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Snowy egret

The snowy egret (Egretta thula) is a small white heron. The genus name comes from Provençal French for the little egret, aigrette, which is a diminutive of aigron, 'heron'. The species name thula is the Araucano term for the black-necked swan, applied to this species in error by Chilean naturalist Juan Ignacio Molina in 1782.

The snowy egret is the American counterpart to the very similar Old World little egret, which has become established in the Bahamas. At one time, the plumes of the snowy egret were in great demand as decorations for women's hats. They were hunted for these plumes and this reduced the population of the species to dangerously low levels. Now protected in the United States by law, under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, this bird's population has rebounded.

Description
Adult snowy egrets are entirely white apart from the yellow lores between the long black bill and the eye, black legs, and bright yellow feet. The nape and neck bear long, shaggy plumes known as aigrettes. Immature snowy egrets have duller, greenish legs.

Measurements:

 * Length: 22.1 - 26.0 in
 * Weight: 13.1 oz
 * Wingspan: 39.4 in

Distribution and habitat
The snowy egret is native to North, Central and South America. It is present all year round in South America, ranging as far south as Chile and Argentina. It also occurs throughout the year in the West Indies, Florida and coastal regions of North and Central America. Elsewhere, in the southern part of the United States, it is migratory, breeding in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. It is found in wetlands of many types; marshes, riverbanks, lakesides, pools, salt marshes and estuaries. It is not found at high altitudes nor generally on the coast. The snowy egret has occurred as a vagrant in Europe, in Iceland, Scotland and the Azores. It has also been recorded in South Africa.

Diet
The birds eat fish, crustaceans (such as crabs, shrimp and crayfish), insects, small reptiles (such as lizards and snakes), snails, frogs, toads and worms (especially earthworms and other annelids). They stalk prey in shallow water, often running or shuffling their feet, flushing prey into view by swaying their heads, flicking their wings or vibrating their bills. They may also hover, or "dip-fish" by flying with their feet just above the water surface. Snowy egrets may also stand still and wait to ambush prey, or hunt for insects stirred up by domestic animals in open fields. They sometimes forage in mixed species groups.

Breeding
Snowy egrets breed in mixed colonies, which may include great egrets, night herons, tricolored herons, little blue herons, cattle egrets, glossy ibises and roseate spoonbills. The male establishes a territory and starts building the nest in a tree, vines or thick undergrowth. He then attracts a mate with an elaborate courtship display which includes dipping up and down, bill raising, aerial displays, diving, tumbling and calling. The immediate vicinity of the nest is defended from other birds and the female finishes the construction of the nest with materials brought by the male. It is constructed from twigs, rushes, sedges, grasses, Spanish moss and similar materials and may be 15 in across. Up to six pale bluish-green eggs are laid which hatch after about 24 days. The young are altricial and covered with white down when first hatched. They leave the nest after about 22 days.

Fossil finds
Fossils of the snowy egret have been reported from the Talara tar seeps of Peru and in Bradenton in Manatee County and Haile XIB in Alachua County in Florida, United States. The deposits were dated to the Late Pleistocene.

Status
In the early twentieth century, the snowy egret was hunted extensively for their long breeding plumes that fashionable ladies wore on their hats. This trade was ended in 1910 in North America but continued for some time in Central and South America. Since then populations have recovered. The bird has a very wide range and the total population is large. No particular threats have been recognised and the population trend seems to be upwards, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

title: Snowy egret


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Neurocognition

Neurocognitive functions are cognitive functions closely linked to the function of particular areas, neural pathways, or cortical networks in the brain, ultimately served by the substrate of the brain's neurological matrix (i.e. at the cellular and molecular level). Therefore, their understanding is closely linked to the practice of neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience – two disciplines that broadly seek to understand how the structure and function of the brain relate to cognition and behaviour.

A neurocognitive deficit is a reduction or impairment of cognitive function in one of these areas, but particularly when physical changes can be seen to have occurred in the brain, such as aging related physiological changes or after neurological illness, mental illness, drug use, or brain injury.

A clinical neuropsychologist may specialise in using neuropsychological tests to detect and understand such deficits, and may be involved in the rehabilitation of an affected person. The discipline that studies neurocognitive deficits to infer normal psychological function is called cognitive neuropsychology.

Etymology
The term neurocognitive is a recent addition to the nosology of clinical Psychiatry and Psychology. It was rarely used before the publication of the DSM-5, which updated the psychiatric classification of disorders listed in the "Delirium, Dementia, and Amnestic and Other Cognitive Disorders" chapter of the DSM-IV. Following the 2013 publication of the DSM-5, the use of the term "neurocognitive" − increased steadily.

Adding the prefix "neuro-" to the word "cognitive" is an example of pleonasm because analogous to expressions like "burning fire" and "black darkness", the prefix "neuro-" adds no further useful information to the term "cognitive". In the field of clinical neurology, clinicians continue using the simpler term "cognitive", due to the absence of evidence for human cognitive processes that do not involve the nervous system.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Neurocognition


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Ruby Blue (band)

Ruby Blue was a Scottish folk pop band formed by singer Rebecca Pidgeon and guitarist Roger Fife in the 1980s.

