Cranes usually build their nests in marshy areas and lay two eggs at a time. Cranes can make sounds that are heard from far away. Cranes dance special dances when they mate, and they include stepping quickly, high leaps, stretching, and bowing. Crane chicks grow very quickly and at two to four months, they develop their flight feathers. Cranes are very vocal. They use several different types of calls. They also communicate with their bodies.
All cranes are able to defend themselves quite well. They are mostly quite large, and peck, kick and batter opponents with their wings. They are territorial, and males will fight even more vigorously than usual at mating seasons. Zookeepers use acrylic riot shields to protect themselves against crane attacks.
Cranes are an ancient type of wading bird. Their first definite fossils are in the Eocene epoch, The rails (family Rallidae) are their nearest relatives in the order Gruiformes. Most of the other groups in the Gruiformes are flightless birds. These lived in forests, and left little or no fossil record.
The biggest threats to cranes are hunting and habitat destruction. Cranes need large habitats. All cranes are protected by international agreement.
Estimation
Estimation is the approximation of a result that one can use even if they are using information that is not clear or is incomplete. It is like making an educated, reasonable guess based on the information given.
If an estimate is more than the actual amount, then it is called an overestimate. If the estimate was less than the actual result, then it is called an underestimate. This is different from a prediction.
Fee
A fee is the price one gives as payment for services, especially the honorarium paid to a doctor, lawyer, consultant or member of a learned profession. Traditionally, a fee is different to a "payment", salary, or wage, because the fee usually is paid only once for the professional's services.
Maid
A maid, housemaid or, formerly, maidservant is a female employed in domestic worker. Maids perform typical domestic chores such as cooking, ironing, washing, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, caring for pets, and taking care of children like a nanny. In many places in some poor countries, maids often take on the role of a nurse in taking care of the elderly and people with disabilities. Many maids are required by their employers to wear a uniform.
In June 2011, International Labour Organization has made its Convention No.189 for domestic workers including maids.
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art of decorating fabric or other materials with designs stitched in strands of thread or yarn using a needle. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. Sewing machines can be used to create machine embroidery.
City and Guilds qualification in Embroidery allows embroiderers to become recognized for their skill. This qualification also gives them the credibility to teach. For example the notable textiles artist, Kathleen Laurel Sage, began her teaching career by getting the City and Guilds Embroidery 1 and 2 qualifications. She has now gone on to write a book on the subject.
Style
Style may refer to:
Banquet
A banquet is a large public meal or feast, complete with main dishes and desserts. It usually serves a purpose, such as a ceremony, or a celebration. Sometimes a banquet is made only of desserts.
Eccentricity
Eccentricity or extravagance is a word used to describe unusual behaviour in a person. People who have habits which many people think are very strange may be called eccentric. Eccentric behaviour is not necessarily good or bad in itself.
Some clever people (geniuses) have behaviour which might be described as eccentric. It is not always clear whether behaviour is just eccentric or whether it is madness.
Famous people who were eccentric in their different ways include Albert Einstein, Nero, Alan Turing, Howard Hughes, Ludwig II of Bavaria and Lord Berners.
Květinov
Květinov is a small village in the Havlíčkův Brod District, Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. 243 people live there. It covers 7,08 km². It was first documented in 1436.
Úsobí
Úsobí is a village in the Havlíčkův Brod District, Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. 707 people live in Úsobí. It covers 12.97 km². It was first documented in 1307.
Conversation
A conversation is two or more people talking about something. It is spontaneous, usually unplanned, though the people may have interests in common.
Conversations are one of the basic types of human communication. They can be about any subject, and do not necessarily have any fixed purpose. They allow people with different views of a topic to learn from each other. A conversation may be contrasted with formal presentations. A talk or speech, for example is an oral presentation by one person directed at a group. It is basically a one-way communication.
Conversations do not have to happen in person, they can happen over the telephone or on the Internet.
Banter is short witty sentences that bounce back and forth between individuals. Often banter uses clever put-downs and witty insults. It can contain misunderstandings (often intentional), zippy wisecracks, zingers, flirtation, and puns. The idea is each line of banter should "top" the one before it. It is a verbal war of wit without any physical contact.
FK Viktoria Žižkov
FK Viktoria Žižkov is a football club in the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1903 in the city of Prague. Viktoria Žižkov won Czechoslovak championship in 1928 and won the National cup in 1994 and 2001.
Wit
Wit is a form of intellectual humour. A wit is someone skilled in making witty remarks. A witty remark is a smart observation, put with humor and said in the perfect moment. Forms of wit include: the quip and the repartee.
Witty remarks may be intentionally cruel, and perhaps more ingenious than funny.
A quip is an observation or saying that has some wit but perhaps descends into sarcasm, or otherwise is short of point; a witticism also suggests the diminutive. Repartee is the wit of the quick answer. (Wilde: "I wish I'd said that." Whistler: "You will, Oscar, you will".)
Joss stick
Joss sticks are a type of incense. They are traditionally burned before an Asian religious image, idol, buddha statue, or shrine. But some joss stick burning rituals (and the prayers that come with it) do not need to be done in front of religious images. They can be burned before anything without limits; like in front of a door, or open window as an offering. In modern days, the burning of joss sticks can be used for any reason, like making the smell of a room better or lighting fireworks up.
AFK Union Žižkov
AFK Union Žižkov is a football club in the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1907 in the city of Prague.
2004 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 2004. It lasted until November 30. These dates usually mark the beginning an the end of the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. However, the 2004 season went past these actual limits slightly. For example, Tropical Storm Otto formed on the last day of the season and lasted two days into December. The season was above average in activity. It had fifteen named storms and one of the highest Accumulated Cyclone Energy totals ever recorded. The most season included storms called: Hurricane Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne.
Hurricane Alex formed on July 31 off the coast of South Carolina. Alex quickly strengthened into a category 2. On August 3, Hurricane Alex came within 10 miles of North Carolina. Hurricane Alex turned northeast and dissipated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Because Hurricane Alex did not make landfall it only caused $2.4 million in damage and only 1 person was killed as a result of the hurricane.