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Monti, Iowa
Monti is an unincorporated community located in the southeast corner of Buchanan County, Iowa, United States. Founded in the 1880s and platted in 1905, the community lies on the west bank of Buffalo Creek, east of Quasqueton and west of Ryan. The railroad brought several years of prosperity to the town, but the settlement declined after World War II. Over the years, the closure of the railroad depot, bank, stores, post office, creamery, schools, and church left Monti as the site of four houses, a closed church, a cemetery, and the Monti Community Center. Geography Monti is located in the northern part of Newton Township, the southeasternmost of Buchanan County's townships. The village lies along County Road W-45, where that road meets with Washington Avenue, an unpaved and unimproved gravel road. History The village traces its roots to the late 19th century, when large numbers of Irish immigrants flocked to the state in search of new lives in the New World. The town's Cath ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unincorporated Area
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have no unincorporated areas at all or these are very rare: typically remote, outlying, sparsely populated or List of uninhabited regions, uninhabited areas. By country Argentina In Argentina, the provinces of Chubut Province, Chubut, Córdoba Province (Argentina), Córdoba, Entre Ríos Province, Entre Ríos, Formosa Province, Formosa, Neuquén Province, Neuquén, Río Negro Province, Río Negro, San Luis Province, San Luis, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, Santa Cruz, Santiago del Estero Province, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, and Tucumán Province, Tucumán have areas that are outside any municipality or commune. Australia Unlike many other countries, Australia has only local government in Aus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rural Free Delivery
Rural Free Delivery (RFD) was a program of the United States Post Office Department that began in the late 19th century to deliver mail directly to rural destinations. Previously, individuals living in remote homesteads had to pick up mail themselves at sometimes distant post offices or pay private carriers for delivery. RFD became a political football, with politicians promising it to voters, and benefitting themselves to reach voters. The proposal to offer free rural delivery was not universally embraced. Private carriers and local shopkeepers feared a loss of business. The United States Post Office Department began experiments with Rural Free Delivery as early as 1890. However, it was not until 1893 that Georgia Representative Thomas E. Watson pushed through legislation that mandated the practice. However, universal implementation was slow; RFD was not adopted generally across the country until 1902. The rural delivery service has used a network of rural routes traveled by ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobolink
The bobolink (''Dolichonyx oryzivorus'') is a small New World blackbird and the only member of the genus ''Dolichonyx''. An old name for this species is the "rice bird", from its tendency to feed on cultivated grains during winter and migration. The bobolink breeds in the summer in United States and Canada, with most of the summer range in the northern U.S. Bobolinks winter in southern South America, primarily Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia. Bobolink populations are rapidly declining due to numerous factors, such as agricultural intensification and habitat loss; they are considered threatened in Canada, and are at risk throughout their range. Etymology The genus name ''Dolichonyx'' is from Ancient Greek , "long", and , "claw". The specific ''oryzivorus'' is from Latin , "rice", and , "to devour"; an old name for this species is "Rice Bird". The English "Bobolink" is from Bob o' Lincoln, describing the call. Description Measurements: * Length: * Weight: * Wingspan: Adults ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gray-cheeked Thrush
The grey-cheeked thrush (''Catharus minimus'') is a medium-sized thrush. This species is in length, and has the white-dark-white underwing pattern characteristic of ''Catharus'' thrushes. It is a member of a close-knit group of migrant species together with the veery and Bicknell's thrush; it forms a cryptic species pair with the latter. The grey-cheeked thrush is all but indistinguishable from Bicknell's thrush except by its slightly larger size and different song. The two were formerly considered conspecific. Of all the American spotted thrushes, the grey-cheeked has the most northern breeding range. Description The grey-cheeked thrush is slightly larger than other ''Catharus'' thrushes, about 16 to in height and weighing between 26 and 30g. Wingspan ranges from 12.6-13.4 in (32-34 cm). The bird can be identified by its grayish face, partial pale eyering, drab gray-brown upperside and extensively dusky flanks. The area between the eye and the beak is grayish as well, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Connecticut Warbler
The Connecticut warbler (''Oporornis agilis'') is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. Description These medium-sized warblers measure in length, with a wingspan. Connecticut warblers weigh when they fledge, attaining an average weight of around as adults. However, birds preparing for migration pack on more weigh to survive the strenuous journey and can weigh up to . This species has light yellow underparts and olive upper-parts; they have a light eye ring, pink legs, a long tail, pale wing bars and a thin pointed bill. Males have a grey hood; female and immatures are more brown and have a whitish throat. They forage on the ground, picking among dead leaves, or hop along branches. Like most warblers, these birds mainly eat insects and similar small invertebrates. Specifically, they eat spiders, snails and caterpillars. They will also supplement their diet occasionally with seeds and berries. They are "skulking" birds that usually spend their time foraging withi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
