grrlscientist | December 3, 2007tags: encephalon, blog carnivals
The 37th edition of Encephalon is now available for your reading pleasure. The editor included a submission from me, so of course, I am happy!
grrlscientist | December 3, 2007tags: books, blog carnivals
The 2 December issue of the Books Carnival is now available for you to enjoy. This carnival looks like it is filled with press releases, however, I think the press releases will be obvious to you after a few seconds of browsing. The book reviews written by real people are also fairly obvious (including a few of mine!) so be sure to look for those as well.
grrlscientist | December 3, 2007tags: Great-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus, birds, Image of the Day
Great-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus.
Image: The Ridger [wallpaper size].
grrlscientist | December 3, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
A brown pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, relaxes on a people-watching and photography trip at the Port Aransas Birding Center, Texas.
Image: Scott Lewis [MUCH larger view].
Birds in Science
A £200,000 study into what happens when people hear birdsong is taking off. Researchers at Aberdeen University in Great Britain will spend two years listening to birds to find out how their songs, calls and cries become a part of people's lives. "Listening to birds: an anthropological approach to bird sounds" has received…
grrlscientist | December 3, 2007tags: optical illusion, turning tables, streaming video
This optical illusion is so simple, yet so deceptive, that you should try it on your friends, and use it to win some bar bets, too [flash: 1:20]
Crazy Optical Illusion, Looks Like Magic
grrlscientist | December 2, 2007tags: eastern gray squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis, mammals, Image of the Day
Eastern Gray Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis, in Central Park, NYC.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [wallpaper size].
The photographer writes; I watched this Gray Squirrel dig out an acorn and proceed to gnaw away at it. There was nothing particularly unusual about that. Only after I downloaded the image did I notice the mud all over its meal. The animal made no observable effort to clean the acorn and I imagine that a considerable portion of it must have been ingested. Judging by how enthusiastically the…
grrlscientist | December 2, 2007tags: holiday personality, online quiz
This quiz is an example of being told what you want to hear. I mean, who wants to be told they are a holiday grinch? Well, after playing with it for awhile, I don't think that's one of the answers, but do let me know iof any of you get to be a grinch. My results are below the fold;
Your Holiday Personality is Caring
You like to reach out to people all year long, but you're especially giving during the holidays.
Make those you love homemade presents (like cookies or scarves). Call someone who might be feeling a little down. Give to your favorite…
grrlscientist | December 1, 2007
Red-eyed tree frog, Agalychnis calidryas.
Red-eyed tree frogs live in Costa Rica and other Neotropical regions. Their bright red eyes presumably startle would-be predators. Their diet consists of flies and moths, and possibly includes smaller frogs and crickets. All tree frogs are classified into the families Hylidae and Rhacophoridae. Many tree frogs are green in color, while the terrestrial and aquatic species have muted coloration.
Image: Don Farral (Photodisc) via National Geographic.
Since the holidays are advancing upon us like a rampaging SUV, I thought I'd talk about an essential…
grrlscientist | December 1, 2007tags: great blue heron, Ardea herodias, birds, Image of the Day
Hrm, maybe I can see better if I tilt my head like this?
A brown pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, tries digiscoping at the Port Aransas Birding Center, Texas.
Image: Scott Lewis [MUCH larger view].
grrlscientist | December 1, 2007tags: parrots, feeding
One of the great pleasures I have is feeding my birds. I love everything about it, from shopping for the finest and freshest foods to preparing them for the birds to eat. As a result, I'd guess that my food preparations for the birds become rather complicated. Anyway, I thought I'd let you all know what my birds are eating this week;
All the birds;
frozen, thawed mixed vegetables (peas, carrot pieces, corn, lima beans)
fresh zucchini pieces
fresh red bell pepper pieces
fresh corn-on-the-cob cut into 1-inch "wheels"
fresh gala apple pieces
fresh mango pieces
fresh orange…
grrlscientist | December 1, 2007tags: santa's reindeer, online quiz
Okay, this is a seasonally appropriate quiz that you all have to take, and yes, you have to share your results here, too! My results are below the fold;
You Are Cupid
A total romantic, you're always crushing on a new reindeer.
