How Hudhud cyclone got its name

 In the killer cyclone 'HudHud' that devastated Visakhapatnam, the irony is that a large number of 'HudHud' birds have also perished. For ornithologists, bird watchers and wildlife lovers, this has become a cause of concern.

Cyclone 'HudHud' was named so after the 'HudHud' bird, a name that was contributed by Oman as a matter of procedure. However, 'HudHud' turned out to be a killer of the very birds that the cyclone was named after.

While the bird is called 'HudHud' in Arabic, in English it is known as the Hoopoe. The scientific name of the bird is Upupu epops. The 31 cm in length bird is listed among the 484 bird species known in Andhra Pradesh.

Locally, in Telugu, the bird is called 'Konda pitta' and 'Kukudu guwa'. It is also common sighted in Icrisat in Hyderabad, Srisailam and many places.

The bird that sings hoo-po hoo-po-po softly has borne the brunt of the cyclone in Visakhapatnam and that means it is a great loss to agriculture. A description of the bird reads that it is found in lightly wooded areas, plains, hills, lawns, gardens, groves, around villages and towns. "The bird walks and runs like a quail. It probes into soil with bill for insects. It's crest is folded and open like a fan. And it is beneficial to agriculture."

'HudHud' can be identified with its fawn colored, black and white zebra markings on back, wings and tail. It has a fan shaped crest, long, slender, gently curved bird.

"You will find it most of the time on the ground," a bird watcher said.

"Hoopoe is found all over India, including in Andhra Pradesh. It is quite common even in Visakhapatnam. Hoopoe is a small ground dwelling bird which feeds on insects and foraging on the ground. The intensity of the cyclone sure has resulted in a lot of the birds perishing. That is a cause of concern," said Farida Tampal, Andhra Pradesh state director of WWF.

With practically all the trees getting uprooted in Visakhapatnam as a result of 'HudHud' on October 12, the Worldwide Fund For Nature (WWF) has pointed out that at least 15 species of birds which have their nesting on tall trees also perished. These include the common egrets, cormorants, the painted storks, and pelicans. In fact, there is also concern about the large number of birds in the famous bird sanctuary at Telineelapuram in Srikakulam. "It is a community reserve where the villages themselves protect the birds. We are trying to find out how much damage the cyclone has caused there," Farida Tampal said.

With a large number of 'HudHud' or Hoopoe birds have been killed in Visakhapatnam because of the cyclone, bird watchers are saddened at the 'beautiful bird with a crown' had to perish.

Source:  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

2048 game tricks and tips

2048 is a matching game where your job is to combine matching tiles to create larger numbered tiles. When there are no more moves left and the board is full, the game is over. If you want to get to the mythical 2048 tile, you'll have to think strategically and plan your moves carefully. Here are some tips and cheats on how to work your way up to a better score each and every time in 2048!

1. Understand how the board moves

In 2048 you only have 4 main gestures and they are up, down, left, and right. Every time you swipe, every tile on the board moves in that position as far as it possibly can. If multiple cards can combine at once, they will do so. Keep this in mind and understand how moves work before swiping a tile that may or may not end up where you thought it would.

2. Don't chase large tiles

Sometimes it's really hard to resist temptation and chase larger numbered tiles across the board in order to combine them. This almost always puts you in a worse position than a better one. Instead, focus on combining smaller tiles and worry less about a specific set of tiles. They'll almost always meet up at some point, or you end up making a tile that ends up right next to it.

3. Work your way towards the corners

Staying in the corners assures you have more of the main game board to bring in new tiles. I've found that keeping tiles grouped into the corners works the best. Bring new tiles into the middle area when you can and then you can swipe them to the corners in order to combine. Sometimes I start off in the upper left hand corner but see an opportunity to make larger combos by moving the entire board to the bottom left or diagonal. Working in the corners makes a shift in strategy a lot easier.

4. Plan ahead

This somewhat goes along with my first tip, but seriously, plan ahead. Look at everything you have on the board and what bringing a 2 or 4 card in will do to change it. Perhaps you see a match right now but bringing a 2 down on the other side would create multiple matches in one move. That's what you want to do.

5. Slow down and think

Sometimes it's hard to tell what the absolute best move is, and if we don't make it, that's okay too. 2048 gives you lots of opportunities to recover from a bad move as long as you have empty spaces on the board to work with. If you really aren't sure what the best move is, re-evaluate where cards are on the board and whether or not you need to change their position before worrying about new cards.

6. Always make moves where multiple tiles merge first

If you come across an instance where you can merge multiple stacks of cards at once, take it. The more spaces you keep open on the board, the better flexibility you have when bringing in new cards and getting them where you want. With single moves you're basically replacing a card you stacked with a new one. When multiple cards can be combined, you're only bringing one new card onto the board but you're getting rid of more than one. And that's always a good thing.

source: http://www.imore.com/2048-top-7-tips-and-tricks-help-you-stack-your-way-higher-score