birding
grrlscientist | November 24, 2007tags: Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, birds, Image of the Day
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [wallpaper size].
The photographer writes: On November 18, you posted an image of a male English (House) Sparrow. "Albatrosity", an astute parrot pal commentator, noted that the black bib feathers on this bird have gray tips that will wear away by the time breeding season comes around. I have two recent images of Papa Castle, a Northern Cardinal of my acquaintance, that illustrate a similar process at work except on a larger scale.
In the first image close-up you can see a gray…
grrlscientist | November 23, 2007tags: sanderling, Calidris alba, birds, Image of the Day
Sanderling, Calidris alba, in the early morning light on Thanksgiving Day.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [wallpaper size].
The photographer writes: A sanderling, taken on the beach at Bald Head Island this morning. The fact that this shorebird species lacks the back toe (hallux) is obvious and visible in the photo, but I mostly like that long early morning shadow that makes his dumpy little legs look quite stilt-like!
grrlscientist | November 20, 2007tags: Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, birds, Image of the Day
Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis.
Image: Justawriter [larger view].
A very photogenic red-tailed hawk. North Dakota has become something of a haven for raptors. I never saw a bald eagle until seven years ago. Now they are so common that seeing one isn't worth mentioning. Hawks like this one and the previous photo (yesterday) are as common as mile markers.
grrlscientist | November 19, 2007tags: Swainson's Hawk, Buteo swainsoni, birds, Image of the Day
Swainson's Hawk, Buteo swainsoni, in flight.
Image: Justawriter [wallpaper size].
grrlscientist | November 19, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Black-necked weaver, Ploceus nigricollis.
Image: Basia Kruszewska, author of India Ink. [Wallpaper size]
Birds in Research
A native Hawaiian bird has surprised researchers with its ability to survive malaria, apparently thanks to a number of resistant populations that have spread throughout the Hawaiian forest. The discovery hints that genes for natural resistance to the avian disease may lurk inside the genomes of many of Hawaii's endangered birds. Two years ago, researchers reported that one species, the amakihi,…
grrlscientist | November 18, 2007tags: house sparrow, Passer domesticus, birds, Image of the Day
House sparrow, Passer domesticus, which I usually refer to as an English Sparrow, in honor of where it originally came from. This is a young male that lives in Central Park, NYC.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [larger view].
More below the fold;
The photographer writes: I enjoyed the series of sparrow photos very much but I did not recall seeing the House Sparrow, [which is] often taken for granted. These birds intrigue me for a number of reasons not the least of which is the history of how they came to be here.…
grrlscientist | November 17, 2007tags: white-crowned sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys, birds, Image of the Day
White-crowned sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys, in the central valley of California.
Image: Madhu [larger view].
grrlscientist | November 16, 2007tags: song sparrow, Melospiza melodia, birds, Image of the Day
A friend who is a professor of Biology at KSU sent me a bunch of lovely images of sparrows that he took recently while birding. The song sparrow is one of the species that I studied for my dissertation work, although most of my dissertation focused on the white-crowned sparrow. These images are scheduled to appear daily at 3 pm from 6 November through 16 November.
Song sparrow, Melospiza melodia.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger size].
grrlscientist | November 15, 2007tags: swamp sparrow, Melospiza georgiana, birds, Image of the Day
A friend who is a professor of Biology at KSU sent me a bunch of lovely images of sparrows that he took recently while birding. These images are scheduled to appear daily at 3 pm from 6 November through 16 November.
Swamp sparrow, Melospiza georgiana.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger size].
grrlscientist | November 14, 2007tags: Lincoln's sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, birds, Image of the Day
A friend who is a professor of Biology at KSU sent me a bunch of lovely images of sparrows that he took recently while birding. These images are scheduled to appear daily at 3 pm from 6 November through 16 November.
