Today's featured picture

The golden-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons) is a species of bird in the woodpecker family, Picidae. It is found in the southern United States, Mexico and parts of Central America. It inhabits mesic and xeric landscapes, including mesquite brushlands and riparian woodlands. It can also be found in urban parks and suburban areas. Males and females have the same plumage except for the pattern on their heads. Adult males have a red crown and a golden orange to yellow nape with a gap between them; females have a grayish crown and a paler yellow nape. The golden-fronted woodpecker has a diet of adult and larval arthropods, some aerial insects, fruit, nuts and corn, as well as occasionally eating other birds' eggs. The bird has a loud call and a short, slow drumming pattern. This male golden-fronted woodpecker was photographed perching on a branch in Copán, Honduras.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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