Photography
laelaps | October 6, 2009
A coyote (Canis latrans), photographed near Grizzly Lookout in Yellowstone National Park.
grrlscientist | October 5, 2009tags: flowers, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Canna Lily cultivar, probably "The President".
Photographed as I walked through Helsinki, Finland, to Seurasaari.
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | October 5, 2009tags: Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa, photographed in a backyard in Stanwood, Washington. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 27 September 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm Nikon VR lens ISO 800 1/80 f/5.6.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | October 5, 2009
Roaring Mountain, a ridge dotted with steam vents and fumaroles, in Yellowstone National Park.
laelaps | October 4, 2009
A ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) enjoying a lunch of salad greens. Photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
When I first walked into the Bronx Zoo's recently-constructed Madagascar exhibit I was greeted by an unpleasant, but not unfamiliar, odor. It smelled like the ancient gym mats of my old high school's "wrestling room"; foam rubber pads that contained the sweat of several generations of pubescent grapplers. Yet the pungent stench in the zoo came from an entirely different kind of primate; lemurs.
Scents mean a lot to lemurs. They are strepsirrhine primates, or have wet, dog-like nostrils, and…
grrlscientist | October 4, 2009tags: flowers, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Flower blossom (Ginger? Canna Lily cultivar).
Photographed as I walked through Helsinki, Finland, to Seurasaari.
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
Is this one of the many domestic ginger cultivars or is it a real species? If so, which one?
grrlscientist | October 4, 2009tags: Tropical Boubou, Laniarius aethiopicus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Tropical Boubou, Laniarius aethiopicus, photographed in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 8 August 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, ISO 800, 200-400 VR lens at 360 mm. 1/60 sec, f/4.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Regarding distinguishing the Tropical Boubou vs Black-backed Puffback, the photographer writes;
The Tropical Boubou has a black eye, the puffback a red eye.
Boubou…
laelaps | October 4, 2009
Heated water from the Norris Geyser Basin empties into a nearby river. Photographed in Yellowstone National Park.
grrlscientist | October 3, 2009tags: beach house, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Beach house.
Photographed on the shores of Seurasaari (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
Have I shown you this house yet? I know I have roughly one dozen photographs of it from various angles, so I am sure it has appeared here at least once, but just in case, here is a close look at this beautiful house.
This photograph was difficult to get, and I am not entirely happy with it because the lines in the image are all akimbo: even though they are straight lines, they are not…
grrlscientist | October 3, 2009tags: Coqui Francolin, Francolinus coqui, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Male Coqui Francolin, Francolinus coqui, photographed in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 31 August 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 VR lens at 250 mm ISO 400 1/350 f/4.5.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | October 3, 2009
A trio of dinosaurs at the Utah Museum of Natural History in Salt Lake City, Utah. An Allosaurus (left) attacks a Camptosaurus (right) while another Allosaurus looms in the background.
grrlscientist | October 2, 2009tags: artwork, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Hevoset "Horses" (dark granite; 1940).
Gunnar Finne (1886 - 1952).
(Bäcksbacka collection donated to The City of Helsinki in the 1970's)
Photographed outside Taidemuseo Meilahti (Meilahti art museum)
in Helsinki, Finland, as I walked to Seurasaari.
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
This sculpture was photographed outside the front doors of the Taidemuseo Meilahti (Meilahti art museum) as I walked to Seurasaari, in Helsinki, Finland. I think I've shown this sculpture to you before since I certainly did…
grrlscientist | October 2, 2009tags: Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus banksii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus banksii, also known as Bank's Black Cockatoo, photographed at Walgett, New South Wales, Australia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 18 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
awild | October 2, 2009
Chlaenius sp. ground beetle, Urbana, Illinois
This colorful beetle came from our back yard. It's a ground beetle in the genus Chlaenius, recognizeable from its pubescent elytra and pungent defensive secretions. Like most ground beetles, Chlaenius makes a living as a predator.
The beetle's metallic sheen is not the result of a pigment but of fine microscopic sculpturing on the integument. This is evident when the insect is viewed at a different aspect: notice how the color turns to green in lateral view:
The same beetle, in sideview.
photo details: Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens on a…
grrlscientist | October 1, 2009tags: food, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Lunch in Helsinki, Finland, as I walked to Seurasaari.
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
As you can see from this amazing lunch, I am a piscivore, when not constrained by finances.
Dessert in Helsinki, Finland, as I walked to Seurasaari.
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
This picture didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but I am sharing it to let you know that my affections can be bought: chocolate (preferably dark chocolate) or licorice (preferably not too salty) will do…
grrlscientist | October 1, 2009tags: White morph Reddish Egret, Egretta rufescens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] White morph Reddish Egret, Egretta rufescens, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 26 September 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | October 1, 2009
The Yellowstone River, photographed near Tower Falls in Yellowstone National Park.
grrlscientist | September 30, 2009tags: house, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
A road through the woods in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
awild | September 30, 2009
Tandem running in Camponotus consobrinus - photo by Steve Shattuck
I discovered while googling about this morning that Australian ant guru Steve Shattuck has been uploading some very nice photos to flickr. Â With any luck we'll be seeing some of these in a new incarnation of the Australian Ants book.