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The smallest of the minivets

     English Name: Small Minivets Sinhala Name: Kuda Minivetta Scientific Name: Pericrocotus cinnamomeus The smallest of the minivets; males have a slaty gray crown, cheeks, and back. They have a black throat and wings, while their tails are black with pale yellow edges. The breast is orange, gradually fading into yellowish-white underparts. The black wings also display a patch of orange. In contrast, females are duller than males, featuring light gray upperparts, cheeks, and crown; dark gray wings; a white throat; and light yellow underparts. Both males and females display an orange rump. They are usually seen in small flocks and frequently make high-pitched “swee swee” calls as they move around, feeding on insects. Sometimes, they catch insects mid-air like flycatchers. These birds inhabit various forested environments, particularly thorny jungles, scrub patches, and open dry forests. This picture was taken in my home garden in Kumbukgatte, Kurunegala, Sri Lanka Amal Ud...
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Astronauts return to ISS after sheltering during air leak repair attempt

From :- BBC World News   By :-  Pallab Ghosh, science correspondent, and Dan Sales Edited by :- Amal Udawatta Reuters Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) were ordered to shelter in an attached spacecraft after the structure suddenly started leaking more air. Five of the seven crew were directed to go into the docked SpaceX shuttle Dragon "Freedom" on Friday afternoon and were braced for a potential evacuation. Meanwhile, two remaining personnel - a pair of Russian cosmonauts - attempted to repair a part of the Russian segment of the ISS, where the leaks had started increasing on Monday. The repairs were paused and the crew ordered back onto the ISS by Nasa on Friday afternoon. Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot and Andrey Fedyaev, who arrived on the ISS in February, had been sheltering on the docked ship, along with another astronaut Chris Williams. They had been told to put on their spacesuits so they were ready to undock and return to Earth at short ...

Rare Blue Moon hides the red light of an ancient star on May 31: Will you be able to see it?

     From :- Space.Com      By :-  By Anthony Wood published yesterday      Edited by :- Amal Udawatta      A full moon photographed rising over Kars in Türkiye. (Image credit: Photo by Huseyin Demirci/Anadolu via Getty Images    Prepare for a spectacular sight, as the second full moon of May meets the red star Antares this weekend Some lucky southern hemisphere stargazers will catch an incredible sight this weekend, as the "Blue Moon" slips in front of the red star Antares in the heart of the constellation Scorpius, briefly hiding its light mere hours before the second full moon of the month reaches peak illumination. A Blue Moon is the name given to the second full moon in a calendar month — an event that occurs roughly once every 2.5 years thanks to a quirk related to the length of the Gregorian calendar and the moon's orbital period. It's also the name given to the third full moon in a season of four full...