grrlscientist

tags: red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, birds, Central Park, Image of the Day Gerry or George IV. Male Central Park red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus. Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger]. Here is George IV (or Gerry if you prefer) in a more dignified pose. This is…

tags: 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 bird and natural history books that…

tags: Kentucky Derby, horse racing, racetrack surfaces, racehorses, injuries and fatalities report, Eight Belles, Barbaro Thoroughbred racehorse filly, Eight Belles, who finished second in today's Kentucky Derby, and then was killed moments later. This morning, the book, My Guy, Barbaro: A…

tags: chambers street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC Chambers Street Subway Art #16 as seen at NYC's Chambers Street stop for the A and C trains. I am not proud of this image because it is blurry, but because I snapped it while recovering from a broken shoulder, I…

tags: red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, birds, Central Park, Image of the Day Gerry or George IV. Male Central Park red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus. Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger]. Bob Levy writes; I believe there have been three successive male Red-winged…

tags: chambers street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC Chambers Street Subway Art #15 as seen at NYC's Chambers Street stop for the A and C trains. Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].

tags: Elizabeth Blackburn, Joan Steitz, Albany Medical Center Prize I learned this afternoon that America's highest prize in medicine, the Albany Medical Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, was awarded to two women for the first time in its history. The recipients, Elizabeth Blackburn of the…

tags: Rufous-crowned Roller, Coracias naevia, birds, Image of the Day This is the last bird that I will be showing you by this photographer this week. More of John's images are waiting in the queue, and will appear next week. Rufous-crowned Roller, Coracias naevia. Image: John Del Rio. [larger…

tags: Microcosmos, Radiohead, music, All I Need, nature, streaming video This wonderful streaming video shows an unlikely combination of a series of clips from the 1996 French film, Microcosmos, with Radiohead's "All I Need" as the accompanying soundtrack. It's really beautiful. The editor writes…

tags: chambers street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC Chambers Street Subway Art #14 as seen at NYC's Chambers Street stop for the A and C trains. A vandal defaced this artwork with green chalk, but fortunately, chalk is easily removed without harming the art. Image…

tags: eclectus, Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, parrots, birds, photograph Elektra. Female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, April 2008. Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view]. Last night, I was feeling rather depressed, so instead…

tags: duckling crossing, Washington state, SR-512, People Helping Birds, nature, streaming video Mallard ducklings snoozing in the sunshine. Image: curiousLee, 2003. Springtime means ducklings .. everywhere, right? Well, if you live in western Washington state, then you certainly see plenty of…

tags: Andean Cock-of-the-rock, Rupicola peruvianus, birds, Image of the Day This is the fourth image of a passerine taken by this photographer. Male Andean (red) Cock-of-the-rock, Rupicola peruvianus. Image: John Del Rio. [larger view]. This dimorphic species is a medium-sized bird that is…

tags: Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, humor, music, You Don't Bring Me Flowers Anymore, culture, streaming video This truly odd streaming video was sent by a friend who learned that I will be going to London in August. I guess she thinks that I need to have a bit of a cultural adjustment prior…

tags: chambers street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC Chambers Street Subway Art #13 as seen at NYC's Chambers Street stop for the A and C trains. Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].

tags: red fan parrot, hawk-headed parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus accipitrinus, parrots, birds, photograph I took this picture yesterday morning to share with you; Orpheus. Male Hawk-headed (red fan) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus, April 2008. Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view]. This…

tags: Yellow-Throated Laughing Thrush, Garrulax galbanus, birds, Image of the Day This is the third in a series of passerine images by this photographer. Yellow-Throated Laughing Thrush, Garrulax galbanus. Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].

Wow, you guys! I learned that the National Geographic Traveler blog has picked up on my subway art series. The author wrote an amusing little story and included lots of links to the AMNH subway art series of photographs, which you helped with by helping me ID some of the animal species.

Approximately 500 migratory ducks are dead or dying in Alberta Canada because an oilsands company did not prevent them from landing on a manmade lake filled with toxic sludge. The offending company, Syncrude Canada Ltd., neglected to use propane-fueled noise-making cannons to scare the ducks away…

tags: Bag of Bones, Dunya Mikhail, poetry, National Poetry Month April is National Poetry Month, and I posted one poem per day every day this month for you to enjoy. You have sent me so many poems and suggestions that I plan to use all of them in the coming weeks; I will post one poem per week, on…

tags: global warming, humor, behavior, streaming video Do you want to save the earth while reducing your bills? Use energy-saving light bulbs! [0:49]. H/t to Mike.

tags: chambers street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC Chambers Street Subway Art #12 as seen at NYC's Chambers Street stop for the A and C trains. Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].

tags: eclectus, Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, parrots, birds, photograph I took this picture this morning to share with you; Elektra. Female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, April 2008. Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view]. Not…

tags: Melba Waxbill, Pytilia melba, birds, Image of the Day This is the second image in a series of passerine images by this photographer. Melba Finch, Pytilia melba, also known as the Melba Waxbill or the Green-winged Pytilia. Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].

tags: Dreamers, Siegfried Sassoon, poetry, National Poetry Month April is National Poetry Month, and I plan to post one poem per day every day this month (If you have a favorite poem that you'd like me to share, feel free to email it to me). I found today's poem after a reader on Reddit, Jack,…

tags: John McCain, testicles, humor, satire, politics, streaming video This amusing streaming video is an interview with John McCain's urologist, who shows us a really nice graph revealing the size of his testicles. But his urologist refuses to confirm whether McCain is a real badass, saying that…

tags: lories, loriinae, yellow-bibbed lory, Lorius chlorocercus, parrots, birds, photograph Odysseus. Male yellow-bibbed lory, Lorius chlorocercus, April 2008. Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view]. This parrot is a lory. Lories are a group of nectar-feeding parrots that are from islands in…

tags: chambers street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC Chambers Street Subway Art #11 as seen at NYC's Chambers Street stop for the A and C trains. A vandal with yellow chalk beat me to this artwork, but fortunately, the chalk marks can be easily removed. Image:…

tags: Turquoise Tanager, Tangara mexicana, birds, Image of the Day This is the first in a series of passerine images by this photographer. Turquoise Tanager, Tangara mexicana. Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].

tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter "Abstract" Male Wood Duck, Aix sponsa. Image: John Del Rio. [larger view]. Birds in Science It wasn't too long ago that paleontologists thought that fossilization was a process where all biological material was replaced…