birding
grrlscientist | April 23, 2009tags: Brown Creeper, Certhia americana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Brown Creeper, Certhia americana, photographed at the Big Sioux Recreation Area near Brandon, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 30 December 2007.
Photo taken with a Canon 20D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 22, 2009tags: Black and White Warbler, Mniotilta varia, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Black and White Warbler, , photographed in Quintana and Beach, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 20 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 21, 2009tags: Black-throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black-throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 18 May 2005 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2005:05:18 08:27:35
Exposure Time: 1/249
F-Number: 16.00
ISO: 400
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 20, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Male Scarlet Tanager, Piranga olivacea, photographed in Newton Hills State Park in South Dakota.
Image: Terry Sohl, 7 June 2008 [larger view].
Photo taken with a Canon 20D, 400 5.6L.
Birds in Science and Technology
Climate change will force bone-weary birds migrating to Europe from Africa to log extra mileage, with possibly devastating consequences, according to a study released recently. The annual voyage of some species, which fly north in search of food and suitable climes, could increase by as much as 400km, the…
grrlscientist | April 20, 2009tags: Black Vulture, Coragyps atratus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Black Vulture, Coragyps atratus, photographed in Tom Bass Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 20 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/400s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 19, 2009tags: Gray Jay, Perisoreus canadensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Gray Jay, Perisoreus canadensis, photographed in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 9 August 2007 [larger view].
Photo taken with a Canon 20D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 18, 2009tags: Muscovy Duckling, Cairina moschata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Muscovy Duckling, Cairina moschata, photographed in Hermann Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 22 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The single eyeline is seen only in a small subgroup of the dabbling ducks; the mallards, black ducks and their close relatives. However, a close look at the thicker…
grrlscientist | April 17, 2009tags: Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Poecile rufescens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Poecile rufescens, Photographed near a small Olympic Peninsula lake in Shelton, Washington State. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Lee Rentz, 19 February 2009.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 16, 2009tags: American Coot, Fulica americana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] American Coot, Fulica americana, photographed in [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/800s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Lobed feet are rare in birds. The foot in question is too long, too green, and too strong for…
grrlscientist | April 15, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Scarlet Tanager, Piranga olivacea, photographed in Newton Hills State Park in South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 16 May 2007 [larger view].
Photo taken with a Canon 20D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Blur your eyes a little and step back from the monitor: what do you see? I see a smallish bird but not…
grrlscientist | April 14, 2009tags: Abert's Towhee, Pipilo aberti, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Abert's Towhee, Pipilo aberti, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 22 February 2009 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2009:02:22 16:36:34
Exposure Time: 1/400
F-Number: 5.60
ISO: 250
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
A big, long-tailed, pot-bellied, heavy-billed sparrow -- aka, a towhee.
The only towhee…
grrlscientist | April 13, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
The only egg known to be collected by Charles Darwin, recently rediscovered.
Image: University of Cambridge.
Birds and American Law
The American Federation of Aviculture Inc. (AFA), the Avicultural Society of America (ASA) and the National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA) issued an action alert together that opposes H.R. 669, a bill banning most nonnative animals in the United States. "H.R. 669 is an 'anti-animal bill'. There is no amendment that can fix this bill," states the action alert. H.R. 669 is a bill that…
grrlscientist | April 13, 2009tags: Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, photographed in Quintana, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Yes, it's a gull -- but don't panic. I think you'll agree…
grrlscientist | April 12, 2009tags: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, photographed in Brandon, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 1 September 2008 [larger view].
Photo taken with a Canon 20D, 400 5.6L lens.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 11, 2009tags: Female Gadwall, Anas strepera, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Female Gadwall, Anas strepera, photographed in San Bernard Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
My usual harping is sort of beside the point when we have no…
grrlscientist | April 10, 2009tags: Fledgling Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Fledgling Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 21 June 2007 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2007:06:21 08:39:09
Exposure Time: 1/40
F-Number: 5.60
ISO: 800
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
This bird may have been a stumper for many of us. When we…
grrlscientist | April 9, 2009tags: Northern Shoveler, Anas clypeata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Northern Shoveler, Anas clypeata, photographed in San Bernard Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
This is a great illustration of how it pays to know more…
grrlscientist | April 8, 2009tags: Eastern Screech-Owl, Otus asio, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Screech-Owl, Otus asio, photographed at the Unitarian/Universalist Fellowship building in Manhattan Kansas, Photographed from the inside with the woods outside to the south. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: photographed by Thomas Manney, this image appears here at the suggestion of Dave Rintoul.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 7, 2009tags: Lazuli x Indigo Bunting Hybrid, Passerina amoena X Passerina cyanea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Lazuli x Indigo Bunting Hybrid, Passerina amoena X Passerina cyanea, photographed in South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 18 December 2008.
Photo taken with a Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
A blue bird with a conical bill can be only a Passerina bunting. The absence of cinnamon on the wing…
grrlscientist | April 6, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
In a dramatic discovery, BirdLife has filmed Common Cuckoos calling with a "Ooo-Cuck, Ooo-Cuck". (April fools?)
Image: Greg & Yvonne Dean/WorldWildlifeImages.com.
Birds in Science and Technology
Count your chickens after they hatch, and they may do a little arithmetic themselves. Chicks only 3 or 4 days old manage an animal version of adding and subtracting, says Rosa Rugani of the University of Trento Center for Mind/Brain Sciences in Rovereto, Italy. Inspired by experiments with human babies, Rugani and her…