Pidgeon was a student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 1986, her friend Roger Fife, a guitarist, asked her to sing on a demo tape which was then sent to Red Flame Records in London. After hearing the demo, the label signed Pidgeon and Fife and released their first album, Glances Askances.

Pidgeon became the lead singer of Ruby Blue, which included Anthony Coote on bass guitar, Erika Spotswood on backing vocals, and Chris Buck on drums. Buck was later replaced on drums by Karlos Edwards. Coote and Pidgeon left in 1990. Pidgeon went to the U.S. and pursued an acting career. Erika Spotswood (now Woods) took her place on lead vocals.

Woods and Fife kept the band's name, releasing the album Almost Naked in 1993. The album was unsuccessful, and Ruby Blue disbanded. Woods moved to Los Angeles and married Tony Philips, the producer of Ruby Blue's Down from Above album. Fife became a producer and worked with Cyndi Lauper, Antony and the Johnsons, and Tricky.

Discography

 * Glances Askances (Red Flame, 1987)
 * Down from Above (Fontana, 1990)
 * Broken Water (Red Flame 1992)
 * Paradise (Red Flame 1993)
 * Almost Naked (Aris, 1993)
 * Remasters (Universal 2011)

title: Ruby Blue (band)


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Wikipedia:WikiProject Constellations/Bordering constellations

Here're all the bordering constellations of each constellation (remember to link them when you copy&paste them into the tables):

=Andromeda=
 * Cassiopeia
 * Lacerta
 * Pegasus
 * Pisces
 * Triangulum
 * Perseus

=Antlia=
 * Hydra
 * Pyxis
 * Vela
 * Centaurus

=Apus=
 * Triangulum Australe
 * Circinus
 * Musca
 * Chamaeleon
 * Octans
 * Pavo
 * Ara

=Aquarius=
 * Pegasus
 * Equuleus
 * Delphinus
 * Aquila
 * Capricornus
 * Piscis Austrinus
 * Sculptor
 * Cetus
 * Pisces

=Aquila=
 * Sagitta
 * Hercules
 * Ophiuchus
 * Serpens Cauda
 * Scutum
 * Sagittarius
 * Capricornus
 * Aquarius
 * Delphinus

=Ara=
 * Scorpius
 * Norma
 * Triangulum Australe
 * Apus
 * Pavo
 * Telescopium
 * Corona Australis

=Aries=
 * Triangulum
 * Pisces
 * Cetus
 * Taurus
 * Perseus

=Auriga=
 * Camelopardalis
 * Perseus
 * Taurus
 * Gemini
 * Lynx

=Bootes=
 * Draco
 * Ursa Major
 * Coma Berenices
 * Virgo
 * Serpens Caput
 * Corona Borealis
 * Hercules

=Caelum=
 * Eridanus
 * Horologium
 * Dorado
 * Pictor
 * Columba
 * Lepus

=Camelopardalis=
 * Cepheus
 * Cassiopeia
 * Perseus
 * Auriga
 * Lynx
 * Ursa Major
 * Draco
 * Ursa Minor

=Cancer=
 * Lynx
 * Gemini
 * Canis Minor
 * Hydra
 * Leo
 * Leo Minor

=Canes Venatici=
 * Ursa Major
 * Coma Berenices
 * Bootes

=Canis Major=
 * Monoceros
 * Lepus
 * Columba
 * Puppis

=Canis Minor=
 * Gemini
 * Monoceros
 * Hydra
 * Cancer

=Capricornus=
 * Aquarius
 * Aquila
 * Sagittarius
 * Microscopium
 * Piscis Austrinus

=Carina=
 * Vela
 * Puppis
 * Pictor
 * Dorado
 * Volans
 * Chamaeleon
 * Musca
 * Centaurus

=Cassiopeia=
 * Cepheus
 * Lacerta
 * Andromeda
 * Perseus
 * Camelopardalis

=Centaurus=
 * Hydra
 * Antlia
 * Vela
 * Carina
 * Musca
 * Crux
 * Circinus
 * Lupus
 * Libra

=Cepheus=
 * Ursa Minor
 * Draco
 * Cygnus
 * Lacerta
 * Cassiopeia
 * Camelopardalis

=Cetus=
 * Pisces
 * Aquarius
 * Sculptor
 * Fornax
 * Eridanus
 * Taurus
 * Aries

=Chamaeleon=
 * Musca
 * Carina
 * Volans
 * Mensa
 * Octans
 * Apus

=Circinus=
 * Centaurus
 * Musca
 * Apus
 * Triangulum Australe
 * Norma
 * Lupus

=Columba=
 * Lepus
 * Caelum
 * Pictor
 * Puppis
 * Canis Major

=Coma Berenices=
 * Canes Venatici
 * Ursa Major
 * Leo
 * Virgo
 * Bootes

=Corona Australis=
 * Sagittarius
 * Scorpius
 * Ara
 * Telescopium

=Corona Borealis=
 * Hercules
 * Bootes
 * Serpens Caput

=Corvus=
 * Virgo
 * Crater
 * Hydra

=Crater=
 * Leo
 * Sextans
 * Hydra
 * Corvus
 * Virgo

=Crux=
 * Centaurus
 * Musca

=Cygnus=
 * Cepheus
 * Draco
 * Lyra
 * Vulpecula
 * Pegasus
 * Lacerta

=Delphinus=
 * Vulpecula
 * Sagitta
 * Aquila
 * Aquarius
 * Equuleus
 * Pegasus

=Dorado=
 * Pictor
 * Caelum
 * Horologium
 * Reticulum
 * Hydrus
 * Mensa
 * Volans

