birds
sheril | July 26, 2008
A one-month-old Ferruginous Pygmy-owl, Glaucidium brasilianum, at the National Zoo in Managua, in the spring of 2008. The owl was brought to the zoo after its nest fell from a rotten branch at a construction site.
Bonus points if you recognize the quote in the title.
grrlscientist | July 25, 2008tags: Semipalmated Plover, Charadrius semipalmatus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Semipalmated Plover, Charadrius wilsonia, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 24 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
clock | July 24, 2008If so, go help Michael identify this bird he took a picture of earlier today. If you can, post a comment here.
grrlscientist | July 24, 2008tags: Wilson's Plover, Charadrius wilsonia, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Wilson's Plover, Charadrius wilsonia, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 July 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 23, 2008tags: Piping Plover, Charadrius melodus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Piping Plover, Charadrius melodus, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 15 July 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 22, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, dichromatism, mating system, plumage color, sex allocation, eclectus parrots, Eclectus roratus, ornithology, birds, avian, parrots
Elektra, my female Solomon Islands eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis.
This is the smallest and most distinctively marked of all the subspecies of eclectus parrots.
Image: GrrlScientist 4 July 2008 [larger view].
Some of you might recall the recent story about scientists learning to identify plumage coloration from fossilized feathers. This might seem a sort of esoteric pursuit meant to entertain scientists with access…
grrlscientist | July 22, 2008tags: Snowy Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Snowy Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus, at Galveston, East Beach, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 15 July 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 21, 2008tags: Long-Billed Curlew, Numenius americanus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Long-Billed Curlew, Numenius americanus, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 July 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/350s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 21, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Female black-chinned Hummingbird, Archilochus alexandri, Cave Creek Canyon, AZ.
Image: Dave Rintoul, June 2008 [larger view].
More images from Dave's recent Arizona vacation.
Birds in Science News
The fossil record suggests that much of the biodiversity we see arose quickly in response to ecological opportunities: abundant resources combined with few, or no, potential competitors. As the niche became more crowded, the rate of speciation decreased. This process is known as density-dependent diversification. But can…
laelaps | July 21, 2008For a long time feathered dinosaurs just looked weird to me. Seeing fuzzy Deinonychus or some other dromeosaur with a splash of plumage never looked quite right and I didn't understand why in the course of a few years predatory dinosaurs went from being scaly to being covered in down. Most of the books I had seen didn't explain it beyond "These dinosaurs were closely related to birds," something I didn't dispute but was not enough to make me feel comfortable with feathered raptors. Even after I started taking a greater interest in paleontology I still had problems with reconstructions of…
grrlscientist | July 20, 2008tags: conjoined twins, siamese twins, ornithology, birds, avian, barn swallows, Hirundo rustica
Conjoined twin Barn swallows, Hirundo rustica,
found July 17, 2008 in Searcy, Arkansas after they fell from their nest.
Image: Samuel Peebles (Daily Citizen, AP Photo).
Last week, a homeowner discovered a pair of young barn swallows that had fallen out of their nest after a sibling flew off to learn to forage from its parents. That's a common event, but this particular pair of young birds were remarkable: they were joined at the hip -- literally.
Conjoined twins -- sometimes known as "siamese…
grrlscientist | July 20, 2008tags: Sanderling, Calidris alba, birds, nature, Image of the Day
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 .
grrlscientist | July 20, 2008tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. If you despair of ever having enough summer reading material, this issue is just for you because you will find that the total page count in these books is 4277 pages!
FEATURED TITLE:
Olsen, Penny. Glimpses of Paradise: The Quest…
grrlscientist | July 19, 2008tags: Marbled Godwit, Limosa fedoa, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Marbled Godwit, Limosa fedoa, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 18, 2008tags: peeps, shorebirds, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Identify these peeps -- photographed at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 17, 2008tags: Western Sandpipers, Calidris mauri, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Calidris pusilla, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Western Sandpiper, Calidris mauri, and Semipalmated Sandpiper, Calidris pusilla (foreground), at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 16, 2008tags: Western Sandpipers, Calidris mauri, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Western Sandpipers, Calidris mauri, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 15, 2008tags: Semipalmated Sandpipers, Calidris pusilla, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Semipalmated Sandpipers, Calidris pusilla, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 14, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Juvenile male Blue-throated Hummingbird, Lampornis clemenciae, Cave Creek Canyon, AZ.
Image: Dave Rintoul, June 2008 [larger view].
For comparison, an adult male of the species -- also read the comments section to learn more about how to identify juvenile males of this species.
Birds in Science News
A new analysis indicates that birds don't fly alone when migrating at night. Some birds, at least, keep together on their migratory journeys, flying in tandem even when they are 200 meters or more apart. The study, from…
laelaps | July 14, 2008
A series of photos of gulls, photographed at Ocean Grove, NJ on July 13th, 2008.