An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the murres, auklets and murrelets; the word auk is derived from Icelandic álka, from Old Norse alka, from Proto-Germanic *alkǭ. Apart from the extinct great auk, all auks are notable for their ability to "fly" under water as well as in the air. Although they are excellent swimmers and divers, their walking appears clumsy. Several species have different common names in North America; the guillemots of Europe are referred to as murres in North America, if they occur in both continents, the little auk is referred to as the dovekie. Auks are superficially similar to penguins having black-and-white colours, upright posture and some of their habits, they are not related to penguins, but rather are believed to be an example of moderate convergent evolution. Auks are monomorphic. Extant auks range in size from the least auklet, at 85 g and 15 cm, to the thick-billed murre, at 1 kg and 45 cm. Due to their short wings, auks have to flap their wings quickly in order to fly.

Although not to the extent of penguins, auks have sacrificed flight, mobility on land, in exchange for swimming ability. This varies by subfamily, the Uria guillemots and murrelets being the most efficient under the water, whereas the puffins and auklets are better adapted for flying and walking; the feeding behaviour of auks is compared to that of penguins. In the region where auks live, their only seabird competition are cormorants. In areas where the two groups feed on the same prey, the auks tend to feed further offshore. Strong-swimming murres hunt faster schooling fish. Time depth recorders on auks have shown that they can dive as deep as 100 m in the case of Uria guillemots, 40 m for the Cepphus guillemots and 30 m for the auklets. Auks are pelagic birds, spending the majority of their adult life on the open sea and going ashore only for breeding, although some species — like the common guillemot — spend a great part of the year defending their nesting spot from others. Auks are monogamous, tend to form lifelong pairs.

They lay a single egg, they are philopatric. Some species, such as the Uria guillemots, nest in large colonies on cliff edges. All species except the Brachyramphus murrelets are colonial. Traditionally, the auks were believed to be one of the earliest distinct charadriiform lineages due to their characteristic morphology. However, genetic analyses have demonstrated that these peculiarities are the product of strong natural selection instead: as opposed to, for example, auks radically changed from a wading shorebird to a diving seabird lifestyle. Thus, the auks are no longer separated in their own suborder, but are considered part of the Lari suborder which otherwise contains gulls and similar birds. Judging from genetic data, their closest living relatives appear to be the skuas, with these two lineages separating about 30 million years ago. Alternatively, auks may have split off far earlier from the rest of the Lari and undergone strong morphological, but slow genetic evolution, which would require a high evolutionary pressure, coupled with a long lifespan and slow reproduction.

The earliest unequivocal fossils of auks are from some 35 mya. The genus Miocepphus, is the earliest known from good specimens. Two fragmentary fossils are assigned to the Alcidae, although this may not be correct: Hydrotherikornis and Petralca. Most extant genera are known to exist since the Late Early Pliocene. Miocene fossils have been found in both California and Maryland, but the greater diversity of fossils and tribes in the Pacific leads most scientists to conclude that it was there they first evolved, it is in the Miocene Pacific that the first fossils of extant genera are found. Early movement between the Pacific and the Atlantic happened to the south movements across the Arctic Ocean; the flightless subfamily Mancallinae, restricted to the Pacific coast of southern North America and became extinct in the Early Pleistocene, is sometimes includes in the family Alcidae under some definitions. One species, Miomancalla howardae, is the largest charadriiform of all time; the extant auks are broken up into 2 main groups: the high-billed puffins and auklets, as opposed to the more slender-billed murres and true auks, the murrelets and guillemots.

The tribal arrangement was based on analyses of morphology and ecology. MtDNA cytochrome b sequence and allozyme studies confirm these findings except that the Synthliboramphus murrelets should be split into a distinct tribe, as they appear more related to the Alcini – in any case, assumption of a closer relationship between the former and the true guillemots was only weakly supported by earlier studies. Of the genera there are only a few species in each; this is a product of the rather small geographi

Southern tick-associated rash illness is an emerging infectious disease related to Lyme disease that occurs in southeastern and south-central United States. It is spread by tick bites and it was hypothesized that the illness was caused by the bacteria Borrelia lonestari. However, there is insufficient evidence to declare this Borrelia strain as a causative agent. Diagnosis is based on a circular "bull's-eye" rash at the site of infection called erythema chronicum migrans, similar to that seen in Lyme disease. However, the symptoms of STARI are mild, resemble influenza, with fatigue, muscle pains, headache. Fever is not characteristic; this illness is a tick-borne disease carried by the lone star tick Amblyomma americanum. This tick was first proposed as a possible vector of disease in 1984, the illnesses associated with the tick called "Lyme-like disease", but it was not recognized to be distinct from Lyme disease until the late 1990s. Several studies have failed to detect Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, in patients from the southern United States.