=Draco=
 * Ursa Minor
 * Camelopardalis
 * Ursa Major
 * Bootes
 * Hercules
 * Lyra
 * Cygnus
 * Cepheus

=Equuleus=
 * Pegasus
 * Delphinus
 * Aquarius

=Eridanus=
 * Caelum
 * Cetus
 * Fornax
 * Horologium
 * Hydrus
 * Lepus
 * Orion
 * Phoenix
 * Taurus
 * Tucana (corner)

=Fornax=
 * Eridanus
 * Cetus
 * Sculptor
 * Phoenix

=Gemini=
 * Auriga
 * Taurus
 * Orion
 * Monoceros
 * Canis Minor
 * Cancer
 * Lynx

=Grus=
 * Piscis Austrinus
 * Microscopium
 * Indus
 * Tucana
 * Phoenix
 * Sculptor

=Hercules=
 * Draco
 * Bootes
 * Corona Borealis
 * Serpens Caput
 * Ophiuchus
 * Aquila
 * Sagitta
 * Vulpecula
 * Lyra

=Horologium=
 * Eridanus
 * Hydrus
 * Reticulum
 * Dorado
 * Caelum

=Hydra=
 * Antlia
 * Cancer
 * Canis Minor
 * Centaurus
 * Corvus
 * Crater
 * Leo
 * Libra
 * Lupus (corner)
 * Monoceros
 * Puppis
 * Pyxis
 * Sextans
 * Virgo

=Hydrus=
 * Horologium
 * Eridanus
 * Phoenix
 * Tucana
 * Octans
 * Mensa
 * Dorado
 * Reticulum

=Indus=
 * Microscopium
 * Sagittarius
 * Telescopium
 * Pavo
 * Octans
 * Tucana
 * Grus

=Lacerta=
 * Cepheus
 * Cygnus
 * Pegasus
 * Andromeda
 * Cassiopeia

=Leo= f
 * Leo Minor
 * Cancer
 * Hydra
 * Sextans
 * Crater
 * Virgo
 * Coma Berenices
 * Ursa Major

=Leo Minor=
 * Ursa Major
 * Lynx
 * Cancer
 * Leo

=Lepus=
 * Orion
 * Eridanus
 * Caelum
 * Columba
 * Canis Major

=Libra=
 * Virgo
 * Hydra
 * Centaurus
 * Lupus
 * Scorpius
 * Ophiuchus
 * Serpens Caput

=Lupus=
 * Libra
 * Centaurus
 * Circinus
 * Norma
 * Scorpius

=Lynx=
 * Gemini
 * Cancer
 * Leo
 * Leo Minor
 * Ursa Major
 * Camelopardalis
 * Auriga

=Lyra=
 * Draco
 * Hercules
 * Vulpecula
 * Cygnus

=Mensa=
 * Dorado
 * Hydrus
 * Octans
 * Chamaeleon
 * Volans

=Microscopium=
 * Capricornus
 * Sagittarius
 * Telescopium
 * Indus
 * Grus
 * Piscis Austrinus

=Monoceros=
 * Gemini
 * Orion
 * Lepus
 * Canis Major
 * Puppis
 * Hydra
 * Canis Minor

=Musca=
 * Crux
 * Carina
 * Chamaeleon
 * Apus
 * Circinus

=Norma=
 * Lupus
 * Circinus
 * Triangulum Australe
 * Ara
 * Scorpius

=Octans=
 * Tucana
 * Indus
 * Pavo
 * Apus
 * Chamaeleon
 * Mensa
 * Hydrus

=Ophiuchus=
 * Hercules
 * Serpens
 * Libra
 * Scorpius
 * Sagittarius
 * Aquila

=Orion=
 * Taurus
 * Eridanus
 * Lepus
 * Monoceros
 * Gemini

=Pavo=
 * Telescopium
 * Ara
 * Apus
 * Octans
 * Indus

=Pegasus=
 * Lacerta
 * Cygnus
 * Vulpecula
 * Delphinus
 * Equuleus
 * Aquarius
 * Pisces
 * Andromeda

=Perseus=
 * Camelopardalis
 * Cassiopeia
 * Andromeda
 * Triangulum
 * Aries
 * Taurus
 * Auriga

=Phoenix=
 * Sculptor
 * Grus
 * Tucana
 * Hydrus
 * Eridanus
 * Fornax

=Pictor=
 * Columba
 * Caelum
 * Dorado
 * Volans
 * Carina
 * Puppis

=Pisces=
 * Andromeda
 * Pegasus
 * Aquarius
 * Cetus
 * Aries
 * Triangulum

=Piscis Austrinus=
 * Aquarius
 * Capricornus
 * Microscopium
 * Grus
 * Sculptor

=Puppis=
 * Monoceros
 * Canis Major
 * Columba
 * Pictor
 * Carina
 * Vela
 * Pyxis
 * Hydra

