birds
grrlscientist | January 3, 2010On the first day of 2010, the first bird species I saw was a beautiful, very pale, Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus, that was soaring past the window of my new home in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. My spouse's first bird of 2010 was a European (Common) Magpie, Pica pica. What was the first bird that you saw in the new year? Do you attach any significance or predictive value to the species that you see as your first bird of the year? If so, what is it?
grrlscientist | January 3, 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 3, 2010tags: Ashy Starling, Cosmopsarus (Spreo) unicolor, Yellow-collared Lovebird, Black-Masked Lovebird, Agapornis personatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Ashy Starling, Cosmopsarus (Spreo) unicolor (L), and Yellow-collared Lovebird, also known as the Black-Masked Lovebird, Agapornis personatus (R), photographed at Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 31 August 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 mm lens at 400. ISO 400, 1/250, f/5.6.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your…
grrlscientist | January 2, 2010tags: White-eared Barbet, Stactolaema leucotis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] White-eared Barbet, Stactolaema leucotis, photographed at Amani Preserve, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 6 September 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 mm lens, at 400. ISO 200, 1/250, f/6.3.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | January 1, 2010tags: Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Dusky Kinglet, Ruby-Crown, Regulus calendula, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ruby-crowned Kinglet, also known as the Dusky Kinglet or as the Ruby-Crown, Regulus calendula, 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 | December 31, 2009tags: Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, photographed at 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.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 30, 2009tags: California Gull, Larus californicus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] California Gull, Larus californicus, photographed on Antelope Island Causeway and State Park of the Great Salt Lake and Northern Wasatch Mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dave Rintoul, 13 May 2005 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 29, 2009tags: Black Kite, Milvus migrans, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black Kite, Milvus migrans, photographed at Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen [larger view].
Nikon D2X and Nikon 200-400 VR lens at 270 mm. ISO 160 f/6.3 1/800.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 28, 2009tags: Fencing Flamingos, ornithology, ecology, endangered species, food webs, research, field work, Marita Davison, Jennifer Moslemi, Jamie Herring, streaming video
"Fencing Flamingos" follows the work of Marita Davison, a PhD student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University, and her collaborator Jennifer Moslemi as they study flamingos in the rugged high-Andes of Bolivia. The harsh conditions made it challenging to make the video, Davison says, but it's been worth it. "We've had more people see the video than I'll ever have reading a journal article that I write." The video…
grrlscientist | December 28, 2009tags: Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, photographed on the Konza Prairie Biological Station (Riley County) in Manhattan, Kansas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dave Rintoul, 8 July 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 27, 2009tags: 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 | December 27, 2009tags: Female Painted Bunting, Passerina ciris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Female Painted Bunting, Passerina ciris, photographed at Pelican Island (A&M Property), Galveston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 April 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 26, 2009tags: Intergrade Northern Flicker, red-shafted x yellow-shafted Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Intergrade (red shafted x yellow shafted) Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus, photographed at the Black River Riparian Forest in Renton, Washington. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Michael C. Hamilton, 9 August 2009 [larger view].
Digiscoped using a Leica 77-mm spotting scope with a Nikon P6000 compact camera.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 25, 2009tags: birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Christmas Duck, Anas noellus, photographed in a kitchen on the 13th floor of an apartment building in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Unlike most mystery birds, this individual came with a label indicating that it originated in France. [I might identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: GrrlScientist, 25 December 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Yes, I did roast this duck a little longer, after so rudely slicing into the leg like that.
Image: GrrlScientist, 25 December 2009…
grrlscientist | December 24, 2009tags: Crimson Rosella, Pennant's Rosella, Platycercus elegans, Australian King Parrot, Alisterus scapularis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Australian King Parrots, Alisterus scapularis (3 on right), and Crimson Rosellas, sometimes known as Pennant's Rosella, Platycercus elegans (13 on top, left and bottom, also one in lower right side), photographed at Lamington National Park, west of the Gold Coast, Australia. The bird at the bottom is about to jump into the center, to the discontent of the other birds. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Matthew…
grrlscientist | December 23, 2009tags: Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea (Ajaia) ajaj, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea (Ajaia) ajaj, photographed at Arthur Storey Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 December 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
edyong | December 22, 2009Patricia Brennan from Yale University is trying to encourage male Muscovy ducks to launch their ballistic penises into test tubes.
Normally, the duck keeps its penis inside-out within a sac in its body. When the time for mating arrives, the penis explodes outwards to a fully-erect 20cm, around a quarter of the animal's total body length. The whole process takes just a third of a second and Brennan captures it all on high-speed camera. This isn't just bizarre voyeurism. Duck penises are a wonderful example of the strange things that happen when sexual conflict shapes the evolution of animal…
grrlscientist | December 22, 2009tags: Northern Pintail, Pintail, Anas acuta, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Northern Pintail, also known simply as the Pintail, Anas acuta, photographed at Arthur Storey Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 December 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/350s 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 | December 21, 2009tags: Common Redstart, Phoenicurus phoenicurus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Adult female Common Redstart, Phoenicurus phoenicurus, photographed at La Lanterna in Genova, Italy. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Cliff Miles, 11 December 2009 [larger view].
Canon EOS Rebel XT with a 75-300mm zoom lens.
Here's a challenging bird for you to identify courtesy of a friend, who narrowed it down to one of two species (but it doesn't "fit" either species well). He contributed four images of this bird (what I think is the best image is published here) to…
grrlscientist | December 20, 2009tags: 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…