The yellow-bellied flycatcher (''Empidonax flaviventris'') is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. Description Adults have greenish upperparts and yellowish underparts (especially on the throat), with a dusky wash on the chest. They have a white or yellow eye ring that lacks the teardrop projection of Pacific-slope ('' E. difficilis'') or cordilleran ('' E. occidentalis'') flycatchers, white or yellowish wing bars that contrast strongly against the black wings, a broad, flat bill, and a relatively short tail when compared to other members of the genus. The upper mandible of the bill is dark, while the lower mandible is orange-pink. DNA testing in 2014 confirmed a field mark, involving the extent of buffy edging on the secondaries, to reliably distinguish this species from the two so-called " Western Flycatchers." Measurements: * Length: * Weight: * Wingspan: Yellow-bellied flycatchers wait on a perch low or in the middle of a tree and fly out to cat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cerulean Warbler
The cerulean warbler (''Setophaga cerulea'') is a small songbird in the family Parulidae. It is a long-distance migrant, breeding in eastern North American hardwood forests. In the non-breeding season, it winters on the eastern slope of the Andes in South America, preferring subtropical forests. It displays strong sexual dichromatism: Adult males have cerulean blue and white , with a black necklace across the breast and black streaks on the back and flanks. Females and immature birds have bluish-green upperparts, a pale stripe over the eye, no streaking, and are yellow below. All have two white wing bars and a thin, pointed . The cerulean warbler is insectivorous and predominantly feeds on insect larvae, though it also takes winged insects. It forages for prey and nests high in forest canopies. Individuals are strongly territorial; males will defend areas of forests. Males arrive on breeding grounds about one to two weeks earlier than females. Breeding and incubation take pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruffed Grouse
The ruffed grouse (''Bonasa umbellus'') is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It is non-migratory. It is the only species in the genus ''Bonasa''. The ruffed grouse is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a " partridge", an unrelated phasianid, and occasionally confused with the grey partridge, a bird of open areas rather than woodlands. The ruffed grouse is the state game bird of Pennsylvania, United States. Taxonomy ''Bonasa umbellus'' was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1766 12th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. He classified it as ''Tetrao umbellus'', placing it in a subfamily with Eurasian grouse. The genus ''Bonasa'' was applied by British naturalist John Francis Stephens in 1819. Ruffed grouse is the preferred common name because it applies only to this species. Misleading vernacular names abound, however, and it is often called partridg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birdwatching
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by listening for bird sounds, or by watching public webcams. Most birdwatchers pursue this activity for recreational or social reasons, unlike ornithologists, who engage in the study of birds using formal scientific methods. Birding, birdwatching, and twitching The first recorded use of the term ''birdwatcher'' was in 1901 by Edmund Selous; ''bird'' was introduced as a verb in 1918. The term ''birding'' was also used for the practice of ''fowling'' or hunting with firearms as in Shakespeare's ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' (1602): "She laments sir... her husband goes this morning a-birding." The terms ''birding'' and ''birdwatching'' are today used by some interchangeably, although some participants prefer ''birding'', partly because ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds. It has also been an area with a large contribution made by amateurs in terms of time, resources, and financial support. Studies on birds have helped develop key concepts in biology including evolution, behaviour and ecology such as the definition of species, the process of speciation, instinct, learning, ecological niches, guilds, island biogeography, phylogeography, and conservation. While early ornithology was principally concerned with descriptions and distributions of species, ornithologists today seek answers to very specific questions, often using birds as models to test hypotheses or predictions based on theories. Most modern biological theories apply across life forms, and the number of scientists ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific Ocean, Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in Genocides in history (World War I through World War II), genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the Spanish flu, 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising French Third Republic, France, Russia, and British Empire, Britain) and the Triple A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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