=Pyxis=
 * Hydra
 * Puppis
 * Vela
 * Antlia

=Reticulum=
 * Horologium
 * Hydrus
 * Dorado

=Sagitta=
 * Vulpecula
 * Hercules
 * Aquila
 * Delphinus

=Sagittarius=
 * Aquila
 * Scutum
 * Serpens Cauda
 * Ophiuchus
 * Scorpius
 * Corona Australis
 * Telescopium
 * Indus
 * Microscopium
 * Capricornus

=Scorpius=
 * Ophiuchus
 * Libra
 * Lupus
 * Norma
 * Ara
 * Corona Australis

=Sculptor=
 * Cetus
 * Aquarius
 * Piscis Austrinus
 * Grus
 * Phoenix
 * Fornax

=Scutum=
 * Serpens Cauda
 * Sagittarius
 * Aquila

=Serpens Caput=
 * Corona Borealis
 * Bootes
 * Virgo
 * Libra
 * Ophiuchus
 * Hercules

=Serpens Cauda=
 * Ophiuchus
 * Sagittarius
 * Scutum
 * Aquila

=Sextans=
 * Leo
 * Hydra
 * Crater

=Taurus=
 * Auriga
 * Perseus
 * Aries
 * Cetus
 * Eridanus
 * Orion
 * Gemini

=Telescopium=
 * Corona Australis
 * Ara
 * Pavo
 * Indus
 * Microscopium
 * Sagittarius

=Triangulum=
 * Andromeda
 * Pisces
 * Aries
 * Perseus

=Triangulum Australe=
 * Norma
 * Circinus
 * Apus
 * Ara

=Tucana=
 * Phoenix
 * Grus
 * Indus
 * Octans
 * Hydrus

=Ursa Major=
 * Draco
 * Camelopardalis
 * Lynx
 * Leo Minor
 * Leo
 * Canes Venatici
 * Bootes

=Ursa Minor=
 * Cepheus
 * Camelopardalis
 * Draco

=Vela=
 * Antlia
 * Pyxis
 * Puppis
 * Carina
 * Centaurus

=Virgo=
 * Coma Berenices
 * Leo
 * Crater
 * Corvus
 * Hydra
 * Libra
 * Serpens Caput
 * Bootes

=Volans=
 * Carina
 * Pictor
 * Dorado
 * Mensa
 * Chamaeleon

=Vulpecula=
 * Cygnus
 * Lyra
 * Hercules
 * Sagitta
 * Delphinus
 * Pegasus


text:
Rebecca Pidgeon

Rebecca Pidgeon (born October 10, 1965) is an American/British actress who has appeared on stage and in feature films. She is also a singer, songwriter and recording artist.

Early life
Pidgeon was born to English parents in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while her father, Carl R. Pidgeon, was a visiting professor at MIT. Her mother, Elaine, is a yoga teacher. Her paternal grandmother, Monica Pidgeon, the editor of Architectural Design, was the sister of artist Olga Lehmann and academic Andrew George Lehmann.

Pidgeon moved to Edinburgh, Scotland in 1970 with her parents. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London with classmates Clive Owen and Liza Tarbuck.

Career
From 1986 to 1990, Pidgeon was the lead singer of the British folk/pop band Ruby Blue. She left the group shortly after they signed to a major record label.

She appeared in her first feature film, The Dawning, in 1988, then starred in David Mamet's plays and films, beginning with the movie Homicide and the play Oleanna, a part Mamet wrote for her. She composed the music for the film version, which starred Debra Eisenstadt in her role.

She released the album The Raven in 1994, followed by The New York Girls' Club (1996), and The Four Marys (1998), a collection of traditional Celtic folk songs. Tough on Crime (2005) featured Walter Becker of Steely Dan on guitar and Billy Preston on keyboards. Behind the Velvet Curtain (2008) included a cover version of the Beach Boys song "Wouldn't It Be Nice". Slingshot was released in 2012.

Pidgeon has had roles in additional Mamet films, including The Spanish Prisoner (1997), The Winslow Boy (1999), State and Main (2000), Heist (2001) and Redbelt (2008). She had a supporting role in Red (2010). In the 2013 television movie Phil Spector, she played a supporting role and also sang "Spanish Harlem" over the closing credits. She appeared in the U.S. television series The Unit as Charlotte Ryan, and in the 2007 television film Jesse Stone: Sea Change as Leeann Lewis, a murder/bank robbery suspect.

Personal life
Pidgeon is married to American writer and director David Mamet, whom she met while appearing in his play Speed-the-Plow at the National Theatre, London.

Pidgeon and Mamet have two children, actress Clara and Noah, in addition to Mamet's two older children, Willa and Zosia. Pidgeon, who was born to a non-practising Christian family, is a student of yoga as taught by B.K.S. Iyengar. She holds dual American/British citizenship.

