birding
grrlscientist | September 22, 2008tags: ornithology, birds, avian, National Geographic
A dragonfly has no stinger, but a European bee-eater, Merops apiaster, will beat it senseless anyway, the same way it handles its namesake prey. If the fly's wings break off, they are discarded, not eaten. The insect is then devoured as a single morsel, not as a mini-buffet of bite-size bits.
Image: Jözsef L. Szentpéteri/National Geographic online. [larger view].
I mentioned this last week, but I think it deserves a second mention: My contact, an editor at National Geographic, just sent me a link to a story and photoessay that…
grrlscientist | September 22, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
The cassowary, Casuarius casuarius,
is a large, flightless bird that is native to Australia and New Guinea.
Image: Orphaned [larger view].
Canaries in Our Coal Mine
Common birds are in decline across the world, providing evidence of a rapid deterioration in the global environment that is affecting all life on earth -- including human life. All the world's governments have committed themselves to slowing or halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010. But reluctance to commit what are often trivial sums in terms of…
grrlscientist | September 17, 2008tags: Spotted Sandpiper, Actitis macularia, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Spotted Sandpiper, Actitis macularia, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow] [voice mp3: Gough, G.A., Sauer, J.R., Iliff, M. Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter. 1998. Version 97.1. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD].
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 7 September 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1600s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Read and learn from a detailed diagnosis below ..
Rick Wright, Managing Director of…
grrlscientist | September 16, 2008tags: ornithology, birds, avian, National Geographic
Painting the Sky
A brilliant blur as it plucks a butterfly from the air, the European bee-eater, Merops apiaster, leads a colorful life on three continents.
Image: Jözsef L. Szentpéteri/National Geographic [larger view].
My contact, an editor at National Geographic, just sent me a link to a story and photoessay that details the courtship and breeding of European Bee-eaters, Merops apiaster. The story is fascinating and well-worth reading and the photographs, as always for National Geographic, brings tears of wonder to one's eyes.
grrlscientist | September 15, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
ABSTRACT: Rainbow Lory, Trichoglossus haematodus.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
Birds in Science
UK Scientists have found bird fossils dating back around 55 million years that could help shed light on a period of time before humans and most mammals had evolved. The fossils, including two complete bird skulls, a pelvis and several bones, appear to be the remains of parrot-like birds and were found by a local archaeologist on marshland Seasalter Levels near Whitstable, Kent. "Birds' skeletons are so fragile, the…
grrlscientist | September 13, 2008tags: Reddish Egret, Egretta rufescens, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Reddish egret, Egretta rufescens, photographed at Sportsman's Road, Galveston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 September 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | September 12, 2008tags: birding, bird watching, bird field guide, birds, Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America, book review
Several new field guides to the birds have been published in the last few months and The Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America (NYC: Collins; 2008) by Ted Floyd is one of them. The most obvious distinction that sets this large book apart are the photographs of birds: most field guides rely on paintings instead of photographs. Despite the fact that I prefer paintings to photographs in my field guides, there is plenty in this new field guide to interest…
grrlscientist | September 7, 2008tags: Broad-winged hawk, Buteo platypterus, identify this bird, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Broad-winged hawk, Buteo platypterus, photographed at Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [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.
grrlscientist | September 6, 2008tags: Long-Billed Thrasher, Toxostoma longirostre, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Long-Billed Thrasher, Toxostoma longirostre, at Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 31 March 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | September 3, 2008tags: Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, at Brazos Bend State Park, Creekfield Lake, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 21 January 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/160s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | September 2, 2008tags: Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, at Brazos Bend State Park, Creekfield Lake, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 16 February 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | September 1, 2008tags: Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, at Brazos Bend State Park, Creekfield Lake, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 16 February 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | August 31, 2008tags: Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, at Brazos Bend State Park, Creekfield Lake, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 16 February 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | August 30, 2008tags: Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, at Brazos Bend State Park, Creekfield Lake, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 16 February 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/400s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | August 29, 2008tags: Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Least Grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus, at Brazos Bend State Park, Creekfield Lake, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 16 February 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | August 28, 2008tags: Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum, at the A&M Tract on Pelican Island, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 18 May 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/250s f/9.5 at 800.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | August 27, 2008tags: Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum, at the A&M Tract on Pelican Island, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 18 May 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/250s f/9.5 at 800.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | August 18, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Orange phase Dusky Lory, Pseudeos fuscata.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
Birds in Science News
Ever since Darwin, evolutionary biologists have wondered why some lineages have diversified more than others. Over 20 years ago, Jeff Wyles, Allan Wilson, and Joseph Kunkel proposed that big brains might favor adaptive evolutionary diversification in animals by facilitating the behavioral changes needed to use new resources or environments, a theory known as the behavioral drive hypothesis. When these authors…
grrlscientist | August 11, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
ABSTRACT: Chattering Lory, sometimes known as the Scarlet Lory, Lorius garrulus.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
Birds in Science News
The Horsfield's bronze-cuckoo, Chalcites basalis, specializes in laying a single egg in the nests of fairy-wrens, but sometimes parasitizes nests of other species such as thornbills or robins. The cuckoo chick has a shorter incubation period than the hosts' chicks, and after the cuckoo chick hatches, it pushes the host's eggs out of the nest and imitates the begging calls of the…
grrlscientist | August 4, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Brown Lory, also known as the Duyvenbode's Lory, Chalcopsitta duivenbodei. This species is endemic to the island of New Guinea.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
Birds in Science News
One of the challenges facing those who believe that evolution cannot create new species is explaining the problem of "ring species." Ring species are a group of geographically connected populations that can interbreed with nearby populations, but cannot breed with those populations that exist at each end of the cline. These populations…