grrlscientist | May 14, 2008tags: Prothonotary warbler, Protonotaria citrea, birds, Kansas, image of the day
Male prothonotary warbler, Protonotaria citrea in breeding plumage.
I went out this morning specifically to see if I could get a good image of a prothonotary warbler and I managed to get one.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [OMG view].
grrlscientist | May 14, 2008tags: bird watching, Bill Thompson
Thanks to the good people at Houghton Mifflin Publishing House, I am meeting Bill Thompson, the editor of Bird Watcher's Digest and author of several books, tomorrow afternoon. Needless to say, I am excited to meet Bill and to see Houghton Mifflin's offices, and to attach faces and voices with the names of those people who mail me their lovely beautiful books and email me appreciative and encouraging messages about my book reviews (Thanks, you guys!)
Houghton Mifflin recently published a book by Bill Thompson, The Young Birder's Guide to Birds of Eastern…
grrlscientist | May 14, 2008tags: books, field guides, bird watching, birding, birds
Image: Bill Thompson, III.
There are a variety of field guides to the birds, for English-speaking parts of the world at least, each with their own particular qualities. I have an extensive collection of these books on my shelves that I use as references. But my own choice of my primary in-the-field guide has changed as my skills have improved throughout my lifetime. So this prompts me to ask you two questions (below the fold);
First; how has your field guide choices changed throughout your lifetime? Would you list the guides you…
grrlscientist | May 14, 2008tags: Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You With the Bill), economy, politics, corporate welfare, David Cay Johnston, book review
America was built on the premise that hard work would be financially rewarded, but unfortunately, more than 37 million people are part of the growing ranks of the "working poor": people who work two or three jobs yet are unable to pay their living expenses. What's wrong with all these people that makes them unable to achieve even a modest level of comfort in this Land of Opportunity where the streets are…
grrlscientist | May 14, 2008tags: The Death of a Toad, Richard Wilbur, poetry
"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful implanted in the human soul."
-- Johann Wolfgang Goethe.
I received so many poetry suggestions from you that I decided to continue to publish poetry on my site once per week for you to enjoy. One of my SB colleagues, John Lynch, posts a poem every Friday (here's his poetry archives), so -- because I don't want to conflict with John's poem of the week -- I will post a…
grrlscientist | May 14, 2008tags: parrot, amazon parrot, behavior, mimicking behavior, streaming video
This streaming video shows a talented amazon parrot that appeared recently on Animal Planet. [3:19].
grrlscientist | May 13, 2008tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway Art #2
as seen at NYC's 86th Street stop at Broadway for the uptown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989; it was mounted on 2 July 2006).
Artist: Nitza Tufino.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
I have photographed tile artworks from several NYC subway stations now, so far, all are westside Manhattan subway lines, including Chambers Street (A & C trains), Houston Street (1 train), Pennsylvania "Penn" station (1, 2 & 3 trains) [subway art archives] and, my…
grrlscientist | May 13, 2008tags: Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, birds, Kansas, image of the day
"Not skulking"
Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 13, 2008tags: foot binding, China, social behavior, fashion psychology, streaming video
A friend sent these images depicting foot-binding in China. To say the least, I knew this practice was painful and caused permanent malformations, but seeing the damage makes my own feet scream in agony. How did such a strange and harmful behavior like this ever become a cultural fashion/fad/fetish?
An elderly Chinese woman who was one of the countless victims of foot-binding. She can barely stand or walk, even with assistance. Gee, I wonder why?
An elderly Chinese woman, one of countless millions of female…
grrlscientist | May 13, 2008tags: fox news, subliminal suggestion, voting behavior, politics, streaming video
This streaming video shows a rather clumsy attempt by FauxSnooz to subliminally influence American voters. [1:15].
So .. do you think this might work by influencing innocent minds to vote against a person's best interests?
grrlscientist | May 12, 2008tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
I am now presenting NYC subway tile artworks as photographed by me at the West 86th street subway platform at Broadway, where the local 1-train stops. This platform was decorated by an artist, Nitza Tufino and a group of students from the Grosvenor House school, and depicts scenes from typical NYC life on the UWS (Upper West Side) -- one of my favorite Manhattan neighborhoods.
86th Street Subway Art #1
as seen at NYC's 86th Street stop at Broadway for the uptown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989;…
grrlscientist | May 12, 2008tags: Male Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, birds, Kansas, image of the day
"Blue enough for ya?"
Male Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 12, 2008tags: How and Why Species Multiply, evolution, ecology, Darwin's finches, Rosemary Grant, Peter Grant, book review
Peter and Rosemary Grant have been studying the phenomenon of speciation in Darwin's finches for 35 years, using every technique available to them from molecular biology to population ecology. They have written several books about various aspects of their work and even were the focus of a Pulitzer-prize winning book. But there has not been a comprehensive yet scholarly book that has captured the essential highlights of their lifetime work, until now. How and Why Species Multiply…
grrlscientist | May 12, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Common Pochard, Aythya ferina (Hiroshima, Japan).
Image: Bardiac [larger].
Birds in Science News
Climate change threatens many animals -- but with any luck, some will handle weather shifts with as much aplomb as Parus major, a colorful songbird also known as the great tit. In a study published today in Science, ornithologists from the University of Oxford tracked the egg-laying times of great tits in Wytham, England. Since the mid-1970s, temperatures in Wytham have risen steadily, hastening the start of spring by two…
grrlscientist | May 12, 2008tags: bunnies, behavior, streaming video
It's springtime in bunnyland. This amusing streaming video shows .. well .. let's just say that most people probably never thought that a bunch of girls could cause so much trouble -- certainly, the photographers (who are trying to shoot a commercial) never thought so. (All narration is in Norwegian Finnish). [1:00].
Okay, for those of you who watched this, sorry to disappoint you about lesbian bunnies and out-of-control bunny hormones and all, but let me mention that same-sex humping is relatively common in animals because they use this to establish…
grrlscientist | May 11, 2008tags: Manhattan, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Looking east along West 21st in Manhattan on a foggy evening (2 May 2008).
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
Last week, I went to Seed Media Group's offices in Midtown Manhattan to hang out with two of my colleagues at ScienceBlogs, Jake (who lives in NYC) and Razib (who was visiting), as well as to talk with the Seed people and to drink some free beer. They buy great beer, not that undrinkable michelob light crap, by the way. When I left that evening, I was delighted to see that the city had become foggy and cool, but wasn't…
grrlscientist | May 11, 2008tags: shoes, Japanese shoes, social behavior, fashion psychology, streaming video
A friend sent me these images today, claiming that these are "all the fashion rage in Japan". I find that hard to believe and besides, just looking at them makes me hurt all over. Anyway, I don't want to scare you away immediately, so I have arranged these shoes so the styles evolve from less to more insane. That way, you can build up your tolerance.
Okay, these shoes are a little too much, don't you think?
And this pair of shoes makes me wonder how the wearer can walk in them without having a very good…
grrlscientist | May 11, 2008tags: Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura, birds, Kansas, image of the day
"Cool morning yoga pose"
Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 11, 2008tags: 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 are (or will soon be) available for purchase.
FEATURED TITLE:
Mearns, Barbara and Richard. John Kirk Townsend: Collector of Audubon's Western Birds and Mammals. 2007. Mearns Books. Hardcover: 389 pages. Price: $108.00 U.S. [Amazon: $151.36]. SUMMARY: Covers the life and travels of John Kirk…
grrlscientist | May 8, 2008tags: chambers street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Chambers Street Subway Art #21
as seen at NYC's Chambers Street stop for the A and C trains.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].