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From today's featured article

The Indian roller is a bird of the family Coraciidae. It is 30–34 cm (12–13 in) long with a wingspan of 65–74 cm (26–29 in) and weighs 166–176 g (5.9–6.2 oz). The face and throat are pinkish, the head and back are brown, and the rump is blue. The brightly contrasting light and dark blue markings on the wings and tail are prominent in flight. The sexes appear similar. It occurs widely from West Asia to the Indian subcontinent. Often found perched on roadside trees and wires, it is common in open grassland and scrub forest habitats, and has adapted well to human-modified landscapes. It mainly feeds on insects, especially beetles. The species is best known for the aerobatic displays of males during the breeding season. Adult males and females form pair bonds, raising the young together. The female lays three to five eggs in a cavity or crevice, lined with a mat of straw or feathers. It is the state bird of three Indian states. (Full article...)

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In the news

Flooding in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, United States

Hurricane Ida leaves more than 50 people dead and causes flooding (pictured) in the Gulf Coast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, leading to widespread power outages.
Amid evacuations from Afghanistan, a suicide bombing kills at least 182 people at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
The Summer Paralympics open in Tokyo, Japan.

On this day

September 2: National Day in Vietnam (1945)

Japanese foreign minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signing the Instrument of Surrender

47 BC – Caesarion, a possible son of Julius Caesar, became the last king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, ruling jointly with his mother Cleopatra.
1885 – White miners in Rock Springs, Wyoming, attacked Chinese-American immigrants, killing at least 28 Chinese miners and causing approximately $150,000 in property damage.
1945 – On the deck of the U.S. Navy battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, representatives from the Empire of Japan and the Allied powers signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender (pictured), formally ending World War II.
2011 – Bad weather caused a Chilean Air Force aircraft to crash into the Pacific Ocean, killing all 21 people on board.

Constantius III (d. 421)
Jean Victor Marie Moreau (d. 1813)
Carlos Valderrama (b. 1961)

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Today's featured picture

Liliʻuokalani (September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom. She ascended to the throne on January 29, 1891, nine days after the death of her brother King Kalākaua. During her reign, she attempted to draft a new constitution in 1893 that would restore the power of the monarchy and the voting rights of the economically disenfranchised. Threatened by her attempts to abrogate the 1887 Bayonet Constitution, pro-American elements in Hawaii overthrew the monarchy on January 17, 1893. She was placed under house arrest, was forced to abdicate the Hawaiian throne and lived the rest of her life as a private citizen. This photograph of Liliʻuokalani was signed by the queen herself and addressed to Josephus Daniels, United States Secretary of the Navy.

Photograph credit: James J. Williams; restored by Adam Cuerden

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