birding
grrlscientist | October 15, 2009tags: Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus, photographed in the photographer's back yard in Houston,Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 June 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1250s 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 | October 14, 2009tags: American Pipit, Anthus rubescens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] American Pipit, Anthus rubescens, photographed at Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, southwestern Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 30 January 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s 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 | October 13, 2009tags: Olive Sparrow, Arremonops rufivirgatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Olive Sparrow, Arremonops rufivirgatus, photographed at Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, Alamo, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/60s 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 | October 12, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Zebra Finch, Poephila guttata.
Image: orphaned [larger view].
Birds in Science
Low-quality females prefer low-quality males, at least in the avian world. This is according to research published in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B, testing female zebra finches' taste in males. As adults, the low-quality females showed a preference for the songs of males of the same quality, and for the male birds themselves. Evolutionary biologists previously thought that females would always opt for the best male available.
A…
grrlscientist | October 12, 2009tags: Brewer's Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Female Brewer's Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus, photographed at Bodega Bay, California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 23 December 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/90s 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 | October 11, 2009tags: Tractrac Chat, Layard's Chat, Cercomela tractrac, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Tractrac Chat, also known as the Layard's Chat, Cercomela tractrac, photographed in Swakopmund, Namibia, Africa [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dennis Paulson, April 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Those of you who are unfamiliar with African birds should still be able to identify this bird to family.
Dennis Paulson with a Tractrac Chat, also known as the Layard's Chat, Cercomela tractrac,…
grrlscientist | October 10, 2009tags: Cape Raven, African White-necked Raven, White-naped Raven, Corvus albicollis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] A pair of White-naped Ravens, also known as the Cape Raven or the African White-necked Raven, Corvus albicollis, photographed while playing at just under 15000 feet on Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 24 July 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 70-200 VR lens, at 200. ISO 320, 1/6000, f 3.2.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes;
These…
grrlscientist | October 9, 2009tags: Macleay's Kingfisher, Blue Kingfisher, Bush Kingfisher, Forest Kingfisher, Todiramphus macleayii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Forest Kingfisher, also known as Macleay's Kingfisher, Blue Kingfisher or Bush Kingfisher, Todiramphus macleayii, photographed at Mossman, Queensland, Australia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 18 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm 1/1600 sec, f/4 iso 200.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The Forest Kingfisher is classified in the genus…
grrlscientist | October 8, 2009tags: Western Willet, Tringa semipalmata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Western Willet, Tringa semipalmata, photographed at Galveston East Beach, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 25 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
Okay, I know this mystery bird is only intermediate in difficulty since the two subspecies are not visually…
grrlscientist | October 7, 2009tags: birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Common Nighthawk, also commonly known as the Bullbat, Chordeiles minor, photographed at Smith Point Hawk Watch, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 23 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s 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 | October 6, 2009tags: Greater White-fronted Goose, Anser albifrons, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Greater White-fronted Goose, Anser albifrons, photographed at Tom Bass Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s 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 | October 5, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
"Magpie Menace"
Pete Marshall, 2009, Oil [larger view].
Birds in Science
By genetically modifying the brains of songbirds for the first time, scientists may have a devised useful new tool for studying neurological growth and healing in humans. "Songbirds have become a classic tool for studying vocal learning and neuron replacement. This will bring those two topics into the molecular age," said neuroscientist Fernando Nottebohm of Rockefeller University, author of a study published recently in the Proceedings of the…
grrlscientist | October 5, 2009tags: Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa, photographed in a backyard in Stanwood, Washington. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 27 September 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm Nikon VR lens ISO 800 1/80 f/5.6.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | October 4, 2009tags: Tropical Boubou, Laniarius aethiopicus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Tropical Boubou, Laniarius aethiopicus, photographed in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 8 August 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, ISO 800, 200-400 VR lens at 360 mm. 1/60 sec, f/4.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Regarding distinguishing the Tropical Boubou vs Black-backed Puffback, the photographer writes;
The Tropical Boubou has a black eye, the puffback a red eye.
Boubou…
grrlscientist | October 3, 2009tags: Coqui Francolin, Francolinus coqui, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Male Coqui Francolin, Francolinus coqui, photographed in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 31 August 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 VR lens at 250 mm ISO 400 1/350 f/4.5.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | October 2, 2009tags: Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus banksii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus banksii, also known as Bank's Black Cockatoo, photographed at Walgett, New South Wales, Australia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 18 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | October 1, 2009tags: White morph Reddish Egret, Egretta rufescens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] White morph Reddish Egret, Egretta rufescens, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 26 September 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with 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 | September 30, 2009tags: Seaside Sparrow, Ammodramus maritimus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Seaside Sparrow, Ammodramus maritimus, photographed at Anahuac Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 May 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s 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 | September 29, 2009tags: Hooded Crow, Corvus cornix, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Hooded Crow, Corvus cornix, photographed on Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]
Photographed with Canon SX100 IS.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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grrlscientist | September 28, 2009tags: Willow Flycatcher, Empidonax traillii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Willow Flycatcher, Empidonax traillii, photographed near Park City, Utah. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 29 July 2009 [larger view]
Canon 50D, 400 5.6L lens.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.