Discography

 * The Raven (Chesky, 1994)
 * The New York Girls' Club (Chesky, 1996)
 * The Four Marys (Chesky, 1998)
 * Tough on Crime (Fuel 2000, 2005)
 * Behind the Velvet Curtain (Great American Music, 2008)
 * Slingshot (Toy Canteen, 2011)
 * Blue Dress On (Toy Canteen, 2013)
 * Bad Poetry (Toy Canteen, 2014)
 * Sudden Exposure to Light/Comfort (Toy Canteen, 2019)
 * Parts of Speech Pieces of Sound (Toy Canteen, 2022)
 * Songs of LA (2024)

With Ruby Blue
 * Glances Askances (Red Flame, 1987)
 * Down From Above (Fontana, 1990)
 * Broken Water (Red Flame 1992)
 * Remasters (Universal 2011)

As guest
 * Luciana Souza, Tide (Verve, 2009)
 * Madeleine Peyroux, Bare Bones (Rounder, 2009)
 * Chris Connelly, Decibels from Heart (Cleopatra, 2015)

title: Rebecca Pidgeon


text:
Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy

Field Marshal Julian Hedworth George Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy, (11 September 1862 – 6 June 1935), was a British Army officer who served as Governor General of Canada, the 12th since the Canadian Confederation.

Known to friends as "Bungo", Byng was born to a noble family at Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire, England and educated at Eton College, along with his brothers. Upon graduation, he received a commission as a militia officer and saw service in Egypt and Sudan before enrolling in the Staff College at Camberley. There, he befriended individuals who would be his contemporaries when he attained senior rank in France. Following distinguished service during the First World War—specifically, with the British Expeditionary Force in France, in the Battle of Gallipoli, as commander of the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge, and as commander of the British Third Army—Byng was elevated to the peerage in 1919. In 1921, King George V, on the recommendation of Prime Minister David Lloyd George, appointed him to replace the Duke of Devonshire as Canada's governor general, a post he occupied until the Viscount Willingdon succeeded him in 1926. Byng proved to be popular with Canadians due to his war leadership, though his stepping directly into political affairs became the catalyst for widespread changes to the role of the Crown in all of the British Dominions.

After his viceregal tenure, Byng returned to the UK to be appointed Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and was promoted within the peerage to become Viscount Byng of Vimy. Three years after attaining the rank of field marshal, he died at his home, Thorpe Hall on 6 June 1935.

Early life
Byng was born at the family seat of Wrotham Park, in Hertfordshire, as the seventh son and 13th and youngest child of George Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford (who, due to the size of his family, ran a relatively frugal household) and Harriet Elizabeth Cavendish, daughter of Charles Cavendish, 1st Baron Chesham. Until the age of 17, Byng was enrolled at Eton College, although he did not enter the sixth form. At Eton Byng first received the nickname "Bungo"—to distinguish him from his elder brothers "Byngo" and "Bango" —but his time at the college was undistinguished, and he received poor reports; indicative of his attitude towards academics, he once traded his Latin grammar book and his brother Lionel's best trousers to a hawker for a pair of ferrets and a pineapple. Byng later claimed that he had been the school's worst "Scug", the colloquial term for an undistinguished boy.

Early military career
Byng was from a military family, his grandfather having served with Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo. With three brothers already in the army and another already put up for the 7th Queen's Own Hussars, Byng's father did not think he could afford a regular army commission for his youngest son. Thus, at the age of 17, Byng was instead sent into the militia and on 12 December 1879 commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 2nd (Edmonton) Royal Middlesex Rifles (later the 7th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps). He was promoted to lieutenant on 23 April 1881. During this period, Byng also developed a liking for theatre and music halls, and by the age of twenty had taken an interest in the banjo.

At a meeting of the Jockey Club in 1882, Byng's father was asked about his sons by his long-time friend, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. Upon hearing that Byng had not yet found a permanent career, the Prince offered a place for him in his own regiment, the 10th Royal Hussars. This was the most expensive regiment in the army, and the Earl of Strafford could only afford to give Byng two hundred of the six hundred pounds he would need each year, but the Prince's offer could not be refused. Byng himself was delighted at the opportunity, as both his uncle, Lord Chesham, and his cousin, Charles Cavendish, had served in the regiment. By raising money through buying polo ponies cheaply, using his excellent horsemanship to train them, and then selling them on at a profit, Byng was able to transfer to the 10th Royal Hussars on 27 January 1883, and less than three months later he joined the regiment in Lucknow, India.

It was while the regiment was on the way home to Great Britain in 1884 that the Hussars were diverted to the Sudan to join the Suakin Expedition, and on 29 February Byng, along with the rest of his regiment, rode in the first line of the charge at the first Battle of El Teb. The attack, which resulted in the deaths of both of Byng's squadron's other officers, was unsuccessful, and fighting continued, with Byng's horse being killed under him on 13 March at the Battle of Tamai. Most of the rebels were then dispersed shortly after, and on 29 March the regiment re-embarked for Britain, arriving on 22 April, and proceeding to their new base at Shorncliffe Army Camp in Kent. During the summer of 1884, Byng spent much of his time playing polo and training recruits and horses, and in July, for his services in Sudan, he was mentioned in despatches.

