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Black-necked grebe

The black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) is in the grebe family of water birds. During the breeding season, the head, neck, and breast are dark, with some yellow behind the eyes; the flanks are tawny rufous to maroon-chestnut; and the abdomen is white. The non-breeding bird has greyish flanks and no yellow feathers. This species is present in parts of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas. It catches insects on the surface of the water, in flight, or occasionally on foliage, and dives to catch crustaceans, molluscs, tadpoles, and small frogs and fish. It makes a floating cup nest on an open lake, in which three or four eggs hatch after a 21-day incubation period. After about 10 days, the parents divide the brood between themselves, and after roughly 10 more days, the chicks become independent. The black-necked grebe travels as far as 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi) during migration, in the course of which it pauses to moult. (Full article...)

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March 17: Saint Patrick's Day (Christianity); Anniversary of the Unification of Italy (1861)

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Green shield bug

The green shield bug (Palomena prasina) is a species of shield bug in the family Pentatomidae. It is commonly found throughout Europe, including Great Britain and Ireland, in a large variety of habitats, including gardens. The species displays different colouration during each nymphal stage, light brown, black or green-black, and in the final stage, the imago, is bright green with short wings. The imago stage is usually reached in September, with hibernation occurring in November. This green shield bug was photographed on Cumnor Hill in Oxfordshire, England.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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