From today's featured articleThe black stork (Ciconia nigra) is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. Measuring on average 95 to 100 cm (37 to 39 in) from beak tip to end of tail with a 145-to-155 cm (57-to-61 in) wingspan, the adult black stork has mainly black plumage, with white underparts, long red legs and a long pointed red beak. A widespread, but uncommon, species, it breeds in scattered locations across Europe (predominantly in Spain, and central and eastern Europe) and Asia. It is a long-distance migrant, with European populations wintering in tropical Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asian populations in the Indian subcontinent. Unlike the closely related white stork, the black stork is a shy and wary species. It is seen singly or in pairs, usually in marshy areas, rivers or inland waters. It feeds on amphibians, small fish and insects, generally wading slowly in shallow water to stalk its prey. (Full article...)
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The Allegory of Prudence is an oil-on-canvas painting attributed to the Italian painter Titian and his assistants, dated around 1565 to 1570. It depicts three human heads, representing youth, maturity, and old age, above three animal heads. Both sets of heads face in different directions, which reflects the concepts of past, present and future. Scholars believe that the first of the three human heads is an elderly Titian, while the other two are his son Orazio Vecellio and his young nephew Marco Vecellio, both of whom lived and worked with him. A barely visible inscription across the top of the painting, from which the work acquired its present name, reads Ex praeterito praesens prudenter agit, ni futura actione deturpet (Latin for 'From the experience of the past, the present acts prudently, lest it spoil future actions'). The painting is now in the collection of the National Gallery in London. Painting credit: Titian
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