In June 1885, the regiment was relocated to the South Cavalry Barracks at Aldershot, where the Prince of Wales' eldest son, Prince Albert Victor, joined the regiment and thereafter the Prince of Wales and his other son, Prince George, became frequent visitors. Byng struck up a friendship with both Albert Victor and George, but did not socialise with them much outside of army circles. Byng was appointed as the regimental adjutant on 20 October 1886, only nine days before the death of his father, who left Byng a watch and £3,500. The regiment then moved again in 1887 to the barracks at Hounslow, where, after suspecting that contractors were selling him inferior meat, Byng spent several early mornings at the Smithfield market to learn the meat trade, eventually proving his case and having the contractors changed. It was also at this time that Byng became acquainted with the Lord Rowton, who, along with the Guinness Trust, was trying to improve housing for skilled workers in London. Byng accompanied Rowton around the poorest areas of the city and suggested that retired senior soldiers from the rank-and-file be hired to maintain order in the Rowton Houses that Rowton had set up, thus starting a long-lived tradition.

Staff College
In 1888, the Hussars again moved, this time to York, where Byng kept his men busy by raising successful cricket and football teams. Byng was promoted to captain on 4 January 1890, around the time he began to consider entering the Staff College at Camberley. He thus, in order to dedicate his time to preparatory studies, which continued when the regiment moved in 1891 to Ireland, resigned his commission as adjutant and turned down an invitation from Prince Albert Victor to join him in India as an equerry. After being detached for a time in order to serve and gain more experience in the infantry and artillery, Byng sat and passed his entrance exams into the Staff College and secured a nomination in September 1892. A year before Byng entered the college, Albert Victor fell victim to the influenza pandemic that raged around the world, and, at the Prince's funeral on 20 January 1892, Byng commanded the pallbearers (all from the 10th Royal Hussars), which was a significant display of trust shown Byng by the Prince of Wales.

Once Byng was enrolled at the Staff College, he found amongst his fellow students men with whom he would be closely associated more than two decades later—Henry Rawlinson, Henry Hughes Wilson, Thomas D'Oyly Snow, and James Aylmer Lowthorpe Haldane—and in 1894, while en route to visit a friend at Aldershot, travelled with a cadet at the nearby Royal Military College at Sandhurst, Winston Churchill. Byng also journeyed with his class to see the battlefields of the Franco-Prussian War at Alsace-Lorraine and accompanied to the United States one of his lecturers who was compiling information on a book on Stonewall Jackson. By December 1894, Byng graduated from the Staff College and was immediately appointed to command A Squadron of the hussars. Only three years later, though, the regiment returned to Aldershot and Byng left to become adjutant of the 1st Cavalry Brigade, shortly before becoming the Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General (DAAG) of the Aldershot Command, and was promoted to the rank of major on 4 May 1898. Later that same year, Byng met at a local party Marie Evelyn Moreton, the only daughter of Sir Richard Charles Moreton, who had himself served as comptroller at the Canadian royal and viceroyal residence of Rideau Hall, under the then Governor General of Canada the Marquess of Lorne. Evelyn, as she was known, later described her early encounters with Byng:

"When we met of a morning out riding, if he was free, the fun began—though it wasn't always fun for me because I was bewildered, as he was never the same two days running. Talk of women being mutable—he could have given points and a beating to any one of them! On Monday he would be in his most enchanting mood; Tuesday he would treat me as a pal and a man; Wednesday he would hardly remember that I existed; Thursday he would be icily polite; Friday he would thaw a little and by Saturday be back in Monday's delightful mood! What could anybody make of such vagaries?"

Commanding officer

Byng was deployed in November 1899 to South Africa, where he was to act as a provost marshal, but was instead immediately given the local rank of lieutenant colonel and tasked with raising and commanding the South African Light Horse during the Second Boer War. Byng thereafter served on the front lines, during which time he ended up in command of a group of columns, was mentioned in despatches five times (including by Lord Kitchener on 23 June 1902 ), and in November 1900 was promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel and in February 1902 to brevet colonel. The beginning of 1902 brought more significant events for Byng, with his return to England in March, an audience with King Edward VII the following month, at which he was appointed to the Royal Victorian Order as a member 4th class (MVO), and his marriage to Moreton at St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, on 30 April 1902. Following a second visit to the King in early October, Byng was sent back to India to command the 10th Royal Hussars at Mhow and was appointed to the rank of a substantive lieutenant colonel on 11 October 1902.

In his first two years of marriage, Byng's wife suffered several miscarriages, resulting in the declaration that she would be unable to bear children. By January 1904, Byng had also, while playing polo, broken his right elbow so severely that it was feared he would have to quit the Army. After four months' treatment in England, though, he was pronounced to be again fit for duty and in May became the first commandant of the new cavalry school at Netheravon. The posting was to be only a brief one, as, on 11 May 1905, Byng was made commander of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade at Canterbury, with the simultaneous temporary rank of brigadier general and substantive rank of colonel. After appointment as a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1906, he was again back in Aldershot, in command of the 1st Cavalry Brigade.

