birds
grrlscientist | January 5, 2009tags: Dickcissel, Spiza americana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Dickcissel, Spiza americana, photographed at Eisenhower Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 17 July 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
A well-proportioned and colorful bird, proclaiming his territory from a bare twig. I can almost hear him…
grrlscientist | January 4, 2009tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
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 enjoyment. Below the fold is this week's issue of The Birdbooker Report which…
grrlscientist | January 4, 2009tags: Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura, photographed the Quintana Beach and Jetty area, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 18 November 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200 1/250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Compare this fine Turkey Vulture with the Black Vulture in an earlier quiz. Sure, the head color gives it away, but notice that…
grrlscientist | January 3, 2009tags: Evening Grosbeak, Coccothraustes vespertinus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Evening Grosbeak, Coccothraustes vespertinus, photographed in Skagit County, Washington State. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Marv Breece, 25 June 2005 [larger view].
Nikon Coolpix 4300 1/20s f/4.9 iso100.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | January 3, 2009tags: golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos, animal behavior, hunting strategy, streaming video
This astonishing video shows a Golden Eagle, Aquila chrysaetos, who has developed an unusual hunting strategy to capture and kill prey that is much larger than itself: grabbing and throwing live goats off a cliff [7:19]
grrlscientist | January 2, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds]Caspian Tern, Sterna caspia, in a spectacular dive, photographed the Quintana Beach and Jetty area, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 18 November 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200 1/3000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
This is a spectacular photo of a large seabird behaving spectacularly. The focus of that perpendicular dive…
grrlscientist | January 1, 2009tags: Say's Phoebe, Sayornis saya, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Say's Phoebe, Sayornis saya, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 2006 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2006:12:27 13:35:48
Exposure Time: 1/319
F-Number: 8.00
ISO: 200
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
What a sweet, gentle little bird, perched alertly on a sunflower: attitude and habitat tell us we're looking at one of the open-country…
grrlscientist | December 31, 2008tags: Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis, photographed in Snohomish County, Washington State. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Marv Breece, 19 April 2007 [larger view].
Canon EOS 350D 1/2000s f/6.3 at 270.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 30, 2008tags: Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, photographed in Manhattan, Kansas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Dave Rintoul, 25 October 2008 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | December 29, 2008
A double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), photographed at the Central Park Zoo.
grrlscientist | December 29, 2008tags: Wren, Winter Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Wren (known as the "Winter Wren" in the United States), Troglodytes troglodytes, photographed near the Bridge of Orchy, Scotland. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Dave Rintoul, Summer 2008. [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
A tiny bird with a thin bill and a cocked tail, dark brown with a big supercilium and a bit of barring on the flank: it can…
grrlscientist | December 28, 2008tags: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, in a spectacular dive, photographed the Quintana Beach and Jetty area, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 18 November 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200 1/2500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
This is a great photo of a Brown Pelican doing what it does best: diving, in a twisting,…
grrlscientist | December 27, 2008Disney's new film, The Crimson Wing -- Mystery of the Flamingos tells the story of the birth, life and death of a million Lesser Flamingos, Phoeniconaias minor. Life at Natron is tough for the flamingos, with many predators threatening their daily survival. According to Aeberhard: "they have a number of predators such as Marabou Stork Leptoptilos crumeniferus, hyenas and jackals... The contrast here between life and death is very stark" [1:50]
grrlscientist | December 26, 2008tags: Female Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Female Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, photographed in Hermann Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 16 November 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200 Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/350s f/1.0 iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
A brown duck. A useful first step is to narrow the choices to divers and dabblers; since we…
laelaps | December 26, 2008
A keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus), photographed at the Central Park Zoo.
grrlscientist | December 25, 2008tags: Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Male Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, photographed at 40 Acre Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 March 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/125s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
This bird is pretty much "all field mark," to lift a phrase…
grrlscientist | December 24, 2008tags: Common Redpoll, Carduelis flammea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Common Redpoll, Carduelis flammea, photographed in Mary Ann Creek Rd & Chesaw Rd, Okanogan County, Washington State. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Marv Breece, 18 December 2007 [larger view].
Canon EOS 350D 1/500s f/5.6 at 300.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Tiny finches feeding from snowy birches or alders -- in North America and in the Old World as…
clock | December 24, 2008Naughty male Australian satin bower bird selectively steals blue items to decorate his nest. The female bower birds rate their partner by their home decor so they do a lot of stealing.