Like the similar nectar-feeding sunbirds and unlike other birds, hummingbirds drink by using grooved or trough-like tongues which they can stick out a long way.
Hummingbirds do not spend all day flying, as the energy cost would be prohibitive; the majority of their activity consists simply of sitting or perching. Hummingbirds feed in many small meals, consuming many small invertebrates and up to twelve times their own body weight in nectar each day. They spend an average of 10–15% of their time feeding and 75–80% sitting and digesting.
Since hummingbirds are specialized nectar-eaters, they are tied to the bird-flowers they feed upon. Some species, especially those with unusual bill shapes such as the Sword-billed Hummingbird and the sicklebills, are co-evolved with a small number of flower species.
Many plants pollinated by hummingbirds produce flowers in shades of red, orange, and bright pink, though the birds will take nectar from flowers of many colors. Hummingbirds can see wavelengths into the near-ultraviolet. However, their flowers do not reflect these wavelengths as many insect-pollinated flowers do. The narrow color spectrum may make hummingbird-pollinated flowers inconspicuous to insects, thereby reducing nectar robbing by insects. Hummingbird-pollinated flowers also produce relatively weak nectar (averaging 25% sugars w/w) containing high concentrations of sucrose, whereas insect-pollinated flowers typically produce more concentrated nectars dominated by fructose and glucose.
Hummingbirds have traditionally been a part of the bird order "Apodiformes". This order includes the Hummingbirds, the swifts and the tree swifts. The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy of birds, based on DNA studies done in the 1970s and 1980s, have changed the classification of hummingbirds. Instead of being in the same order as the swifts, the hummingbirds were made into an order that only included themselves, "Trochiliformes". Their previous order, "Apodiformes" was changed to the superorder "Apodimorphae". This superorder contains the three families of birds which were in it when it was an order.
Bielsko-Biała
Bielsko-Biała is a city in southern Poland with 180,000 inhabitants. Its size is 125km. The city is in the Beskidy mountains.
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada (17 August 1925 – 16 August 2003) was a repressive dictator of the African country of Uganda. The President of Tanzania at the time, Julius Nyerere, invaded Uganda to save the country from Amin.
Amin was famous for sending all Asians, mainly from India and Pakistan, out of Uganda. He threw them out because he believed they were taking the jobs of Ugandans. Many of the Asians that left Uganda came back after Amin was thrown out.
He was a convert to Islam. He supported the cause of Palestine freedom. This caused the hijacking of an Air France flight that landed in Entebbe, Uganda.
Amin became known as a very brutal leader and in the 1970s he was compared to historical persons such as Caligula, Hitler, Beria and Himmler. In several of the neighboring countries he was stamped as "sadist, murderer, fascist and oppressor."
In 2003, Amin died in Jeddah , Saudi Arabia from kidney failure at age 77. He lived in Saudi Arabia after being thrown out of Uganda, he was barred from ever returning since he left. He died one day before his 78th birthday.
He was put on life support on July 18, but when his organs began to fail, life support mechanism was disconnected by his family. He was buried without any memorial in a simple grave without headstone.
"The Last King of Scotland" (2006) is a movie about Amin's government. Forest Whitaker won an Academy Award for best actor.
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; official Romanization: Phnum Pénh; IPA: [pʰnum peːɲ]) is the capital city of Cambodia. It is the largest and most populous city in the country. It is also the capital of the Phnom Penh administrative city. On April 17 1975, it was seized by the Khmer Rouge who soon forced everyone to leave. It was later retaken from the Khmer Rouge by the Vietnamese Army in January 1979.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song. The words were written by Jack Norworth. The music was written by Albert Von Tilzer. Neither of the writers had been to a baseball game. The song has become the unofficial anthem of baseball.
The chorus is traditionally sung during the seventh-inning stretch of a baseball game. Fans are generally encouraged to sing along. At some ballparks, the words "home team" are replaced with the team name, as is the case with the Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers and several other Major League Baseball teams.
The first recorded version of the song was made by Edward Meeker. Meeker's recording was selected by the Library of Congress as a 2010 addition to the National Recording Registry. The Registry picks recordings once a year that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Xia dynasty
Xia dynasty (Chinese: 夏朝; Pinyin: xià cháo; Wade–Giles: Hsia-ch'ao) was the first dynasty of China. It was founded in 2100 BC and ended in 1600 BC. Until archaeologists dug at Erlitou in Henan Province, many scientists were not sure if the Xia Dynasty was real or a myth. The last king was Jie who was said to be cruel and greedy. He was defeated by T'ang, the king of the Shang people from the east.
South Park
South Park is an American adult animated sitcom about the lives of four boys in the fourth grade living in the small mountain town of South Park, Colorado. The is made to be watched by adults, but the series gets a lot of people to watch it because of its humor. It uses satire to make fun of subjects such as current events, religion, politics, and pop culture. The show is controversial because of its use of profanity and sexual humor. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone also made a movie based on this series called "". Characters in "South Park" include Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman and Kenny McCormick. These boys are 10 years old. The series is about them living in their town.
" South Park" began in 1992 when Trey Parker and Matt Stone met in their film class at the University of Colorado at Boulder. They made a short subject animated short called "Jesus vs. Frosty". The short movie had characters that were similar to the main characters in the present-day "South Park".
Later on, an executive at FOX saw the movie. He hired Parker and Stone to make a second short movie to send to friends as a video Christmas card. This second video was called "Jesus vs. Santa". It had the same style as the "South Park" that can be seen today.
The voices in "South Park" are done by a small number of actors. Most of the male voices are done by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. The female voices are done by April Stewart and Mona Marshall (formerly Mary Kay Bergman and Eliza Schneider). Other voices are done by Adrien Beard (Token black), and Vernon Chatman (Towelie).
Before the start of season four, the main characters of the series were four third grade students (often called "the boys" when as a group for easier reference).
Stan is usually considered the serious and sensitive of the group. Stan is able to think clearly and is generally good-natured. Stan usually tries to come up with logical solutions to their outrageous situations. Stan's character is loosely based on the persona (public personality) of co-creator Trey Parker. His best friend is Kyle and their relationship is essential in several episodes, such as when he saves Kyle's life in "Cherokee Hair Tampons", "Cartmanland" and "Super Best Friends".