grrlscientist | November 17, 2008tags: Suomi, Helsinki, Finland, travel, language, streaming video
This charming little video attempts to teach me a few simple phrases in Finnish, so I thought you'd also enjoy it [1:27].
grrlscientist | November 17, 2008tags: Hoatzin, Opisthocomus hoazin, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Hoatzin, Opisthocomus hoazin, photographed in South America [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Indonesian Parrot Project [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Are these real birds? As anyone who has enjoyed a slow cruise along a South American river will attest, they are real -- so real that they have been made the national bird of Guyana.
The mangrove thicket…
grrlscientist | November 17, 2008tags: extreme bird watching, humor, satire, streaming video
This streaming video is a hilarious look at bird watching and bird watchers themselves -- in this video, you will meet such luminaries as Rodney "Swamp Sparrow" Sinclair, Tanya "Titmouse" Slippers, Leo "The Loon" Cantarell and Warren "Dodo" Morgan [2:36].
So dear readers, which birder most resembles you? I think I am most like "Swamp Sparrow" Sinclair: Judgment Day is coming for birders!
grrlscientist | November 16, 2008tags: gawd is hate, grrlscientist with beaker of evil, humor, reader response
Secret Underground Laboratory, New York, NY 10024.
Image: Homeland Security Photo of GrrlScientist with Beaker of Evil.
God inspired a reader of mine to write a message to me in response to my godless spoutings. My reader, being a blog writer, posted it to his blog (much like the disciples did when gawd inspired them to write stuff -- no doubt only after they'd all sparked up a doobie and sat back on the couch with a bag of Doritos and quill-and-ink and a piece of parchment). This piece is one letter that will…
grrlscientist | November 16, 2008tags: Times Square, 42nd street, The Revelers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
The Revelers (2007).
Artist: Jane Dickson. Photographed in the passageway at 42nd Street/Times Square traveling east between the 8th Avenue/Port Authority Bus Terminal A, C, & E trains) and the 7th Avenue/Broadway (1, 2, & 3 trains) platforms.
I watched the workmen install these mosaics (I wish I had photographed the process to share with you) and photographed them all after the adhesive had dried.
Image: GrrlScientist 9 September 2008 [larger view].
I have photographed glass tile…
grrlscientist | November 16, 2008Here's the latest carnivalia for you to read and enjoy;
Oekologie is undergoing a revival after a near-extinction event, so please be sure to go there to read it, then link to it from your blog and also be sure to consider sending your own blog entries to this carnival.
On Giant's Shoulders, issue #5. This blog carnival focuses on how our current knowledge is built upon previous research.
Friday Ark, issue 217. This weekly blog carnival links to images of animals!
Just Write, 14 November 2008 edition.
grrlscientist | November 16, 2008tags: Santa Barbara beach, nature, image of the day
Two surfers enter the water near Santa Barbara, California. If you view large, two of the area's offshore oil rigs are visible. 2006.
Image: James Neeley, Grand Teton Imaging [larger view].
grrlscientist | November 16, 2008tags: 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 | November 16, 2008tags: Suomi, Helsinki, Finland, travel, language, streaming video
This charming little video attempts to teach me a few simple phrases in Finnish, so I thought you'd also enjoy it [1:10].
grrlscientist | November 16, 2008tags: African Scops-Owl, Otus senegalensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Scops-Owl, Otus senegalensis, photographed in subsaharan Africa. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Thomas Dressler, 2008.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
I'm at a loss. I know where this bird was photographed, and so I know what it has to be, but I fail miserably at the little test I like to set myself: could I identify this bird correctly if I discovered it…
grrlscientist | November 16, 2008tags: triceratops, dinosaur exhibit, Boston Natural History Museum, Triceratops Cliff, streaming video
This fascinating streaming video shows a time-lapse creation of a triceratops exhibit, Triceratops Cliff, in the Boston Natural History Museum. This video is especially relevant for Sunday morning because, besides being really interesting, this video will answer the question once and for all: Does god have a butt crack? [1:47].
grrlscientist | November 15, 2008tags: Times Square, 42nd street, The Revelers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
The Revelers (2007).
Artist: Jane Dickson. Photographed in the passageway at 42nd Street/Times Square traveling east between the 8th Avenue/Port Authority Bus Terminal A, C, & E trains) and the 7th Avenue/Broadway (1, 2, & 3 trains) platforms.
I watched the workmen install these mosaics (I wish I had photographed the process to share with you) and photographed them all after the adhesive had dried.
Image: GrrlScientist 9 September 2008 [larger view].
I have photographed glass tile…
grrlscientist | November 15, 2008tags: Swan Valley, nature, image of the day
Farm in Swan Valley, Idaho. 2007.
Image: James Neeley, Grand Teton Imaging [larger view].
grrlscientist | November 15, 2008tags: endangered species, endangered birds, world map, birds
"... species such as the house sparrow, snipe, starling, lapwing and corn bunting have been listed as birds of European concern, but these species have been declining in the United Kingdom's countryside for decades." Mark Avery, 2004.
A total of 9934 bird species were assessed for threatened species status by 2004; 1213 species were at risk of global extinction. In Indonesia 121 bird species were at risk of local extinction; in Brazil, 120 species. On average, over 18 bird species were at risk of local extinction per territory. […
grrlscientist | November 15, 2008tags: Male Von der Decken's Hornbill, Tockus deckeni, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Male Von der Decken's Hornbill, Tockus deckeni, endemic to savanna and woodland of sub-Saharan Africa. Photographed in the African Bird Safari at London Zoo. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: GrrlScientist, 2 September 2008 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
What a crazy-looking bird this one is! With that huge bill and long tail, it can only be…
grrlscientist | November 14, 2008tags: Times Square, 42nd street, The Revelers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
The Revelers (2007).
Artist: Jane Dickson. Photographed in the passageway at 42nd Street/Times Square traveling east between the 8th Avenue/Port Authority Bus Terminal A, C, & E trains) and the 7th Avenue/Broadway (1, 2, & 3 trains) platforms.
I watched the workmen install these mosaics (I wish I had photographed the process to share with you) and photographed them all after the adhesive had dried.
Image: GrrlScientist 9 September 2008 [larger view].
I have photographed glass tile…
grrlscientist | November 14, 2008tags: Arco Desert, nature, image of the day
New light over the frosted foliage in the Arco Desert west of Idaho Falls, Idaho. 2007.
Image: James Neeley, Grand Teton Imaging [larger view].
grrlscientist | November 14, 2008tags: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pheucticus ludovicianus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pheucticus ludovicianus, photographed at Sabine Woods and Sabine Pass area, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 28 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/125s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
This bird is closely related to the cardinals, as a…
grrlscientist | November 14, 2008tags: ravens, Bernd Heinrich, genius bird, National Geographic, streaming video
This interesting National Geographic video shows how Bernd Heinrich designed an experiment to test the intelligence of ravens [2:07].
grrlscientist | November 14, 2008tags: neurobiology, neuroscience, animal communication, birdsong, premotor nucleus HVC, brain temperature, neural circuitry, motor behaviors, bioacoustics
Captive-bred Zebra Finch, Taeniopygia guttata, at
Bodelwyddan Castle Aviary, Denbighshire, Wales.
Image: Adrian Pingstone/Wikipedia [larger view].
Birdsong is the primary model system that helps scientists understand how the brain produces complex sequences of learned behavior, such as playing the piano. In songbirds, there are many interconnected brain regions that play specific and important role in the production of song. These…