animals
tqa | January 27, 2010
Great Black-Backed Gull (Larus marinus)
Hudson River, near Glenmont, NY
26 December 2007
1/80 sec @ f/8.0; Pentax *ist DS; 300mm focal length
Technorati Tags: birds, blogpix, great black-backed gull
edyong | January 25, 2010
Millions of years before humans invented sonar, bats and toothed whales had mastered the biological version of the same trick - echolocation. By timing the echoes of their calls, one group effortlessly flies through the darkest of skies and the other swims through the murkiest of waters. It's amazing enough that two such different groups of mammals should have evolved the same trick but that similarity isn't just skin deep.
The echolocation abilities of bats and whales, though different in their details, rely on the same changes to the same gene - Prestin. These changes have produced such…
grrlscientist | January 24, 2010tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"How does one distinguish a truly civilized nation from an aggregation of
barbarians? That is easy. A civilized country produces much good bird
literature."
--Edgar Kincaid
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…
tqa | January 23, 2010
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus)
Epcot Center, Walt Disney World, Florida
8 April 2009
1/200 sec @ f/10; Canon Xsi; 55mm focal length
Technorati Tags: blogpix, epcot, kaena point, monk seal, Oahu, Raw, white ibis
edyong | January 23, 2010
To me, this portrait sums up the essence of the Cape buffalo, an imposing animal with a reputation for being grumpy and unpredictable.
Of all the debatably named "Big Five", this was the one we saw most often and frequently in very large herds indeed. With those massive bony lumps (they're called "bosses"), they're re not really animals that you want to start honking or revving out of the way, so we spent a lot of time sitting in the jeep and patiently waiting for a herd to cross the road. And when does the Cape buffalo cross the road? Whenever it bloody well wants to.
Of course, there's…
edyong | January 19, 2010Deep beneath the ocean's surface lie the "black smokers", undersea chimneys channelling superheated water from below the Earth's crust. Completely devoid of sunlight, they are some of the most extreme environments on the planet. Any creature that can survive their highly acidic water, scorching temperatures and crushing pressures still has to contend with assaults from predatory crabs. What better place, then, to look for the next generation of body armour technology?
The scaly-foot gastropod (Crysomalion squamiferum) was discovered just 9 years ago at an Indian black smoker and it may have…
edyong | January 18, 2010The mighty insect colonies of ants, termites and bees have been described as superorganisms. Through the concerted action of many bodies working towards a common goal, they can achieve great feats of architecture, agriculture and warfare that individual insects cannot.
That's more than just an evocative metaphor. Chen Hou from Arizona State University has found that the same mathematical principles govern the lives of insect colonies and individual animals. You could predict how quickly an individual insect grows or burn food, how much effort it puts into reproduction and how long it lives…
tqa | January 17, 2010
Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor) in flight
Kailua Bay, Oahu
15 March 2007
1/750 sec @ f/8; Pentax *istDS; 260mm focal length
Technorati Tags: blogpix, frigatebird
grrlscientist | January 17, 2010tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"How does one distinguish a truly civilized nation from an aggregation of
barbarians? That is easy. A civilized country produces much good bird
literature."
--Edgar Kincaid
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…
grrlscientist | January 15, 2010tags: evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, life history, migration, long-distance migration,birds,ornithology,researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper
White-rumped sandpiper, Calidris fuscicollis, chicks on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada.
Image: Laura McKinnon [larger view]
I recently told you about research that used new microtechnology to document the incredible journey of Arctic Terns, a small bird species that annually migrates from its wintering area in Antarctica to its breeding colonies in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America…
grrlscientist | January 15, 2010tags: art, wildlife art, stop-motion painting, Riparian Rashomon, Agami Heron, Agamia agami, Brilliant Forest Frog, Lithobates warszewitschii, entertainment, Carel Brest van Kempen, streaming video
This is a fascinating stop-motion video of the creation of artist Carel Brest van Kempen's painting, Riparian Rashomon. This is a diptych (two-panel) piece, vertically oriented. The upper panel is painted first, then the lower one, and finally the two are brought together as intended. Each panel depicts a different viewpoint of the same event: a Brilliant Forest Frog evading an Agami Heron in a…
edyong | January 14, 2010
I've just flown from London to North Carolina, a trip of around 6,200km. As flights go, it's a pathetic one, a mere jaunt in the park compared to the epic voyage of the Arctic tern. Every year, this greatest of animal travellers makes a 70,000 km round-trip, in a relentless, globe-trotting pursuit of daylight. In summer, it spends its time in the sun-soaked Arctic and in winter, it heads for the equally bright climes of Antarctica. In its 30 years of life, this champion aeronaut flies more than 2.4 million kilometres - the equivalent of three return journeys to the Moon.
