grrlscientist | February 11, 2009tags: Charles Darwin, nature, evolution, streaming video
The life and times of Charles Darwin -- a failed student from a rich family whose five year voyage round the world inspired The Origin of Species, a groundbreaking work outlining the theory of evolution. Dr. Chapman explains how Darwin's ideas caused outrage in polite society at the time. [7:16]
grrlscientist | February 10, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pine Warbler, Dendroica pinus, photographed at Port Bolivar, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 13 January 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera 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.
grrlscientist | February 10, 2009tags: Charles Darwin, nature, evolution, streaming video
The life and times of Charles Darwin -- a failed student from a rich family whose five year voyage round the world inspired The Origin of Species, a groundbreaking work outlining the theory of evolution. Dr. Chapman explains how Darwin's ideas caused outrage in polite society at the time. [8:34]
grrlscientist | February 9, 2009tags: Satomi's pygmy seahorse, Indonesian wildlife, Stephen Wong, Takako Uno, image of the day
Satomi's pygmy seahorse, endemic to Indonesia, is one of the world's tiniest seahorses. Two adults would fit head-to-head across the face of a penny and their offspring are each about the size of a 12-point apostrophe.
Image: Stephen Wong and Takako Uno/National Geographic.
At under half an inch tall (13 millimeters), Satomi's pygmy seahorse -- named after dive guide Satomi Onishi -- is a strong contender for the world's smallest seahorse. With their tails stretched out straight, two Satomi's…
grrlscientist | February 9, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Black-throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata, in Chaco Canyon.
Image: Dave Rintoul, June 2008 [larger view].
Birds in Science
This is a link to a fascinating slide show that documents 9 links in the dinosaur-to-bird transition -- plenty of strong evidence that birds evolved from dinosaurs! GrrlScientist comment: "link" number four is very dubious, though, and I am surprised they even used it in their story.
People Hurting Birds
Both engines of the US Airways flight that crash-landed in the Hudson River last month…
grrlscientist | February 9, 2009tags: Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta, photographed on the Attwater Prairie Chicken Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 12 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/350s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso40.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 9, 2009tags: Charles Darwin, nature, evolution, streaming video
The life and times of Charles Darwin -- a failed student from a rich family whose five year voyage round the world inspired The Origin of Species, a groundbreaking work outlining the theory of evolution. Dr. Chapman explains how Darwin's ideas caused outrage in polite society at the time. [9:08]
grrlscientist | February 8, 2009tags: Charles Darwin, nature, evolution, streaming video
This video "has stunned scientists around the world" (really?) as this bird thinks critically, just like a human, to catch fish. Give this bird a piece of bread and watch it use it as fish bait [1:17]
Okay, a special question for all my mystery birds fans: can you name this species? What field marks led you to this identification? Oh, and have any of you ever seen something like this?
grrlscientist | February 8, 2009tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature and behavior books that currently are, or soon will be available for purchase. This report is written by one of my Seattle birding pals and book collector, Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, and is edited by me and published here for your information and enjoyment. Below the fold is this week's issue of The Birdbooker Report which…
grrlscientist | February 8, 2009tags: California Towhee, Pipilo crissalis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] California Towhee, Pipilo crissalis, photographed in San Francisco, California. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 18 December 2008 [larger view].
Photo taken with Canon 50D, 400 5.6L lens.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 7, 2009
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907).
Oil and gold on canvas by Gustav Klimt.
[larger view].
I have not been writing much recently because I've been quite ill and haven't even managed to leave my apartment for the past week to locate a stable wireless connection.
Actually, I am not ill in the strict sense of the word as we understand it. Instead, I am ill because I am experiencing withdrawal from the last of the so-called "mood stabilizing drugs", citalopram, that the doctors got me hooked on before they unceremoniously dumped me from their program for poor people roughly six months…
grrlscientist | February 7, 2009tags: Nelson's Sharp-Tailed Sparrow, Ammodramus nelsoni, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Nelson's Sharp-Tailed Sparrow, Ammodramus nelsoni, photographed while demonstrating its unusual perching technique at Crab Street, Surfside, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 18 November 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/800s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 6, 2009I am so sad to inform you that the famous British ornithologist, David Snow, died Wednesday, 4 February 2009, at the age of 84.
David Snow was born in Windermere, Cumbria, located in northwestern England on 30 September 1924. He began his illustrious career as a demonstrator at the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology at Oxford University from 1949 to 1957. The Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology conducts ornithological research in evolutionary ecology and conservation biology with an emphasis on understanding birds in their natural environments. Then from 1957 to 1961, Snow…
grrlscientist | February 6, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Plain Chachalaca, Ortalis vetula, photographed in Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 5, 2009Here is more blog carnival goodness to keep you entertained;
Carnival of Evolution, part two, has been published. Once again, this blog carnival is filled with lots of science-y information to educate and entertain you, so go visit! And be sure to volunteer to host this blog carnival since they are seeking more hosts!
The latest edition of the I and the Bird blog carnival, which focuses on blog essays and photography of wild birds.
grrlscientist | February 5, 2009tags: Brewer's Sparrow, Spizella breweri, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Probable Brewer's Sparrow, Spizella breweri, photographed in the brush in Lake County, near Madison, South Dakota (this bird was severely out of its normal range). [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 30 September 2006 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 4, 2009tags: Golden Rays, cow nosed rays, Rhinoptera steindachneri, Sandra Critelli, image of the day
Golden (cow nosed) Rays, Rhinoptera steindachneri, gathering off the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, near the coast of Mexico. This spectacular scene was captured as the magnificent creatures made one of their biannual mass migrations to more agreeable waters.
Image: Sandra Critelli [larger view].
Looking like giant leaves floating in the sea, thousands of Golden Ray s are seen here gathering off the coast of Mexico. The spectacular scene was captured as the magnificent creatures made one…
grrlscientist | February 4, 2009tags: Varied Thrush, Ixoreus naevius, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Varied Thrush, Ixoreus naevius, photographed in central Ontario. The bird died after striking the window of lakeside cottage fringed with Eastern Hemlock, Red Oak, Winterberry and American Bittersweet. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Michael Butler, 16 November 2008. [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Original blog entry about this bird.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 4, 2009tags: David Attenborough, nature, evolution, environment, streaming video
British broadcaster Sir David Attenborough presents his views on Charles Darwin, natural selection, and how the Bible has put the natural world in peril in an exclusive interview for Nature Video [4:27]
grrlscientist | February 3, 2009Here's the latest blog carnival goodness for you to enjoy ..
I am especially proud to let you know that the newly revitalized Circus of the Spineless was published last night, so be sure to go there and support this blog carnival by reading, sending in your submissions and by volunteering to host it.
Aloha Carnival, a blog carnival about Hawai'i. Even though I've never been there, I love reading about it.