Why You're Naughty: You've caused so much drama, all the reindeers aren't speaking to each other.
Why You're Nice: You have a knack for playing matchmaker. You even hooked Rudolph up!
Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?
grrlscientist | November 30, 2007tags: parrots, behavior
My hawk-headed parrot is teething. Or, because she's a parrot and thus, has no teeth, she is "beaking". Except she typically proceeds quickly from "beaking" (testing substances with her beak) to puncturing or otherwise destroying various objects -- "chomping", if you will. So, for your amusement, I have compiled a list of objects that she has "beaked" and "chomped" so far;
Beaked;
DVDs
CDs
the blanket on my futon
my futon mattress
my fingers
several books (I rescued them before she made "v" shaped punctures in their covers and pages)
the refrigerator
my…
grrlscientist | November 30, 2007tags: philosophia naturalis, blog carnivals
The 15th edition of Philosophia Naturalis, a blog carnival devoted primarily to physics, astronomy and the earth sciences, has just been published for you to enjoy. I am pleased to report that they included a piece that I wrote, so I am happy about that!
grrlscientist | November 30, 2007tags: great blue heron, Ardea herodias, birds, Image of the Day
Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, engaging in peculiar behavior at the Port Aransas Birding Center, Texas.
Image: Scott Lewis [larger view].
Does anyone know the purpose for this behavior?
grrlscientist | November 30, 2007tags: hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus, clicker training, streaming video
As some of you know, I recently added a four-month-old hawk-headed (red-fan) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus, to my household. I plan to learn how to clicker-train this bird (I already have the necessary tools and books). Below the fold is an example of another young Hawk-headed parrot, named Scooter (owned by Jeannie), who was approximately eight months old in this video. This training session reinforces and refines earlier training where Scooter was taught how to place a ring on a peg, to…
grrlscientist | November 29, 2007tags: cats, 1001 cats, blog carnivals
The latest edition of the 1001 Cats blog carnival is now available for your reading pleasure. The editor included one of my submissions, so you've just gotta go there and see what it is!
grrlscientist | November 29, 2007tags: birds, bird sex chromosomes, ZZ, ZW, parrots, sex identification, molecular biology
Evolution of Avian and Mammalian sex chromosomes.
Image: E.R.S. Roldan and Montserrat Gomendio "The Y chromosome as a battle ground for sexual selection" Trends in Ecology & Evolution 1999, 14:58-62.
You all are probably curious to know what is happening with my birds these days, so I shall tell you about how sex is identified in birds, such as parrots, where the sexes look the same. But wait a minute, you ask, what does an update about my birds have to do with identifying sex in parrots?
You…
grrlscientist | November 29, 2007tags: birds, birding, bird watching, blog carnival, I and the Bird
The 63rd edition of I and the Bird blog carnival is now available for your reading pleasure. It's a big one, as usual, which always pleases me -- of all the things that a person can write about on their blog, birds and birdwatching are high on everyone's list. Of course, they saw fit to include a contribution from me, too, which also makes me happy.
grrlscientist | November 29, 2007tags: squirrel, behavior, mission impossible, streaming video
I thought I had linked to this video a few months ago, but apparently it disappeared during one of the typical burps that my wifi connection experiences (well, I deserve it since I am piggybacking on someone else's connection, unless I have dragged myself in to the library). Anyway, this video is truly amazing, showing what a squirrel will do to get a nut. It also has a short video clip of another squirrel that has figured out how to steal candy bars from an outdoor candy machine [1:52].
grrlscientist | November 28, 2007It has recently come to my attention, thanks to a friend and long-time reader, that according to a recent Harris poll, firefighters, scientists and teachers are considered to be the most prestigious professions by the public, while bankers, actors and real estate agents are perceived as the least prestigious professions.
Since the survey was first begun in 1977 by Harris Interactive, the most significant change since the survey's inception is that, with the exception of teachers and clergy, the perceived prestige of every one of the original 11 occupations has actually decreased over the…