Lincoln's sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger size].
grrlscientist | November 13, 2007tags: Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula, birds, Image of the Day
A friend who is a professor of Biology at KSU sent me a bunch of lovely images of sparrows along with this non-sparrow, that he took recently while birding. These images are scheduled to appear daily at 3 pm from 6 November through 16 November.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger size].
grrlscientist | November 12, 2007tags: song sparrow, Melospiza melodia, birds, Image of the Day
A friend who is a professor of Biology at KSU sent me a bunch of lovely images of sparrows that he took recently while birding. The song sparrow is one of the species that I studied for my dissertation work, although most of my dissertation focused on the white-crowned sparrow. These images are scheduled to appear daily at 3 pm from 6 November through 16 November.
Song sparrow, Melospiza melodia.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger size].
grrlscientist | November 12, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Song sparrow, Melospiza melodia.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger size].
Birds in Science
Dinosaurs like Velociraptors had one of the most efficient respiratory systems of all animals, similar to that of modern diving birds like penguins, fossil evidence shows. The bipedal meat-eaters, the therapods, had air sacs ventilated by tiny bones that moved the ribcage up and down. "Finding these structures in modern birds and their extinct dinosaur ancestors suggests that these running dinosaurs had an efficient respiratory…
grrlscientist | November 12, 2007tags: book review, nature writing, birding, bird watching, collected essays, All Things Reconsidered, Roger Tory Peterson
Like most birders, I never met Roger Tory Peterson, although I do own several editions of his definitive field guides for identifying the birds of North America. However, thanks to Bill Thompson, who collected and edited 42 of RTP's best essays from his regular "Bird Watcher's Digest" column into one volume, All Things Reconsidered: My Birding Adventures by Roger Tory Peterson (NYC: Houghton Mifflin; 2006) you will feel as though you have spent several days in RTP's…
grrlscientist | November 11, 2007tags: Lincoln's sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, birds, Image of the Day
A friend who is a professor of Biology at KSU sent me a bunch of lovely images of sparrows that he took recently while birding. These images are scheduled to appear daily at 3 pm from 6 November through 16 November.
Lincoln's sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger size].
grrlscientist | November 10, 2007tags: swamp sparrow, Melospiza georgiana, birds, Image of the Day
A friend who is a professor of Biology at KSU sent me a bunch of lovely images of sparrows that he took recently while birding. These images are scheduled to appear daily at 3 pm from 6 November through 16 November.
Swamp sparrow, Melospiza georgiana.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger size].
grrlscientist | November 9, 2007tags: book review, birds, birding, bird watching, ornithology, conservation
When I was leading bird watching excursions on the west coast and we were looking at a species that was declining in the wild or was endangered, I made a point to mention this fact to my students. It was important, I thought, to impress upon them that the birds around them might not always be there to enjoy, that these birds were in need of protection.
"How do you know they're declining in the wild?" my students would invariably ask.
I learned such things after years of reading about birds, and by discussing…
grrlscientist | November 9, 2007tags: song sparrow, Melospiza melodia, birds, Image of the Day
A friend who is a professor of Biology at KSU sent me a bunch of lovely images of sparrows that he took recently while birding. The song sparrow is one of the species that I studied for my dissertation work, although most of my dissertation focused on the white-crowned sparrow. These images are scheduled to appear daily at 3 pm from 6 November through 16 November.
Song sparrow, Melospiza melodia.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger size].
grrlscientist | November 8, 2007tags: savannah sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis, birds, Image of the Day
A friend who is a professor of Biology at KSU sent me a bunch of lovely images of sparrows that he took recently while birding. These images are scheduled to appear daily at 3 pm from 6 November through 16 November.
Savannah sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [wallpaper size].
grrlscientist | November 7, 2007tags: Lincoln's sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, birds, Image of the Day
A friend who is a professor of Biology at KSU sent me a bunch of lovely images of sparrows that he took recently while birding. These images are scheduled to appear daily at 3 pm from 6 November through 16 November.
Lincoln's sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger size].