It was April 1909 when Byng was promoted to major-general and, though he was placed on half pay, Byng—with added income from editing the Cavalry Journal and serving as the first north Essex District Commissioner for the Boy Scouts—purchased his first house, Newton Hall, in Dunmow, Essex. He would, however, only reside there for two years, as, exactly the same amount of time after taking command of the East Anglian Infantry Division of the Territorial Force in October 1910,

First World War
In October 1912 Byng became General Officer Commanding (GOC) British Troops in Egypt, where he remained until the outbreak of the First World War in the summer of 1914. Kitchener, then on leave on England and soon to become Secretary of State for War, recalled Byng back to Britain to become GOC of the newly created 3rd Cavalry Division. This Byng did, and soon departed for the Western Front, landing at Ostend on 8 October, to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Both he and his division soon saw action at the First Battle of Ypres towards the end of the month, which lasted over four weeks. His actions there were rewarded in March 1915 with appointment as a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George.

After three months serving as GOC of the Cavalry Corps, beginning in May 1915, at which time he was also made a temporary lieutenant-general, Byng was off to Gallipoli to head the IX Corps and supervise the successful British, Australian, and New Zealand forces withdrawal from the ill-fated campaign at Gallipoli. For this, he was on 1 January 1916 elevated within the Order of the Bath to the rank of Knight Commander, but was not allowed much rest, as he spent the next month commanding the Suez Canal defences before returning to the Western Front to lead the XVII Corps. By June, he was in command of the Canadian Corps–"which was generally regarded, not least by those in it, as one of the crack formations on the Western Front"–and was promoted when, for distinguished service, the King made substantive Byng's rank of lieutenant-general.

"A good soldier, he swiftly became popular with the Canadian troops, who sometimes referred to themselves as 'The Byng Boys' after a popular music-hall act of the day."

Byng's greatest glory then came when he led the Canadian victory in April 1917 at the battle of Vimy Ridge, a historic military milestone for the Dominion that inspired nationalism at home.

In June 1917, and by now holding the temporary rank of general, Byng was rewarded for his success at Vimy Ridge and succeeded General Sir Edmund Allenby in command of Britain's largest field army, the Third Army, which he was to lead until the cessation of hostilities some nineteen months later and. He led the Third Army in the First Battle of Cambrai in November, conducting the first surprise attack using tanks. The battle–described by historian Robin Neillands as "the great 'might-have-been' of the Great War"–was later considered a turning point in the war and Byng was honoured on 24 November 1917 by having his temporary rank of general made substantive; however according to the war memoirs of Arthur S. Bullock, the battle failed to breach the Hindenburg Line, due to a lack of reserves, and it was at General Byng's second attempt to take Cambrai in 1918 that the British triumphed, owing to sufficient troops and supplies being in place "to sustain the attack day and night until the Germans were broken".

The Germans launched their spring offensive on 21 March 1918, which continued over the following weeks and managed to inflict heavy losses on Byng's men, although it was able to retreat without breaking his line. By the summer of 1918 the tide of the war began to turn in favour of the Allies. Byng's Third Army launched an attack on the Germans on 21 August, where, on 27 September, it managed to break through the Hindenburg Line before continuing on to Maubeuge, which was reached on 10 November, the day before the Armistice with Germany.

Post-war
As a result of the success at Cambrai, Byng was made Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1919 New Year's Honours. In the United States, Byng's exploits during the First World War were commemorated near the town of Ada, Oklahoma, when in 1917 a post office and power plant were named after him, leading to the later emergence of the town of Byng. Further, Byng was in his own right elevated on 7 October 1919 to the peerage as Baron Byng of Vimy, of Thorpe-le-Soken in the County of Essex. The next month, though he was offered Southern Command, but turned it down on the grounds that he did not wish to harm the promotion prospects of more junior officers. Byng therefore retired from the army in November 1919 and moved to Thorpe Hall. In April 1921, he unveiled the Chipping Barnet War Memorial, near to his family seat of Wrotham Park.

Governor General of Canada

After Byng was made in July 1921 a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, it was announced on 2 August that King George V had, by commission under the royal sign-manual and signet, approved the recommendation of his British prime minister, David Lloyd George, to appoint Byng as his representative in Canada. The designation proved less controversial than his predecessor, the Duke of Devonshire, due partly to the General's popularity, but also because the practice of prior consultation with the Canadian prime minister, at that time Arthur Meighen, was revived. Byng had not been Meighen's first choice for presentation to the King, since he preferred someone with more civilian credentials. Nevertheless, Byng was eventually chosen because he was both willing and available.

The Governor General travelled the length and breadth of the country, meeting with Canadians wherever he went. He also immersed himself in Canada's culture and came to particularly love hockey, rarely missing a game played by the Ottawa Senators. His wife Lady Byng, also a hockey fan, would donate a trophy to the National Hockey League starting in 1925 to be handed out each year to the player who best exhibited gentlemanly and sportsmanlike conduct on the ice while maintaining a high level of play; the trophy, known as the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, is still awarded to this day. He was also fond of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, held each year in Toronto, and established the Governor General's Cup to be presented at the competition. He was the first Governor General of Canada to appoint Canadians as his aides-de-camp (one of whom was future Governor General Georges Vanier) and approached his viceregal role with enthusiasm, gaining popularity with Canadians on top of that received from the men he had commanded on the European battlefields.

