GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist and her five parrots are currently relocating to Germany, where she will continue writing her blog while also writing a book and learning German. (Meanwhile, her parrots will continue to nibble on her extensive personal library.) If you appreciate GrrlScientist's writing, you can help pay her living expenses by hiring her to "blog" your conference, speak at your club or write articles for your publication (or by clicking on the Paypal button below). If you read an essay on this blog that you especially enjoyed, please nominate it for inclusion in 
Carolina Wrens, Thryothorus ludovicianus,
on the photographer's front porch light puffed up to keep warm.
Note the polka dots -- a pattern not seen when the plumage is normally laid down.
Image: John Schukman
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are a part of this world whether we like it or not: we have a choice to either preserve these species or to destroy them in search of short-term monetary gains. But if we decide to destroy these other life forms, the least we can do is to know what we are destroying by learning that they exist. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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Comments
That is soooo cool! Who would have thought polk-a-dots!! I have a wren who frequents my front porch yr.round - a real chatter-box.
Posted by: Diane in Ohio | February 16, 2007 6:11 PM
I love the wren. The way the little tail angles up on the back always makes them seem perky even in the coldest weather.
Posted by: Tabor | February 17, 2007 6:48 AM
Hi, GrrlScientist,
I am very glad that I stumbled into your site; you are doing wonderful service to our community of GrrlScientists. I hope you keep on your good endeavors as long as you can, and send me (us) your pages. It is educational as well as poetic. In a word, it is beautiful what you are doing!
Sincerely,
AS
Posted by: AriSan in New York | February 17, 2007 10:20 AM