Welcome to Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

dual column hide sidebar · advanced mode
Today's featured article
Horned sungem

The horned sungem (Heliactin bilophus) is a species of hummingbird native to Brazil, Bolivia and Suriname. It prefers open habitats such as savanna, grassland and garden, and expanded its range into southern Amazonas and Espírito Santo, probably due to deforestation. It is a small hummingbird with a long tail and a short, black bill. The sexes differ in appearance, with males having two shiny red, golden, and green feather "horns" above the eyes, a shiny blue head crest and a black throat with a pointed "beard". The female is plainer, with a brown or yellow–buff throat. It is a nomadic species, responding to the seasonal flowering of its food plants. If a flower's shape is unsuited to the bird's short bill, it may rob nectar through a hole at its base. It also eats small insects. Only the female builds the small cup nest, incubates the two white eggs, and rears the chicks. The species is currently classified as least concern, and its population is thought to be increasing. (Full article...)

Recently featured:
Today's featured picture
Acorn woodpecker
Acorn woodpecker

The acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) is a bird in the woodpecker family, Picidae. It is found across Central America, as well as the western United States and parts of Colombia. A medium-sized bird, it has a length of around 20 cm and is mostly black, and adult males have a red cap starting at the forehead and females a black area between the forehead and the cap. As their name implies, acorn woodpeckers are heavily dependent on acorns for food, which they store in small holes that they drill into trees, known as "granaries" or "storage trees". This acorn woodpecker was photographed in the grounds of California State University, Chico, United States.

Photograph credit: Frank Schulenburg

Recently featured: Heungseon Daewongun - Symphony No. 9 - Phoenicolacerta troodica

In the news
On this day…

May 9: Europe Day in the European Union; Liberation Day in the Channel Islands (1945)

Hotel Polen fire
Hotel Polen fire
More anniversaries:
Did you know…
Prince Philip
Prince Philip
What is Wikipedia?

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia written collaboratively by many of its readers. It is a special type of website, called a wiki, that makes collaboration easy.

Want to help out? Get started with our Introduction.

Explore
Other areas
  • Newcomer's help page — A place to get help with editing and finding your way around Wikipedia.
  • Reference desk — Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
  • In other languages — Apart from English, Wikipedia is also available in many other languages.
Sister projects

Wikipedia is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other projects:

Commons
Free media repository
Wikinews
Free-content news
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals
Wikisource
Free-content library
Wikispecies
Directory of species
Wikiversity
Free learning materials and activities
Meta-Wiki
Wikimedia project coordination