Wikipedia:Main Page history/2021 February 4b

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

The Pacific swift (Apus pacificus) is a bird that breeds in eastern Asia. This swift is strongly migratory, spending the northern hemisphere's winter in a wide range of habitats in Southeast Asia and Australia. The general shape and blackish plumage recall its relative, the common swift, from which it is distinguished by a white rump band and heavily marked underparts. Its main call is a screech typical of its family. It breeds in sheltered locations such as caves and rock crevices, or under the eaves of houses. The nest is a half-cup of dry grass and other fine material that is gathered in flight, cemented with saliva and attached to a vertical surface. Two or three white eggs are incubated for about seventeen days before hatching. Like all swifts, the Pacific swift feeds exclusively on insects caught in flight. The species has a large population that occurs as far afield as the US and New Zealand, and rarely in Europe. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

A Reading from Homer

... that everything in A Reading from Homer (pictured) is classicist but not everything is ancient?
... that the Bangladesh women's team won the first One Day International cricket match they played?
... that Benedict Joseph Fenwick was unable to generate interest in opening the College of the Holy Cross in the wilderness of Maine and so founded it instead in Worcester, Massachusetts?
... that the opposing managers watched the penalty shootout that decided the 2015 Football League Two play-off Final together?
... that Radio City Music Hall organist Richard Leibert eloped twice with the daughter of a U.S. congressman?
... that the documentary Aidan Walsh: Master of the Universe explores the life of the musician who signed "Ireland's fastest ever record deal"?
... that the video game Wild Woody contains an Easter egg that displays a topless mermaid if certain items are collected in order?
... that Joe the Pigeon was granted a pardon by the Australian government after being sentenced to euthanasia?

In the news

Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi (pictured), the State Counsellor of Myanmar, is detained by the military in a coup d'état.
A coordinated short squeeze targeting American hedge funds causes GameStop's stock price to spike.
Kaja Kallas becomes the first female Prime Minister of Estonia, following the resignation of Jüri Ratas.
In Russia, protests against the arrest of Alexei Navalny occur in more than 120 towns and cities.

On this day

February 4

Luke 11:2 in the Codex Sinaiticus

1801 – John Marshall, whose court opinions helped lay the basis for U.S. constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a coequal branch of government, took office as chief justice.
1859 – Constantin von Tischendorf rediscovered the Codex Sinaiticus (text sample pictured), a 4th-century great uncial codex of the Bible in Greek, in Saint Catherine's Monastery, Egypt.
1945 – World War II: U.S. forces liberated the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila, the largest Japanese internment camp in the Philippines.
1974 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army bombed a motor coach carrying off-duty British Armed Forces personnel and their family members, killing twelve people.
1998 – An earthquake registering 5.9 M_W struck northern Afghanistan, triggering landslides that killed over 2,300 people and destroyed around 15,000 homes.

Septimius Severus (d. 211)
Étienne Desmarteau (b. 1873)
Betty Friedan (b. 1921)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

The pink-necked green pigeon (Treron vernans) is a species of bird in the dove family, Columbidae, common in Southeast Asia. It is primarily a frugivore, feeding in groups in the mid-canopy on figs and other fruits. It is an important disperser of fruit seeds in forests, and is thought to be one of the species responsible for helping to return many Ficus species to the islands of Krakatoa in Indonesia after the archipelago was largely destroyed in the 1883 eruption. This male pink-necked green pigeon was photographed in Kent Ridge Park, Singapore.

Photograph credit: John Harrison

Recently featured:

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.