King–Byng Affair
While it had been acceptable prior to the turn of the 20th century for Canadian governors general to involve themselves in political affairs, being, as they were, representatives of the King in his British Council, Byng's tenure as governor general was notable in that he became the first to step directly into political matters since the country had gained a degree of further autonomy following the First World War. In the summer of 1926 he denied the recommendation of his prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, who sought to have parliament dissolved in order to avoid a vote of non-confidence in his government. The Governor General's course of action in what came to be colloquially known as the King–Byng Affair remains debated, though the consensus amongst constitutional historians is that Byng's moves were appropriate under the circumstances. Mackenzie King, however, made much of the scenario and its outcome in the election that eventually followed on 14 September, in which King's Liberal Party won a plurality of seats in the House of Commons, while Meighen lost his seat. As a result, King was once again appointed prime minister. At the 1926 Imperial Conference, King then went on to use Byng and his refusal to follow his prime minister's advice as the impetus for widespread constitutional change throughout the British Commonwealth. Byng himself said of the matter: "I have to await the verdict of history to prove my having adopted a wrong course, and this I do with an easy conscience that, right or wrong, I have acted in the interests of Canada and implicated no one else in my decision."

Post-viceregal life
Byng returned to England on 30 September 1926, and in January 1928 was created Viscount Byng of Vimy, of Thorpe-le-Soken in the County of Essex. Later that year, he was appointed as the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and, before his retirement in 1931, introduced a number of changes to the force, including a system of promotion based on merit rather than length of service, improvement in discipline, retirement of inefficient senior officers, an irregularity to policemen's beats (which had previously allowed criminals to work out the system), police boxes, the extensive use of police cars, and a central radio control room. In July 1932, Byng was once more promoted in the British military to the rank of field marshal —the highest rank an officer can attain—before he died suddenly of an abdominal blockage at Thorpe Hall on 6 June 1935.

Lord Byng of Vimy was buried at the 11th Century Parish Church of St. Leonard in Beaumont-cum-Moze.

Appointments

 * 🇬🇧 2 May 1902 – 6 June 1935: Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO)
 * 🇬🇧 29 June 1906 – 1 January 1916: Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB)
 * 1 January 1916 – 1 January 1919: Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (KCB)
 * 1 January 1919 – 6 June 1935: Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (GCB)
 * 🇬🇧 March 1915 – July 1921: Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (KCMG)
 * July 1921 – 6 June 1935: Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG)
 * 🇨🇦 2 August 1921 – 5 August 1926: Chief Scout for Canada

Medals

 * 🇬🇧 1884: Egypt Medal with "El-Teb-Tamaai" clasp
 * 🇬🇧 1897: Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal
 * 🇬🇧 1899: Queen's South Africa Medal with "Cape Colony", "Tugela Heights", "Orange Free State", "Relief of Ladysmith", "Laing's Nek", and "Belfast" clasps
 * 🇬🇧 1901: King's South Africa Medal with "South Africa 1901" and "South Africa 1902" clasps
 * 🇬🇧 1911: King George V Coronation Medal
 * 🇬🇧 1918: 1914 Star with clasp
 * 🇬🇧 1919: British War Medal
 * 🇬🇧 1919: Victory Medal

Awards

 * 🇬🇧 6 February 1900: Mentioned in Despatches
 * 🇬🇧 23 June 1902: Mentioned in Despatches
 * 🇬🇧 11 December 1915: Mentioned in Despatches
 * 🇬🇧 11 December 1915: Mentioned in Despatches
 * 🇬🇧 22 December 1915: Mentioned in Despatches
 * 🇬🇧 20 February 1918: Mentioned in Despatches
 * 🇬🇧 20 July 1918: Mentioned in Despatches
 * 🇬🇧 21 December 1918: Mentioned in Despatches

Foreign honours

 * Flag of Muhammad Ali.svg 1884: Khedive's Star
 * 🇷🇺 12 September 1916: Order of St Vladimir, 4th Class (with Swords)
 * 🇧🇪 8 March 1918: Croix de guerre
 * 🇫🇷 29 January 1919 – 6 June 1935: Grand officier de Légion d'honneur
 * 🇫🇷 11 March 1919: Croix de guerre
 * 🇺🇸 12 July 1919: Distinguished Service Medal
 * 24 October 1919 – 6 June 1935: Grand Cross With Swords of the Order of the White Eagle

Honorary military appointments

 * 🇨🇦 2 August 1921 – 5 August 1926: Colonel of the Governor General's Horse Guards
 * 🇨🇦 2 August 1921 – 5 August 1926: Colonel of the Governor General's Foot Guards
 * 🇨🇦 2 August 1921 – 5 August 1926: Colonel of the Canadian Grenadier Guards

Honorary degrees

 * 🇨🇦 Ontario 1921: University of Toronto, Doctor of Laws (LL.D)
 * 🇨🇦 Alberta 1922: University of Alberta, Doctor of Laws (LL.D)

Geographic locations

 * Alberta: Mount Byng
 * British Columbia: Camp Byng, Roberts Creek
 * Manitoba: Byng Place, Winnipeg
 * Oklahoma: Byng
 * Ontario: Byng Avenue, Toronto
 * Saskatchewan: Byng Avenue, Saskatoon

Schools

 * British Columbia: Lord Byng Elementary School, Richmond
 * British Columbia: Lord Byng Secondary School, Vancouver
 * Manitoba: General Byng School, Winnipeg
 * Quebec: Baron Byng High School, Montreal

title: Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy