birds
grrlscientist | December 20, 2009tags: Bronzed Cowbird, Molothrus aeneus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Bronzed Cowbird, Molothrus aeneus, photographed at Quintana, Brazoria County, Texas. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 22 April 2009 [larger view].
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.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 19, 2009tags: Green Jay, Cyanocorax yncas, Blue Morph, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Blue Morph Green Jay, Cyanocorax yncas, photographed at Laguna Atascosa Refuge, Harlingen, Texas. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 8 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/80s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
You might be interested to read an article I wrote about schemochromes and the physics of blue coloration in birds. This piece was…
grrlscientist | December 18, 2009tags: Ashy Drongo, Dicrurus leucophaeus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ashy Drongo, Dicrurus leucophaeus, photographed at the small village of Muang Khong, near Chiang Dao Mountain, northern Thailand. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dirk S. Schmeller, November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon d90 with a Nikon lens 80-400, 1/400 s f/16 at 400mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | December 18, 2009
A mother mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and her three ducklings, photographed in Cape May, New Jersey.
grrlscientist | December 17, 2009tags: Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus, photographed in an abandoned finch nest on the deck outside the home of one of my readers in Powder Springs, Georgia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Rebecca Checkwood, 11 December 2009 [larger view].
Sony DSC-W7, 0.025 sec (1/40) f/2.8 7.9 mm.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 16, 2009tags: Golden-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia atricapilla, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Immature Golden-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia atricapilla, photographed at Vancouver Lake, Clark County, Washington. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Lyn Topinka, 13 December 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
A second picture of the same individual, at rest.
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grrlscientist | December 16, 2009tags: Snowball, dancing cockatoo, behavior, streaming video
This streaming video is a clip from a longer DVD, Snowball's Snowy Christmas DVD, which is now available for Christmas gift giving. Children love Snowball and this DVD features the sulfur-crested cockatoo, Snowball, dancing to Christmas carols.
edyong | December 15, 2009The feather is an extraordinary biological invention and the key to the success of modern birds. It has to be light and flexible to give birds fine control over their airborne movements, but tough and strong enough to withstand the massive forces generated by high-speed flight. It achieves this through a complicated internal structure that we are only just beginning to fully understand, with the aid of unlikely research assistants - fungi.
At a microscopic level, feathers are made of a protein called beta-keratin. The same protein also forms the beaks and claws of birds, and the scales and…
grrlscientist | December 15, 2009tags: European Herring Gull, Larus argentatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Leucistic/albino European Herring Gull, Larus argentatus, photographed at Station Orthinologique de l'Ile Grande, just outside of Pleumeur-Bodou/Landrellec, Bretagne, France. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: TravelGirl, spring or early summer 2006 [larger view].
Canon 5D, 100-400L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 14, 2009tags: Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta, photographed at Carpinteria Salt Marsh in Carpinteria, California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: John Callender, 5 December 2009 [larger view].
Can you ID this bird? Can you identify what type of animal killed it? If so, share your comments.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
There is still some disagreement as to what killed this bird. The photographer says a raptor did it; a commenter claims a…
grrlscientist | December 13, 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 13, 2009tags: safety tips, holidays, christmas, hanukkah, kwanzaa, new year's day, pets, birds, parrots
Elektra.
My pet Female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot,
Eclectus roratus solomonensis, April 2008.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
This message was emailed to me, and I am posting it here as a public service. With the Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and the New Year's holidays upon us, we are all busy planning our family gatherings, gift giving and decorations. The season brings with it unique hazards that we all need to be mindful of so that we can ensure that our feathered family…
grrlscientist | December 13, 2009tags: Double-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Double-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, photographed at Whittier Narrows, California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 8 December 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 & TC17E.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | December 13, 2009
An American avocet (Recurvirostra americana), photographed at Antelope Island, Utah.
edyong | December 12, 2009
A few years back, I was in a zoo looking at some ostriches. The man standing next to me was imparting knowledge to his children with tremendous pomp and circumstance, telling them about all things ostrich. He noted that despite their comical appearance, they are very powerful birds. So far, so good. He said that they had a powerful kick - also accurate. He said that they have a sharp, retractable claw on each foot that they can use to disembowel lions. No... that's Velociraptors.
Perhaps I'm being too harsh. Ostriches, being the largest living birds, are formidable indeed and their toe…
grrlscientist | December 12, 2009tags: Western Kingbird, Tyrannus verticalis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Western Kingbird, Tyrannus verticalis, photographed at Smith Point, Chambers County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
This lovely North American species shouldn't be too difficult for most of you to ID (maybe you can hold your enthusiasm in check for a few hours, David?)
Please name at least one field mark that supports your…
grrlscientist | December 12, 2009tags: Woodpecker vs Snake, behavior, birds, Giant Bird Snake, Pseustes sulphureus, Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Campephilus melanoleucos, streaming video
Here is some remarkable footage from somewhere in the Amazon (Peru?) of a Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Campephilus melanoleucos, taking on a "Giant bird snake" or "puffing snake", Pseustes sulphureus, that has raided its nest and swallowed its eggs.
grrlscientist | December 11, 2009tags: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, photographed at Smith Point, Chambers County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 3 November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Can you tell me the sex as well as the species for this individual?
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 10, 2009tags: Green-winged Teal, Anas crecca, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Female Green-winged Teal, Anas crecca, photographed at Arthur Storey Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 December 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Can you tell me the sex as well as the species for this individual?
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.