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The French traveler Francois Leguat mentioned "bitterns" in his 1708 memoir A New Voyage to the East Indies about his stay on the Mascarene island of Rodrigues from 1691–93. Leguat was the leader of a group of nine French Huguenot refugees who settled on Rodrigues after they were marooned there.[2][3] Leguat's observations on the local fauna are considered some of the first cohesive accounts of animal behaviour in the wild.[4] In 1873, the French zoologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards described subfossil bird bones from Rodrigues he had received via the British ornithologist Alfred Newton. These had been excavated in 1865 under the supervision of his brother, Colonial Secretary Edward Newton, by the police magistrate George Jenner, who found the specimens in a cave on the Plaine Corail, near Rodrigues solitaire remains.[5][6][7]

Milne-Edwards correlated the bones with the "bitterns" of Leguat's account, but found that they were instead consistent with belonging to a species of heron, whose large head and short legs made it understandable that it was compared to a bittern. He considered the skull different from all other herons in size and shape, but found the tarsometatarsal foot bone similar to that of the extant heron genus Ardea, and therefore named the new species Ardea megacephala.[5] The specific name megacephala is Greek for "great-headed", and references the large head and jaws of this species.[7][8] The bones examined by Milne-Edwards included the skull, tarsometatarsus, tibiotarsus (lower leg bone), femur (thigh-bone), sternum (breast-bone), coracoids (part of the shoulder-girdle), humerus (upper arm bone), and metacarpals ("hand" bones).[5] The holotype specimen (the specimen the specific name and original scientific description is attached to) is an incomplete but probably associated specimen catalogued as UMZC 572 at the Cambridge University Museum of Zoology. This specimen since appears to have lost a humerus, a dorsal rib, both femora, a tibiotarsus, and both tarsometatarsi.[7]

In 1875, A. Newton correlated references to "bitterns" with the heron in the then recently rediscovered 1725–26 account of the French sailor Julien Tafforet, Relation de l'Ile Rodrigue, which he thought confirmed Milne-Edwards's conclusions.[9][3] More fossils were obtained from caves by the palaeontologist Henry H. Slater in 1874, and these were described by the German zoologist Albert GΓΌnther and E. Newton in 1879, with the benefit of bones not known at the time of Milne-Edwards's original description. They included the two last cervical vertebrae (of the neck), fifth dorsal vertebra (of the back), pelvis, scapula (shoulder blade), ulna (lower arm bone), radius (lower arm bone), second phalanx of the inner toe, and first of the hind toe. These bones are now part of the collection of the Natural History Museum, London. GΓΌnther and Newton did not find it necessary to describe these bones, as they were the same form as in other herons, particularly the night heron genus Nycticorax, and they therefore transferred the Rodrigues species there, as Nycticorax megacephalus.[10][7]

In 1893, E. Newton and the German ornithologist Hans Gadow referred to the bird as Ardea (Nycticorax) megacephala, and the British zoologist Walter Rothschild used the original name Ardea megacephala in 1907, while noting that he was inclined to believe the three extinct Mascarene herons (which had previously been assigned to either Ardea or Butorides) all belonged in Nycticorax.[11][12] The Japanese ornithologist Masauji Hachisuka concluded in 1937 that this species was little related to any other heron, and moved it to a new genus as Megaphoyx megacephala. He also used the common name "Rodriguez flightless heron", due to his conviction that it had lost the ability to fly.[13][7] In 1953, Hachisuka used the name "flightless heron" and added that this species was "quite remarkable" among herons, and not closely related to any other heron, extant or extinct.[14] The American ornithologist Pierce Brodkorb kept the species in Nycticorax in 1963.

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The text discusses the French traveler Francois Leguat and his observations on the local fauna during his stay on the Mascarene island of Rodrigues from 1691-1693. Leguat mentioned "bitterns" in his memoir titled "A New Voyage to the East Indies," which is considered one of the first cohesive accounts of animal behavior in the wild.

In 1873, the French zoologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards received subfossil bird bones from Rodrigues that had been excavated in 1865. These bones were described as "bitterns" by Leguat, but Milne-Edwards determined that they actually belonged to a species of heron. The large head and short legs of the heron made it understandable why it was compared to a bittern. Milne-Edwards named this new species Ardea megacephala, with the specific name meaning "great-headed" in Greek, referring to the large head and jaws of the species.

The bones examined by Milne-Edwards included the skull, tarsometatarsus, tibiotarsus, femur, sternum, coracoids, humerus, and metacarpals. The holotype specimen, which is the specimen used for the original scientific description, is incomplete but catalogued as UMZC 572 at the Cambridge University Museum of Zoology.

In 1875, A. Newton correlated references to "bitterns" with the heron in Julien Tafforet's account of Rodrigues from 1725-1726. More fossils were obtained from caves in 1874 and described by Albert GΓΌnther and E. Newton in 1879. These fossils included additional bones that were not known at the time of Milne-Edwards's description. GΓΌnther and Newton transferred the species to the night heron genus Nycticorax and named it Nycticorax megacephalus.

