birds
grrlscientist | April 16, 2010tags: Brown Noddy, Common Noddy, Anous stolidus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Brown Noddy, also known as the Common Noddy, Anous stolidus, photographed on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Midway Island, Hawai'i. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joe Fuhrman, March 2010. I encourage you to purchase images from this professional photographer.
NOTE: PLEASE name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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grrlscientist | April 15, 2010tags: Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus, photographed at the Main River, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: GrrlScientist, 14 April 2010 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
here's another look at this species, to give you an idea of the region of the bird that I was photographing (the wing, mostly).
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jgoldman | April 15, 2010Do animals create art? So far, this seems a uniquely human ability.
But do animals have a sense of the aesthetically pleasing? What about the ability to judge and critique art? Can an animal decide if a given work of art is beautiful or ugly? What is beauty in the first place? All good questions.
Shigeru Watanabe of Keio University in Tokyo wanted to investigate the questions, with pigeons. Did he introduce them to the works of Picasso? Or Rembrandt? Romero Britto? No. He used art created by children.
Figure 1: Your kid's newest art critic.
Before we get into his experiment, lets take a…
grrlscientist | April 14, 2010tags: Great Argus Pheasant, Argusianus argus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Great Argus Pheasant, Argusianus argus, photographed in the Senkenberg Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: GrrlScientist, 13 April 2010 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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grrlscientist | April 12, 2010tags: Dusky Kinglet, Ruby-crown, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ruby-crowned Kinglet, also known as the Dusky Kinglet or as the Ruby-Crown, Regulus calendula, photographed on the Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 10 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/180s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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grrlscientist | April 10, 2010tags: African Skimmer, Rynchops flavirostris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] African Skimmer, Rynchops flavirostris, photographed mystery location Nyamba ya Mungo, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 14 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 x 1.4 lens ISO 320, 1/1000 sec, f/6.3. Exp comp +.3
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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grrlscientist | April 9, 2010tags: Pied Crested Kingfisher, Crested Kingfisher, Megaceryle lugubris, Alcedo lugubris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pied Crested Kingfisher, Crested Kingfisher, Megaceryle (Alcedo) lugubris, photographed at Kosi River, Ramnagar, India. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: John Kneeshaw [larger view].
Canon EOS 40D with 300mmAF lens.
What sex is this bird and upon what are you basing that assessment?
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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grrlscientist | April 8, 2010tags: evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, molecular ecology, personality, novelty seeking, exploratory behavior, dopamine receptor, dopamine receptor D4 gene, DRD4 gene polymorphism, ornithology, birds, Great Tit, Parus major, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper
Bold or cautious? Individuals with a particular gene variant are very curious --
but only in some populations.
Image: Henk Dikkers.
Research suggests that personality variations are heritable in humans and other animal species, and there are many hypotheses as to why differences in personality…
grrlscientist | April 8, 2010tags: Pacific Golden-Plover, Asian Golden-Plover, Eastern Golden-Plover, Pluvialis fulva, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pacific Golden-Plover, also known as the Asian Golden-Plover or Eastern Golden-Plover, Pluvialis fulva, photographed on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Midway Island, Hawai'i. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Image: Joe Fuhrman, March 2010. I encourage you to purchase images from this professional photographer.
This migratory bird that visits North America as well as countries on the other side of the Pacific Ocean shares a…
grrlscientist | April 7, 2010tags: Butcherbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Loggerhead Shrike, also known as the Butcherbird, Lanius ludovicianus, photographed on the Katy Prairie, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/80s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This mystery bird has a weird common name .. can anyone tell me why it has such an odd name?
Review…
grrlscientist | April 6, 2010tags: Razorbill, Alca torda, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Razorbill, Alca torda, photographed at the Machias Seal Island, Maine. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Paul Sweet, 26 May 2008 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
These stunning birds are the only member of their genus -- can you identify it? As a bonus question, can you tell me about one of its famous relatives?
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grrlscientist | April 5, 2010tags: Lake Gull, Common Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ring-billed Gull, also known as the Common Gull or Lake Gull, Larus delawarensis, photographed at Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, March 2010 [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.
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grrlscientist | April 4, 2010tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My piles of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.
~ Arnold Lobel [1933-1987] author of many popular children's books.
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…
grrlscientist | April 4, 2010tags: birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] photographed in mystery world location. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours, unless I've eaten them all first]
Image: orphaned [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This flock of birds is easy to ID, so I am "upping the ante" by also asking you to give me these birds' scientific name, traditional geographic range, age and gender! Can you do this?
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laelaps | April 4, 2010A short-billed dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus), photographed in Cape May, New Jersey.
grrlscientist | April 3, 2010tags: African Pied Wagtail, Motacilla aguimp, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Pied Wagtail, Motacilla aguimp, photographed in East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 12 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm lens ISO 320, 1/200 sec, f/ 7.1 Exp comp -.3
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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grrlscientist | April 2, 2010tags: Collared Scops-Owl, Otus lettia, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Collared Scops-Owl, Otus lettia, photographed on the Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Adrian White [larger view].
Nikon D40x with 70-300AF.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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laelaps | April 1, 2010American avocets (Recurvirostra americana), photographed at Antelope Island, Utah.
grrlscientist | April 1, 2010tags: Short-billed Dowitcher, Limnodromus griseus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Short-billed Dowitcher, Limnodromus griseus, photographed on Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, March 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s 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 | March 31, 2010tags: Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus, photographed at the Perry Nature Area near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 21 March 2010 [larger view]. You are encouraged to purchase photographs from this photographer. I am happy to email his contact information to you.
Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.