birds
grrlscientist | January 14, 2010tags: Redhead, Pochard, Raft Duck, Red-headed Raft Duck, Aytha americana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Redhead, also known by a slew of other names, including Pochard, Raft Duck and Red-headed Raft Duck, Aytha americana, photographed in Hermann Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 23 December 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Here's another image of a different…
grrlscientist | January 13, 2010tags: American Pipit, Buff-bellied Pipit, Anthus rubescens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] American Pipit, also known as the Buff-bellied Pipit, Anthus rubescens, photographed at the Arthur Storey Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 28 December 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s 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 | January 12, 2010tags: Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria (Diomedea) immutabilis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria (Diomedea) immutabilis, photographed at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge on the Midway Islands in the Hawaiian archipelago -- an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northern Pacific Ocean. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Michael Lusk, USFWS, December 2004 [larger view].
I posted this image specifically in honor of one of my readers and very good friend who is hospitalized but expected to recover…
grrlscientist | January 12, 2010tags: art, wildlife art, stop-motion painting, Painting the Golden Pheasant, Golden Pheasant, Chrysolophus pictus, birds, entertainment, Carel Brest van Kempen, streaming video
This is yet another fascinating stop-motion video of the creation of artist Carel Brest van Kempen's painting, Golden Pheasant, Chrysolophus pictus. Contrary to popular belief, Golden Pheasants do not naturally occur in pens and aviaries, but in rugged mountain woodlands in western China.
Carel Brest van Kempen published a stunning book, Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding [my review] and writes the art blog that goes by the…
grrlscientist | January 11, 2010tags: King Bird of Paradise, Cicinnurus regius, Red-Capped Manakin, Yellow-Thighed Manakin, Pipra mentalis, courtship displays, behaviors, birds, ornithology, Kim Bostwick, streaming video
I recently showed you the oddly shaped iridescent tail plume from a King Bird of Paradise as the daily mystery bird, now watch this video to see how the birds use these plumes in courtship displays.
grrlscientist | January 11, 2010tags: birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] photographed in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Wingspan estimated to be about 50 ± 5 cm. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: FinchWench, 2 January 2010 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
edyong | January 10, 2010
Weaver birds are the artisans extraordinaire of the bird world. As their name suggests, they fashion intricate nests out of plant material, carefully threaded and woven into a solid structure. All of it is done, quite literally, without lifting a finger.
These birds were all building nests in a tree outside a delightful winery called Delheim, which does an exceptional line of dessert wines. While my wife was inside sampling them, I was outside snapping away at this colony.
The males are the ones who do the weaving, and their efforts advertise their skill and quality to potential mates. By…
grrlscientist | January 10, 2010tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"How does one distinguish a truly civilized nation from an aggregation of
barbarians? That is easy. A civilized country produces much good bird
literature."
--Edgar Kincaid
The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature and behavior books that currently are, or soon will be available for purchase. This report is written by one of my Seattle birding pals and book collector, Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, and is edited by me and published here for your information and…
grrlscientist | January 10, 2010tags: Great Argus Pheasant, Great Argus, Phoenix, Argusianus argus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Great Argus Pheasant, also known as the Great Argus or the Phoenix, Argusianus argus, endemic to Malaya, Sumatra, and Borneo. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: John del Rio, 2009 [larger view].
More images by this photographer can be seen on the front page and in the gallery.
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/800s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The scientific…
grrlscientist | January 9, 2010tags: King Bird of Paradise, Cicinnurus regius, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] King Bird of Paradise, Cicinnurus regius, photographed in the Mount Bosavi volcano, a collapsed cone of an extinct volcano on the Kikori River Basin/Great Papuan Plateau, Southern Highlands province, Papua New Guinea. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Ulla Lohmann [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
What is the picture showing? What part of the bird is this? Once you've figured out the answer to those questions, you are…
grrlscientist | January 8, 2010tags: Olive Sparrow, Arremonops rufivirgatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Olive Sparrow, Arremonops rufivirgatus, photographed in the Hazel Bazemore County Park, Corpus Christi, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Amy Shutt, 23 November 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | January 8, 2010
A gull in the process of taking off. Photographed at Spring Lake, New Jersey.
grrlscientist | January 8, 2010tags: art, wildlife art, stop-motion painting, Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Cicinnurus respublica, entertainment, Carel Brest van Kempen, streaming video
This is a fascinating stop-motion video of artist Carel Brest van Kempen's painting of a Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Cicinnurus respublica. Wilson's Bird of Paradise is a small forest species endemic to Waigeo and Batanta, two islands just NW of New Guinea's Vogelkop peninsula. In my opinion, Carel Brest van Kempen is the finest wildlife artist alive today.
Carel Brest van Kempen published a stunning book, Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding [my…
grrlscientist | January 7, 2010tags: Ladder-Backed Woodpecker, Picoides scalaris , birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ladder-Backed Woodpecker, Picoides scalaris , photographed on the Katy Prairie, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 January 2010 [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 | January 7, 2010tags: evolutionary biology, immunology, immune response, antibodies, parasite, avian pox virus, Poxvirus avium, nest fly, Philornis downsi, birds, ornithology, Darwin's Finches, Medium Ground Finch, Geospiza fortis, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper
A male Medium Ground Finch, Geospiza fortis, sits on a tree branch in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands.
Image: Jen Koop.
People often view the Hawaiian islands as a tropical paradise, the ideal vacation site, but you wouldn't agree with this assessment if you happen to be a bird. According…
grrlscientist | January 6, 2010tags: Chipping Sparrow, Spizella passerina, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Chipping Sparrow, Spizella passerina, photographed at Illinois Beach State Park, Lake County, Illinois. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Janice Sweet, 20 October 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | January 6, 2010tags: art, wildlife art, stop-motion painting, Spectacled Owl, entertainment, Carel Brest van Kempen, streaming video
This is yet another fascinating stop-motion video depicting the creation of another of artist Carel Brest van Kempen's paintings. This time, it's a Spectacled Owl, a widespread bird of the American tropics that favors heavy woods near water and feeds heavily on crabs.
Carel Brest van Kempen published a stunning book, Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding [my review] and writes the art blog that goes by the same name, that might be of interest to you.
grrlscientist | January 5, 2010tags: Least Grebe, Least Dabchick, American Dabchick, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Least Grebe, also known as the Least Dabchick and the American Dabchick, Tachybaptus dominicus, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 December 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 | January 4, 2010tags: Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 December 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s 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 | January 4, 2010tags: art, wildlife art, stop-motion painting, Stargazing, Peregrine Falcon, birds, entertainment, Carel Brest van Kempen, streaming video
This is a fascinating stop-motion video of the creation of artist Carel Brest van Kempen's painting, Stargazing. This painting tells a cautionary tale about a Peregrine Falcon that has been poisoned by pesticides sprayed in a person's yard.
Carel Brest van Kempen published a stunning book, Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding [my review] and writes the art blog that goes by the same name, that might be of interest to you.