Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 April 1

The invisible rail (Habroptila wallacii) is a large flightless rail that is endemic to the island of Halmahera in North Maluku, Indonesia, where it inhabits impenetrable sago swamps adjacent to forests. Its plumage is predominantly dark slate-grey, and the bare skin around its eyes, the long, thick bill and the legs are all bright red. Its call is a low drumming sound which is accompanied by wing-beating. Information on the behaviour of this shy bird, usually shielded by its dense habitat, is limited. Recorded dietary items include sago shoots and insects, and it also swallows small stones to help break up its food. It is apparently monogamous, but little else is known of its courtship behaviour. The only known nest was a shallow bowl in the top of a rotting tree stump that was lined with wood chips and dry leaves. The two young chicks were entirely covered in black down typical of precocial newly hatched rails. The estimated population of 3,500–15,000 birds has a restricted range and is classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). (Full article...)

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From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

• ... that the front of Alex Chinneck's house (pictured) seems to have slipped?
• ... that the French paid their soldiers in playing cards?
• ... that some Top Totty was removed from the House of Commons after complaints from a shadow?
• ... that 71 is 3 miles (4.8 km) long?
• ... that Knightrider premièred in London in 1322?
• ... that James II lay on his back for a year amid grass and weeds after he was overthrown to make way for Edward VII?
• ... that Nick Clegg is sorry?
• ... that the existence of a sea monster in Scotland has finally been proven?
• ... that Dr. Young's Ideal Rectal Dilators were forcibly withdrawn after officials clamped down on them?

• Islam Karimov (pictured) is re-elected President of Uzbekistan.
• In cricket, the World Cup concludes with Australia defeating New Zealand in the final.
• Twenty people, including a United Nations diplomat, are killed during a 12-hour siege at a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia.
• Mathematicians John F. Nash, Jr. and Louis Nirenberg share the Abel Prize for their work on partial differential equations.
• Saudi Arabia conducts airstrikes against Houthi militants and their allies after their advance on the provisional Yemeni capital of Aden.
• Germanwings Flight 9525 crashes in the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board.
• Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister of Singapore, dies at the age of 91.

Ongoing: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: Tomas Tranströmer – Dinkha IV

April 1: April Fools' Day; Assyrian New Year; National Day in Iran (1979); Edible Book Day

• 528 – China's only cross-dressing emperor ruled for a single day.
• 1293 – Robert Winchelsey left England for Rome to be consecrated by the Pope, only to find that there wasn't one.
• 1865 – Ordered to hold five forks, Confederate General George Pickett (pictured) instead lost almost 3,000.
• 1996 – The government of Nova Scotia ordered the people of the City of Halifax to mate with over 200 multiple partners around the area.
• 2004 – Google launched a free Web-based service, providing users with an unprecedented 1000 megabytes of storage for spam.

More anniversaries: March 31 – April 1 – April 2