Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 August 4

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Today's featured article
The Song Thrush is a thrush that breeds across much of Eurasia. It has brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies. Its distinctive song, which has repeated musical phrases, has frequently been referred to in poetry. The Song Thrush breeds in forests, gardens and parks, and is partially migratory with many birds wintering in southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East; it has also been introduced into New Zealand and Australia. Although it is not threatened globally, there have been serious population declines in parts of Europe, possibly due to changes in farming practices. The Song Thrush builds a neat mud-lined cup nest in a bush or tree and lays four or five dark-spotted blue eggs. It is omnivorous and has the habit of using a favourite stone as an "anvil" on which to smash snails. Like other perching birds (passerines), it is affected by external and internal parasites and is vulnerable to predation by cats and birds of prey. (more...) Recently featured: Melville Island – Brunette Coleman – Poppy Meadow Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the diverse architecture of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal includes Romanesque art (pictured), notable contemporary architecture and fishermen's houses that have been described as "Eskimo burrows"? ... that Australian 2012 Olympic equestrian jumper Julia Hargreaves was born in Hong Kong, grew up in the United States and Australia, and now resides in the Netherlands? ... that the Schleswig horse is on the Food and Agriculture Organization's list of endangered domestic animal breeds, having reached a low of only 5 stallions and 35 mares in 1976? ... that Ukrainian-born wrestler Olga Butkevych is to compete for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics, despite only gaining British citizenship in May this year? ... that Union Colonel James Cameron, killed at the American Civil War First Battle of Bull Run, was a brother of U.S. Secretary of War Simon Cameron? ... that "Conquistador" was one of the few Procol Harum songs in which the music was written before the lyrics? ... that National Hero of Indonesia Adnan Kapau Gani was a film star and smuggler? ... that 2012 Australian Olympic synchronized swimmer Bianca Hammett became interested in the sport after seeing a newspaper advertisement for it? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
American author and playwright Gore Vidal (pictured) dies at the age of 86. American swimmer Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the greatest number of medals won at the Olympics. A power grid failure in India leaves 20 states in the country without electricity, affecting 600 million people. A train fire kills 32 passengers on the Tamil Nadu Express in Andhra Pradesh, India. Fighting intensifies in Aleppo, Syria, as the Syrian Armed Forces launch an attack to regain control of the city. The Opening Ceremony of the Summer Olympics is held in London. Olympics summary – Wikinews – Recent deaths More current events...
On this day...
August 4: Tu B'Av (Judaism, 2012); Constitution Day in the Cook Islands (1965) 1265 – Second Barons' War: Royal forces under Prince Edward defeated Baronial forces under Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester at the Battle of Evesham near Evesham, Worcestershire. 1796 – French Revolutionary Wars: The French Army of Italy under Napoleon crushed an Austrian brigade in the Battle of Lonato. 1974 – A bomb placed by a neo-fascist group exploded on a train of the Ferrovie dello Stato while on the Bologna–Florence railway. 1984 – Exactly a year after he came to power in the Republic of Upper Volta through a military coup, President Thomas Sankara changed its name to Burkina Faso (flag pictured). 1991 – An explosion on the Greek cruise ship MTS Oceanos ruptured its hull, causing it to sink off the east coast of South Africa, but all 571 people on board were saved. More anniversaries: August 3 – August 4 – August 5 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now August 4, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

Plate 5 from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur, showing a variety of calcareous sponges, a class of about 400 marine sponges that are found mostly in shallow tropical waters worldwide. Calcareous sponges vary from radially symmetrical vase-shaped body types to colonies made up of a meshwork of thin tubes, or irregular massive forms. The skeleton has either a mesh or honeycomb structure.

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