The Arctic tern'…
grrlscientist | January 14, 2010tags: art, wildlife art, stop-motion painting, Eastern Painted Turtle, Chrysemu picta, entertainment, Carel Brest van Kempen, streaming video
This is a fascinating stop-motion video of artist Carel Brest van Kempen's painting of an Eastern Painted Turtle, Chrysemu picta, a common and widespread American reptile. In my opinion, Carel Brest van Kempen is the finest wildlife artist alive today.
The original painting has been sold. Carel Brest van Kempen published a stunning book, Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding [my review] and writes the art blog that goes by the same name, that might be of…
edyong | January 10, 2010
Weaver birds are the artisans extraordinaire of the bird world. As their name suggests, they fashion intricate nests out of plant material, carefully threaded and woven into a solid structure. All of it is done, quite literally, without lifting a finger.
These birds were all building nests in a tree outside a delightful winery called Delheim, which does an exceptional line of dessert wines. While my wife was inside sampling them, I was outside snapping away at this colony.
The males are the ones who do the weaving, and their efforts advertise their skill and quality to potential mates. By…
grrlscientist | January 10, 2010tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"How does one distinguish a truly civilized nation from an aggregation of
barbarians? That is easy. A civilized country produces much good bird
literature."
--Edgar Kincaid
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…
grrlscientist | January 8, 2010tags: art, wildlife art, stop-motion painting, Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Cicinnurus respublica, entertainment, Carel Brest van Kempen, streaming video
This is a fascinating stop-motion video of artist Carel Brest van Kempen's painting of a Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Cicinnurus respublica. Wilson's Bird of Paradise is a small forest species endemic to Waigeo and Batanta, two islands just NW of New Guinea's Vogelkop peninsula. In my opinion, Carel Brest van Kempen is the finest wildlife artist alive today.
Carel Brest van Kempen published a stunning book, Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding [my…
edyong | January 7, 2010
If someone at âyour workplace offends a client or a customer, they'd probably get an earful from their colleagues or boss. If someone annoys a friend of yours, you'd probably have a go at them. This capacity to punish those who behave badly, even if they haven't wronged us personally, pervades all aspects of human society. And we're not the only ones - fish punish bad behaviour too.
The bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) operates an underwater health spa for larger fish. It advertises its services with bright colours and distinctive dances. When customers arrive, the cleaner…
tqa | January 6, 2010
If I sayz "cheep, cheep", I can has seeds?
Grey squirrel
Glenmont, NY
4 Aug 2006
1/180 sec @ f/5.6; Pentax *ist DS
Technorati Tags: blogpix, squirrel
edyong | January 6, 2010
Around 395 million years ago, a group of four-legged animals strode across a Polish coast. These large, amphibious creatures were among the first invaders of the land, the first animals with true legs that could walk across solid ground. With sprawling gaits and tails held high, they took pioneering footsteps. Their tracks eventually fossilised and their recent discovery yields a big surprise that could rewrite what we know about the invasion of land. These animals were walking around 18 million years earlier than expected.
The evolution of four-legged creatures - tetrapods - is one of…
edyong | January 5, 2010
If you looked at the penis of a Drosophila fly under a microscope (for reasons best known only to yourself), you'd see an array of wince-inducing hooks and spines. These spines are present in all Drosophila and they're so varied that a trained biologist could use them to identify the species of the owner.
What's the purpose of these spines? Are they intended to actually wound the female during mating? Do they help the male fly to scrape out the sperm of his rivals? Do they actually pierce the walls of the female's genital tract, allowing the male to bypass any barriers to his sperm, as…