In 1893, E. Newton and Hans Gadow referred to the bird as Ardea (Nycticorax) megacephala. Walter Rothschild used the original name Ardea megacephala in 1907 but believed that the three extinct Mascarene herons belonged in Nycticorax. In 1937, Masauji Hachisuka moved the species to a new genus called Megaphoyx megacephala. Hachisuka also used the common name "Rodriguez flightless heron" due to his belief that the species had lost the ability to fly.

In 1953, Hachisuka referred to the species as the "flightless heron" and noted that it was quite remarkable among herons and not closely related to any other heron, whether living or extinct. In 1963, Pierce Brodkorb kept the species in the Nycticorax genus.

Overall, the text discusses the historical observations and classifications of a species of heron found on Rodrigues Island. It highlights the contributions of various researchers in understanding the species and its relation to other heron species.

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The Rodrigues night heron (Nycticorax megacephalus) is an extinct species of heron that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean. The species was first mentioned as "bitterns" in two accounts from 1691–1693 and 1725–1726, and these were correlated with subfossil remains found and described in the latter part of the 19th century. The bones showed that the bird was a heron, first named Ardea megacephala in 1873, but moved to the night heron genus Nycticorax in 1879 after more remains were described. The specific name megacephala is Greek for "great-headed". Two related extinct species from the other Mascarene islands have also been identified from accounts and remains: the Mauritius night heron and the RΓ©union night heron.

The Rodrigues night heron was robust, its bill was comparatively large, stout and straight, and its legs were short and strong. It is estimated to have been 60 cm (24 in) long, and its appearance in life is uncertain. There was marked sexual dimorphism, males being larger. Little is known about its behaviour, but the contemporary accounts indicate that it ate lizards (probably the Rodrigues day gecko), was adapted to running, and although able to fly, rarely did so. Examinations of the known remains have confirmed its terrestrial adaptations; one researcher thought the species flightless but this idea has not been accepted by others. The species could not be found by 1763, and it is thought to have been driven to extinction by human-related factors such as the introduction of cats.

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Logic is the study of correct reasoning, including both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It studies how conclusions follow from premises due to the structure of arguments alone, independent of their topic and content. Informal logic is associated with informal fallacies, critical thinking, and argumentation theory. It examines arguments expressed in natural language while formal logic uses formal language. When used as a countable noun, the term "a logic" refers to a logical formal system that articulates a proof system. Logic plays a central role in many fields, such as philosophy, mathematics, computer science, and linguistics.

Logic studies arguments, which consist of a set of premises together with a conclusion. An example is the argument from the premises "it's Sunday" and "if it's Sunday then I don't have to work" to the conclusion "I don't have to work".[1] Premises and conclusions express propositions or claims that can be true or false. An important feature of propositions is their internal structure. For example, complex propositions are made up of simpler propositions linked by logical vocabulary like 

∧\land (and) or 

β†’\to (if...then). Simple propositions also have parts, like "Sunday" or "work" in the example. The truth of a proposition usually depends on the meanings of all of its parts. However, this is not the case for logically true propositions. They are true only because of their logical structure independent of the specific meanings of the individual parts.

Arguments can be either correct or incorrect. An argument is correct if its premises support its conclusion. Deductive arguments have the strongest form of support: if their premises are true then their conclusion must also be true. This is not the case for ampliative arguments, which arrive at genuinely new information not found in the premises. Many arguments in everyday discourse and the sciences are ampliative arguments. They are divided into inductive and abductive arguments. Inductive arguments are statistical generalizations, like inferring that all ravens are black based on many individual observations of black ravens.[2] Abductive arguments are inferences to the best explanation, for example, when a doctor concludes that a patient has a certain disease which explains the symptoms they suffer.[3] Arguments that fall short of the standards of correct reasoning often embody fallacies. Systems of logic are theoretical frameworks for assessing the correctness of arguments.

Logic has been studied since antiquity. Early approaches include Aristotelian logic, Stoic logic, Nyaya, and Mohism. Aristotelian logic focuses on reasoning in the form of syllogisms. It was considered the main system of logic in the Western world until it was replaced by modern formal logic, which has its roots in the work of late 19th-century mathematicians such as Gottlob Frege. Today, the most used system is classical logic. It consists of propositional logic and first-order logic. Propositional logic only considers logical relations between full propositions. First-order logic also takes the internal parts of propositions into account, like predicates and quantifiers. Extended logics accept the basic intuitions behind classical logic and extend it to other fields, such as metaphysics, ethics, and epistemology. Deviant logics, on the other hand, reject certain classical intuitions and provide alternative explanations of the basic laws of logic.

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🧠 Logic is the study of correct reasoning, including formal and informal logic.

πŸ”’ Formal logic focuses on deductively valid inferences, while informal logic deals with fallacies and critical thinking.

πŸ“š Logic plays a central role in various fields like philosophy, mathematics, computer science, and linguistics.

βš–οΈ Arguments consist of premises and conclusions, which are propositions that can be true or false.

βœ… Correct arguments have premises that support the conclusion, while fallacious arguments do not.

πŸ” Systems of logic assess the correctness of arguments.

⏳ Logic has been studied since ancient times, with various approaches like Aristotelian logic and modern formal logic.

πŸ”’ Classical logic is the most widely used system, including propositional and first-order logic.

🌌 Extended and deviant logics expand or challenge classical logic in different domains.

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