This disease may be caused by the related bacterium Borrelia lonestari, a spirochete first isolated in culture in 2004. However, this conclusion is controversial since the spirochete is not detected in all cases of the syndrome, which has led some authors to argue that the illness is not caused by a bacterial pathogen. Infections are treated with antibiotics doxycycline, the acute symptoms appear to respond to these drugs. No serious long-term effects are known for this disease, but preliminary evidence suggests, if such symptoms do occur, they are less severe than those associated with Lyme disease. Borrelia Zoonosis Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness Home Page Centers for Disease Control STARI Fact Sheet Florida Department of Health Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness SCWDS Briefs, January 2003, Vol.18, No.4

Jays are several species of medium-sized colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the crow family, Corvidae. The names jay and magpie are somewhat interchangeable, the evolutionary relationships are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian magpie seems more related to the Eurasian jay than to the East Asian blue and green magpies, whereas the blue jay is not related to either. Jays are not a monophyletic group. Anatomical and molecular evidence indicates they can be divided into an American and an Old World lineage, while the gray jays of the genus Perisoreus form a group of their own; the black magpie believed to be related to jays, is classified as a treepie. The crested jay is traditionally placed here; the word jay has an archaic meaning in American slang meaning a person. The term jaywalking was coined in 1915 to label persons crossing a busy street carelessly and becoming a traffic hazard; the term began to imply impertinent behavior as the convention became established. In January 2014, Canadian author Robert Joseph Greene embarked on a lobbying campaign among ornithologists in Europe and North America to get Merriam-Websters Dictionary to have a "Jabber of Jays" as an official term under bird groups.

Jay videos on the Internet Bird Collection Texts on Wikisource: "Jay". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921. "Jays". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920. "Jay". The New Student's Reference Work. 1914. Newton, Alfred. "Jay". Encyclopædia Britannica. "Jay". New International Encyclopedia. 1905. Newton, Alfred. "Jay". Encyclopædia Britannica. 13

Hangard Wood British Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War. It is located in the Somme department of France. Hangard Wood, to the south of Villers-Bretonneux, was the location of a number of battles during the First World War, from April to August 1918. Hangard itself had been defended by the 18th Division during the Spring Offensive while the area of the cemetery itself was held by the Germans. In August, during the early stages of the Hundred Days Offensive, it was captured by the Canadian Corps; the cemetery was established by the burial officer of the Canadian Corps in August 1918. It held the bodies of soldiers who had died in the fighting in Hangard that month, but received the remains of others killed in the area earlier in the year, during the Spring Offensive. In the post-war period, further remains of those killed elsewhere on the Somme, were interred in the cemetery; the cemetery contains the remains of 141 soldiers of the British Commonwealth.

Of the 103 identified casualties are 59 Canadians, 40 British, four Australian, a sole South African. There are 14 French graves in the cemetery. A notable interment is John Croak, a Canadian soldier, posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during the Battle of Amiens. Located in Hangard Wood, on the road between Villers-Bretonneux station and Hangard, the cemetery is laid out as a square; the entrance is on the northwest corner, directly opposite is a Cross of Sacrifice

Robin R. Yount is an American former professional baseball player, he spent his entire 20-year career in Major League Baseball as a shortstop and center fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers. After being drafted in 1973, Yount advanced to the major leagues just one year at the age of 18, he won two American League Most Valuable Player awards. In 1982, the led the Brewers to a World Series appearance. In 1999, Yount was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Since his retirement as a player, Yount has held several roles as a baseball coach. Yount was born in Illinois, he lived in Covington, but his family moved to southern California when he was an infant. Robin attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills. Yount was the third pick overall in the June 1973 Major League Baseball draft, one slot ahead of fellow Hall of Famer and 3,000 hit club member Dave Winfield. Yount made his major league debut the following April, at eighteen years old. After going hitless in his first four games, Yount hit a game-winning home run in his sixth.

