birds
grrlscientist | December 24, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Male Broad-billed Hummingbird, Cynanthus latirostris, with a pollen cap.
Image: Greg Scott [wallpaper size].
Birds in Science
A new research paper shows that female blue tits use plumage color to clue in males of the species to their genetic quality: the brighter their blue cap coloring and their yellow collar coloring, the better mothers they make.
Some birds nesting in the central and eastern United States have moved their range over a hundred miles farther north in less than three decades. Scientists at…
grrlscientist | December 21, 2007tags: Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus, rollerskating, streaming video
This is another one of those "parrot struts his stuff" videos because, in this video, Stewie, a male Eclectus parrot, shows off his rollerskating abilities [1:06]
grrlscientist | December 19, 2007tags: California Gull, Larus californicus, birds, ornithology, Image of the Day
Gull with Reflection.
California Gull, Larus californicus, with reflection -- Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island Causeway, April 2005.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [really large view]
grrlscientist | December 19, 2007tags: slow motion, streaming video
I've linked to streaming videos of moonwalking male manakin (birds) before, but it is so amazing that I had to share two more links with you (the first one of these videos of the moonwalking manakins is the extended version, and both are new links to this site). Includes music by Michael Jackson [3:28 & 1:50]
Yet another video of these birds that you will enjoy [1:50];
grrlscientist | December 18, 2007tags: eared grebe, Podiceps nigricollis, birds, ornithology, Image of the Day
Sun and Sparkles.
Eared grebe, Podiceps nigricollis. Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island Causeway, April 2005.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [really large view]
laelaps | December 18, 2007
The Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) is a creature that I am at least somewhat familiar with; I see them every day on my drive to work. Whether they're just circling overhead or picking on a deer carcass, turkey vultures don't seem to have any problem inhabiting the landscape with people and are probably among the creatures (like the white-tailed deer, coyote, and grey squirrel) that will survive the increasing suburban sprawl of this state, if not benefit from it. The individual pictured above, however, was photographed while I was hiking this past fall at Bear Mountain State Park in New…
grrlscientist | December 17, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, Parus caeruleus, sexual selection, mate choice, ornithology, female coloration, reproduction, maternal quality, evolution, birds, ornithology
In many bird species, the females are brightly colored, just as the males are, but the evolutionary reasons for brightly colored females is unclear. According to one hypothesis, because males and females share the same genome, their traits are similar. However, according to another hypothesis, there may also be selective pressures on females, just as there are on males, to develop brightly…
grrlscientist | December 17, 2007tags: Caracara creightoni, fossils, birds, ornithology, Image of the Day
The fossil skull of an extinct bird of prey, Caracara creightoni, preserved in an ancient sink-hole in the Bahamas. Several thousand years old, the fossils owe their exquisite preservation to immersion in peat. The bird is a relative of the crested caracara of Central and North America.
Image: PNAS [larger view]
grrlscientist | December 17, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Male Broad-billed Hummingbird, Cynanthus latirostris.
Image: Greg Scott [MUCH larger view].
Birds in Science
A new study by the University of Exeter, UK has revealed that stressed out birds are more likely to take risks than their relaxed counterparts. The research team selectively bred zebra finches to create "laid-back", "normal", and "stressed" groups of birds. These groups differ by their levels of stress hormone, which in birds is corticosterone. The research team observed the behavioral strategies of birds to…
revere | December 17, 2007With everyone on tenterhooks over the confusing outbreak of human bird flu cases in Pakistan and the first reported case in Burma (aka Myanmar), WHO is taking the opportunity to give its member nations a pep talk about swift reporting. Since there is evidence the reporting might not have been so terribly swift in that case, one must assume they consider this a "teachable moment" rather than an exemplar:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Sunday praised Asian countries for swiftly reporting the latest bird flu cases after Pakistan and Myanmar were hit by a resurgence of the disease.
Asia-…
grrlscientist | December 14, 2007tags: Northern cardinal, Aix sponsa, birds, NYC, Central Park, Image of the Day
Male wood duck, Aix sponsa, in Central Park, NYC.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [wallpaper size].
The photographer writes: I was so lucky to get this shot that I had to create an entirely new file for it. After sunset, I started on my way home down the path along the Riviera (i.e. a section of the northern shore of Central Park Lake). I noticed a group of Mallards coming out of the water. They began to forage along the shoreline where they were joined by a male Wood Duck. Only a few Wood Ducks -- if…
grrlscientist | December 13, 2007tags: I and the Bird, blog carnivals
The 64th edition of I and the Bird blog carnival is now available for you to enjoy. This is the Iowa caucuses edition because the host lives in Iowa and because Iowa is the first state to host a caucus for the presidential candidates. Fortunately, they included a piece that I wrote, so I am happy about that.
grrlscientist | December 12, 2007tags: Deroptyus accipitrinus, hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, pets, birds, avian, parrots
Adult red fan (hawk-headed) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus.
(Adults of both sexes are distinguished from juveniles
by the creamy white spot on the forehead
and the orange ring around the pupil of the eye.
The skin around the eye darkens in adults if
the birds are exposed to sunlight).
Image: Dale R. Thompson.
As you probably remember, about six weeks ago, a reader got me a young, newly-weaned hawk-headed parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus, for a pet. I preferred not to name this bird until…
grrlscientist | December 12, 2007tags: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting on 5 December and going daily through the 12th of December. I will likely be publishing more of his images here in the future, as well. But until then, be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird,…
grrlscientist | December 11, 2007tags: Magnificent Hummingbird, Eugenes fulgens, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting on 5 December and going daily through the 12th of December. I will likely be publishing more of his images here in the future, as well. But until then, be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Male Magnificent Hummingbird, Eugenes…
grrlscientist | December 10, 2007tags: Broad-billed Hummingbird, Cynanthus latirostris, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting on 5 December and going daily through the 12th of December. I will likely be publishing more of his images here in the future, as well. But until then, be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Male Broad-billed Hummingbird,…
grrlscientist | December 10, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Winter in NYC means the return of migratory White-throated Sparrows, Zonotrichia albicollis (this bird is in its first winter plumage). There are thousands of these birds in Central Park and in the other parks here, subsisting on grass seeds along with crumbs and other foods that people give them.
Image: Kevin T. Karlson [larger view].
Birds in Science
Divers exploring a water-filled sinkhole in the Bahama Islands recently recovered one of the world's largest and most pristinely preserved collections of animal and…
laelaps | December 10, 2007
The Boat-Billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius) is a somewhat strange member of the family Ardeidae, although it was previously placed in its own family, the Cochlearidae. As you can tell from the above photograph taken at the "Aquatic Bird House" at the Bronx Zoo, the bill of this type of bird is oddly shaped, making it somewhat difficult to place among other living herons.
revere | December 10, 2007The debate about how much wild migratory birds contribute to the spread of highly pathogenic influenza/A H5N1 goes on. According to a sensible Commentary in Nature (Dec. 6) it needn't. We should have taken steps some time ago to answer an answerable question. But we didn't and still haven't initiated those steps:
Two years ago, some believed that H5N1 viruses were poised to spread around the globe on the wings of migrating wild birds. A massive effort was mounted to track their movement but, as of September 2007, very few positive birds have been found in tests of over 300,000 healthy wild…
grrlscientist | December 9, 2007tags: Black-chinned Hummingbird, Archilochus alexandri, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting on 5 December and going daily through the 12th of December. I will likely be publishing more of his images here in the future, as well. But until then, be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Black-chinned Hummingbird,…