birds
grrlscientist | November 23, 2008tags: 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 | November 23, 2008tags: Pileated Woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] photographed in the Big Woods region of eastern Arkansas.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | November 22, 2008tags: Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Steve Sosensky [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
It's always a good idea to figure out just what parts of the bird you're seeing; it isn't always obvious. This chunky, lax-plumaged waterbird is in profile, with its aft end to the right and its breast at…
grrlscientist | November 21, 2008tags: Pied-billed Grebe chick, Podilymbus podiceps, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pied-billed Grebe chick, Podilymbus podiceps, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: John del Rio [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
You probably don't know that these photos are usually sent to me without the "answer." But like most of you, I knew right away what this worth-two-in-the-bush nub of stringy fluff was; or did I…
grrlscientist | November 20, 2008tags: Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, birds, bird ID quiz, mystery bird
[Mystery bird] Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, photographed at Hermann Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 March 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/250s 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:
Look at that tail! The elegant black-and-white patterning of this duck told us at first glance…
grrlscientist | November 19, 2008tags: Cassin's Kingbird, Tyrannus vociferans, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Cassin's Kingbird, Tyrannus vociferans, photographed in the central Sonora of Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Rick Wright [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Sometimes it's the lousy views that are the most instructive, and this view -- so lousy as to be nearly impolite -- is chockfull of information that most of the standard field guides won't…
grrlscientist | November 18, 2008tags: Phainopepla, Phainopepla nitens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Female Phainopepla, Phainopepla nitens photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 2006 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2006:05:21 06:26:05
Exposure Time: 1/249
F-Number: 13.00
ISO: 200
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
There are birds that are instantly recognizable once we "know" them, but those same species can be puzzling when encountered…
grrlscientist | November 17, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Sanderlings, Calidris alba, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 24 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400 .
Birds in Science
Birdsong is the primary model system that helps scientists understand how the brain produces complex sequences of learned behavior, such as playing the piano. In songbirds, there are many interconnected brain regions that play specific and important role in the production of song. It was hypothesized…
grrlscientist | November 17, 2008tags: Hoatzin, Opisthocomus hoazin, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Hoatzin, Opisthocomus hoazin, photographed in South America [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Indonesian Parrot Project [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Are these real birds? As anyone who has enjoyed a slow cruise along a South American river will attest, they are real -- so real that they have been made the national bird of Guyana.
The mangrove thicket…
grrlscientist | November 16, 2008tags: 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 | November 16, 2008tags: African Scops-Owl, Otus senegalensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Scops-Owl, Otus senegalensis, photographed in subsaharan Africa. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Thomas Dressler, 2008.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
I'm at a loss. I know where this bird was photographed, and so I know what it has to be, but I fail miserably at the little test I like to set myself: could I identify this bird correctly if I discovered it…
grrlscientist | November 15, 2008tags: endangered species, endangered birds, world map, birds
"... species such as the house sparrow, snipe, starling, lapwing and corn bunting have been listed as birds of European concern, but these species have been declining in the United Kingdom's countryside for decades." Mark Avery, 2004.
A total of 9934 bird species were assessed for threatened species status by 2004; 1213 species were at risk of global extinction. In Indonesia 121 bird species were at risk of local extinction; in Brazil, 120 species. On average, over 18 bird species were at risk of local extinction per territory. […
grrlscientist | November 15, 2008tags: Male Von der Decken's Hornbill, Tockus deckeni, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Male Von der Decken's Hornbill, Tockus deckeni, endemic to savanna and woodland of sub-Saharan Africa. Photographed in the African Bird Safari at London Zoo. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: GrrlScientist, 2 September 2008 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
What a crazy-looking bird this one is! With that huge bill and long tail, it can only be…
grrlscientist | November 14, 2008tags: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pheucticus ludovicianus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pheucticus ludovicianus, photographed at Sabine Woods and Sabine Pass area, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 28 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/125s 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 bird is closely related to the cardinals, as a…
grrlscientist | November 14, 2008tags: ravens, Bernd Heinrich, genius bird, National Geographic, streaming video
This interesting National Geographic video shows how Bernd Heinrich designed an experiment to test the intelligence of ravens [2:07].
grrlscientist | November 13, 2008tags: Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, photographed in Manhattan, Kansas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Dave Rintoul, 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
This is a small, medium-tailed, fat-bodied, big-headed, huge-billed sparrow. And that's probably enough: many birders would be able to identify this bird just from that description without…
grrlscientist | November 12, 2008tags: Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Stelgidopteryx serripennis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Stelgidopteryx serripennis, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 2006 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2006:03:12 09:45:40
Exposure Time: 1/249
F-Number: 14.00
ISO: 200
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Look at those wings! They're obviously long, and we can roughly quantify their…
grrlscientist | November 11, 2008tags: Mallard duckling, Anas platyrhynchos, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Mallard duckling, Anas platyrhynchos, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 2008 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2008:04:22 07:35:53
Exposure Time: 1/319
F-Number: 11.00
ISO: 320
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Any doubt that this is a duck? Happily, most downy waterfowl are encountered in the presence of their more easily…
grrlscientist | November 10, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
This Eurasian Blue Tit, Cyanistes caeruleus,
is from the photographer's ancestral village of Rintoul,
near Kinross, which is north of the Firth of Forth,
about 20 miles from Edinburgh, Scotland.
Image: Dave Rintoul, August 2008.
Birds in Science
At 14 years old, Spencer Hardy has solved an avian mystery and discovered significant evidence for the only bird other than a penguin to incubate its eggs on glacial ice. Hardy's geoscientist father, Douglas, was stationed in southeastern Peru at the Quelccaya Ice Cap in the…
grrlscientist | November 10, 2008tags: Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, photographed at Hermann Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 March 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/200s 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 photo should fill you with a flush of accomplishment: rather than running to the field…