Yount is the last 18-year-old to hit a home run in the Major Leagues. On September 14, 1975, Yount broke Mel Ott's 47-year-old record for most games played in the major leagues before turning 20. Yount courted controversy in the winter of 1978, he threatened to retire from the game and take up professional golf rather than be underpaid or moved to the outfield by the Brewers. Early in the season, Paul Molitor was called up from the Brewers Class A affiliate to the major league team because of Yount's absence. Yount's demands were met, he was an early proponent of weight training – uncommon in baseball – and by 1980 Yount's power hitting had improved for a shortstop. Yount was an All-Star in 1980, 1982, 1983. No other Brewer was voted a starter in consecutive years until Ryan Braun started each year between 2008 and 2011. Yount led the American League with 210 hits in 1982; the 1982 AL East race was tied on the final day of the season, with the race coming down to a winner-take-all game between the Brewers and the Baltimore Orioles.

With the title on the line, Yount hit home runs in each of his first two at-bats against Orioles starter Jim Palmer. Yount finished with a four-hit game, as the Brewers won 10-2. In addition to his only 200-hit season, he registered career highs with 29 home runs, 114 RBI, a.331 batting average. Yount finished with a.578 slugging percentage and.957 OPS on his way to gaining 367 total bases – leading the major leagues in all three categories. His slugging percentage was the second highest by a shortstop, his 129 runs set the record for that position; that year, Yount won his only Gold Glove Award and his first Most Valuable Player Award. His performance garnered 27 of 28 possible first place votes in the 1982 MVP balloting; the year ended with the Brewers making their only World Series appearance. Although Yount became the only player in history to have two 4-hit games in one World Series, Milwaukee lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Yount batted.414 with one home run and 6 RBI's. In 1985, a shoulder problem forced Yount to move to the outfield.

After splitting time between center field and left field, Yount became the Brewers' regular center fielder in 1986. He played more than 1,200 games with a. 990 fielding percentage. He made a diving catch to preserve a no-hitter by Juan Nieves early in the 1987 season. Yount narrowly won a second MVP Award in 1989, making him only the third player to win MVPs at two positions, joining Hank Greenberg and Stan Musial. Yount was the first AL player to win multiple MVP's in over twenty-five years, since the Yankees' Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. Yount collected more hits in the decade of the 1980s than any other player. After the 1989 season, Yount was a free agent and he spoke with several teams about contract offers; the California Angels were prepared to make a serious offer, but Yount signed a three-year contract with the Brewers worth $9.6 million in February 1990. In 1991, Yount was on the disabled list with a kidney stone, only the second stint on the DL in his career. On September 9, 1992, Yount collected his 3,000th career hit, becoming the 17th player to reach the mark.

He announced his retirement after the 1993 season. The Brewers retired his number the next year. Yount was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. That same year, he was included in the balloting for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team, finishing fifth among shortstops. Yount holds Brewers career records for games, at-bats, hits, triples, RBIs, total bases and strikeouts, he was the last active major leaguer. He posted a career.285 batting average with 1632 runs scored and 1406 runs batted in. His 11,008 career at-bats is the seventh-most in Major League Baseball history, he ranks 17th on the all-time hit list, his three All-Star appearances are tied with Ferguson Jenkins for the second-fewest of any Hal

List of notable Nivkh settlements in Sakhalin Island and the Lower Amur River. Prior to 1905 settlements are listed from north to south in their geographical categories with most settlement names in the Nivkh language or in the only know given Russian name. According to the Russian Census of 2002 most Nivkhs have lived in following districts: Ulchsky, Nikolayevsky of Khabarovsk Krai and Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, Okhinsky of Sakhalin Oblast; some Nivkhs live outside of their native area in big citites of Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Poronaysk. Amur EstuaryNikolaevsk LazatevWest Sakhalin CoastTamlavo Ngyl'vo Valuevo Langry Chingai Pyrki Pogibi Uandi Ytyk' Viakhtu Khoe Tangi Arkovo Port AleksandrovskSakhalin BayRybnoe Visk'vo Pomyt' Nil'vo Matnyr' Ngyd' KoibgervoEast Sakhalin CoastKhankes' Urkdt' Pil'tun Kakervo Kharkor'vo Chaivo Lad'vo Tyrmyts' Vachi Mil'kovo Tagry Lub'vo Lung'yo Nappi Ngamb'voTym RiverYukyr' Chkharvo Slavo Uskovo Tymovo Rykovskoe Black, Lydia Nivkh of Sakhalin and the Lower Amur.

Arctic Anthropology. Volume 10 No.1 p. 94 ISSN 0066-6939 Shternberg, Lev Iakovlevich and Bruce Grant. The Social Organization of the Gilyak. New York: American Museum of Natural History. Seattle: University of Washington Press ISBN 0-295-97799-X The Nivkhs from The Red Book