Wikipedia:Picture of the day/April 2013

A map of the Earth drawn by Professor Orlando Ferguson in 1893. Ferguson identified numerous errors in the then-prevailing globe theory of the Earth. By careful examination of 400 pieces of evidence, some of which are cited in the margins alongside the errors, Ferguson realized that the Earth is square and stationary, as illustrated in the map.

Restoration: Fallschirmjäger

The Three Countries Bridge connects France and Germany. It is located 200 metres (660 ft) from Switzerland. The world's longest single-span pedestrian and cyclist bridge, it was officially opened in 2007.

Photo: Taxiarchos228

A 12th-century painting of Guanyin, on a silk hanging scroll. In East Asian Buddhism, Guanyin (Kannon in Japan) is the bodhisattva associated with compassion. The painting is a National Treasure of Japan and is stored at the Nara National Museum.

Painting: Unknown

The Tasmanian Scrubwren is a bird of controversial taxonomy found in Tasmania and King Island, Australia.

Photograph: JJ Harrison

Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. The oldest, man-hauled railways date to the 6th century B.C.; the method grew more popular after the introduction of steam locomotives in the 19th century. Here we can see four BNSF GE C44-9W diesel locomotives hauling a mixed freight train along the Columbia River in the US.

Photograph: David Gubler

The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences publishes and circulates different scientific works, encyclopedias, dictionaries and journals, and runs its own publishing house. Established in 1869, the academy only received its own headquarters – designed by Hermann Mayer – in 1893.

Photograph: Plamen Agov

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog is an 1818 painting by Caspar David Friedrich, a German Romantic. It has been read as a metaphor for the uncertainty of the future.

Painting: Caspar David Friedrich

Crepuscular rays are rays of sunlight that appear to radiate from the location of the Sun. These rays, which generally appear around dawn and dusk, are columns of sunlit air separated by darker regions caused by obstructions.

Photo: Alchemist-hp

A survivor of the Andersonville Prison during the American Civil War displays his emaciated state after being freed. A prisoner of the camp described the view upon entering: "As we entered the place, a spectacle met our eyes that almost froze our blood with horror, and made our hearts fail within us. Before us were forms that had once been active and erect; stalwart men, now nothing but mere walking skeletons, covered with filth and vermin." Nearly thirteen thousand of the forty-five thousand prisoners died there. Hostilities of the war officially ended on April 9, 1865.

Photo: Unknown; restoration: Jujutacular

The peak of Mount St. Helens, a stratovolcano located in Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Topping out at 8,365 ft (2,550 m), it was once much higher; the 1980 eruption reduced the mountain's height by about 1,300 feet (400 m).

Photo: Gregg M. Erickson

Sri Mulyani Indrawati is an Indonesian economist who served for five years as Minister of Finance of Indonesia before being selected as managing director of the World Bank. In 2011 she was ranked as the 65th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.

Photo: the International Monetary Fund

The Shy Albatross (Thalassarche cauta) is a medium-sized albatross that ranges extensively across the Southern Ocean. It measures 90–100 cm (35–39 in) in length and 210–260 cm (83–100 in) in wingspan, making it the largest of the mollymawks.

Photo: JJ Harrison

Sunset is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the western horizon, and often results in an intense orange and red coloration of the Sun and the surrounding sky. Locations north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle experience no sunset or sunrise on at least one day of the year.

Photo: Alvesgaspar

Salman Khurshid is an Indian politician from the Indian National Congress. He serves as the Cabinet Minister of the Ministry of External Affairs. Previously Khurshid served as Minister of Law and Justice.

Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

Part of the Mexico–United States border, showing a small fence which separates densely populated Tijuana, Mexico, right, from the United States in the Border Patrol's San Diego Sector. The San Diego–Tijuana crossing is the busiest border crossing in the world.

Photo: Gordon Hyde

The Eurasian ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernua) is a species of freshwater fish found in temperate regions of Europe and Asia. The aggressive fish is known to reproduce rapidly, leading to problems when it is introduced to foreign bodies of water.

Photo: Tiit Hunt

Netherlandish Proverbs is an oil-on-oak-panel painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, completed in 1559, depicting more than a hundred contemporary Dutch proverbs. These include "to even be able to tie the devil to a pillow" and "one shears sheep, the other shears pigs".

Painting: Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Cabiria is an Italian silent film from 1914. Directed by Giovanni Pastrone and starring Bartolomeo Pagano, it follows several episodes of Italian history. It was the film debut of the character Maciste and the first film screened at the White House.

Poster: N. Morgello; Restoration: Jujutacular

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae) is a small passerine bird found in dense scrub to forest habitats through tropical Asia. Males, as pictured here, have vibrant colours; females are a duller blue. The birds feed on insects, either those caught flying or found on the ground.

Photo: JJ Harrison

Brian Nankervis (b. 1956), an Australian comedian and writer, shown here during a live performance. Nankervis rose to popularity while playing Raymond J. Bartholomeuz on Hey Hey It's Saturday; since 2005 he has been a host of the gameshow RocKwiz.

Photo: John O'Neill; edit: JJ Harrison

The SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library is the national library of Bulgaria. Founded on 4 April 1878, it was named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, who are credited with the creation of the Cyrillic script used in Bulgarian. The building pictured was finished in 1953.

Photo: Plamen Agov

A panoramic view of Pittsburgh from nearby Mount Washington at dawn. Pittsburgh, with a population of 307,484 and an area of 58.3 square miles (151 km²), is the second-largest city in the US commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Photo: Matthew Field

Diagram: TCO and Fallschirmjäger

A panoramic view of the interior of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy. Built in the 1st century AD as a site for gladiatorial shows as well as a variety of other events, the Colosseum is now a major tourist attraction.

Photo: Paolo Costa Baldi

The White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus) is a small passerine bird native to South and South-East Asia. Females, like the one pictured here, are shorter than males and of a gray-brown colouring. Mating couples will raise their brood together.

Photo: JJ Harrison

A map showing caesium-137 contamination in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine (in curies per square kilometer) in 1996, ten years after the Chernobyl disaster struck the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The disaster contaminated 162,160 square kilometres (62,610 sq mi) of land and is widely considered the worst nuclear power plant accident in history.

Map: Central Intelligence Agency/Eric Gaba

Jeremy Doyle (1983–2011) was an Australian wheelchair basketball player. Left paraplegic after a car accident, he was classified as a 1 point player. While representing his country Doyle won two gold medals, first at the 2009 Paralympic World Cup and again at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship.

Photo: Sport the Library

Saint Joseph's Oratory is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Construction of the church, the largest in the country, was initiated in 1904. It is considered a National Historic Site.

Photo: Paolo Costa Baldi

The Sony A700 is a 12.4 megapixel digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera that features notable anti-shake technology. Introduced in 2007, it is a prosumer model and one of the first Sony DLSRs made after purchasing Konica Minolta's camera technologies in 2006. It is the successor to the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D and is compatible with Minolta A-mount lenses and accessories. It was replaced by the α77 in 2011.

Photo: Evan Amos

George Campbell was a Scottish peer and Liberal politician who thrice served as Lord Privy Seal and was created Duke of Argyll in 1892. Campbell also wrote on science, religion, and politics, including pieces against Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

Artist: George Frederic Watts