Met het beursdebuut van SpaceX werd Elon Musk eerste biljonair ter wereld; hij is in zijn eentje meer dan duizend miljardairs waard.

Als donor van bijna een miljoen drones en ander militair materieel speelt Nederland aan de zijde van Oekraïne een doorslaggevende rol in de oorlog tegen Rusland. De dronesamenwerking tussen Den Haag en Kyiv heeft volgens Oekraïne „de koers van de oorlog veranderd”.

Een rechter in Canada heeft het beroep van de Ghanese sterspeler Thomas Partey om het land binnen te komen afgewezen. De Ghanese middenvelder werd eerder toegang tot het land…

on the water photography has added a photo to the pool:

Yame-Fukushima

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Meanwhile in Kansas City…. it may come as no surprise that Lionel Messi has taken just 76 minutes to stamp his mark on the tournament with a hat-trick for reigning champions Argentina in their opener against Algeria. Austria and Jordan must be quaking in their boots. Join Jonathan Howcroft for what remains of that Group J game.

The streets and cafes of Amman will be heaving this morning as Jordan make their World Cup debut. John Duerden looks at how Al-Nashama booked their ticket – and what to expect against Austria at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.

Jordan v Austria has been used as an example of a game that will challenge Fifa’s dynamic pricing system but regardless of how full the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium is, the cafes in Amman’s Prince Muhammad Street and all around the country will be packed. They were a year ago, as fans watched Portugal beat Spain in the Uefa Nations League final, three days after the World Cup spot had been secured with the city still buzzing with the thought of Al-Nashama (The Chivalrous Ones) taking on the superstars of the world and … here they are.

But while Jordan may be more about team spirit, organisation and counterattacking, they have stars of their own. In the days after qualification, the faces of the big three forwards featured on billboards everywhere you looked, though they have had differing fortunes since.

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Brown Falcon
Falco berigora
Description: Brown Falcons are small to medium-sized raptors (birds of prey). The female is larger than the male. The Brown Falcon has a range of plumage colours, from very dark brown to light brown above and off-white below. Generally, the upperparts are dark brown and the underparts are pale buff or cream. The sides of the head are brown with a characteristic tear-stripe below the eye. Birds from the tropical north are very dark, with a paler face and undertail, while those from central Australia are paler all over. Younger birds resemble dark adults, but have less obvious barring on the tail, and a buff-yellow colour on the face, throat and nape of the neck.
Similar species: Paler birds may often be confused with a related raptor (bird of prey), the Nankeen Kestrel, F. cenchroides, which is quite a bit smaller and has a more rufous crown. Dark Brown Falcons may be mistaken for slightly larger Black Falcon, F. subniger. The Black Falcon has longer legs and lacks barring on the tail. The Black Falcon also appears sleeker in shape and movements.
Distribution: The Brown Falcon ranges throughout Australia, and north to New Guinea.
Habitat: The Brown Falcon is found in all but the densest forests and is locally common throughout its range. The preferred habitat is open grassland and agricultural areas, with scattered trees or structures such as telegraph poles which it uses for perching. Around outback towns, the birds become quite tame and will allow quite close approach. Birds may stay within the same areas throughout the year or may move around locally in response to changes in conditions. Paler birds are usually associated with inland areas, but all the colour varieties are fairly scattered throughout the range.
Feeding: Brown Falcons are usually seen alone, searching for food from an exposed perch. When prey is sighted, the bird swoops down and grasps it in its claws (talons), killing the prey with a bite to the spine. The powerful bill has specialised 'tomial' teeth and matching notches for this purpose. Less often the species will hunt by hovering or gliding over the ground, often at great heights. Brown Falcons feed on small mammals, insects, reptiles and, less often, small birds.
Breeding: The nest used by the Brown Falcon is normally an old nest from another hawk species, but the species may build its own stick nest in a tree. Occasionally birds nest in open tree hollows. Both sexes share the incubation of the eggs, and both care for the young, although the female performs the bulk of these duties, while the male supplies most of the food.
Calls: Normally silent at rest, but gives some cackling and screeching notes when in flight.
Minimum Size: 41cm
Maximum Size: 51cm
Average size: 46cm
Average weight: 530g
Breeding season: June to November in the south; November to April in the north.
Clutch Size: 2 to 6 (usually 3)
Incubation: 30 days
Nestling Period: 45 days
(Source: www.birdsinbackyards.net; and Pizzey & Night, The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia)


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