birds
grrlscientist | March 30, 2010tags: evolution, evolutionary biology, UV light, flight, dinosaur, dromaeosaur, theropods, Microraptor gui, paleontology, fossils, birds, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper, journal club
Figure 1. The holotype of Microraptor gui, IVPP V 13352 under normal light. This shows the preserved feathers (white arrow) and the 'halo' around the specimen where they appear to be absent (black arrows). Scale bar at 5 cm. [larger view]
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009223
It has long been known that when exposed to ultraviolent light, fossilized bones and shells -- and even…
grrlscientist | March 30, 2010tags: 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, 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.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 29, 2010tags: Laysan Teal, Laysan Duck, Anas laysanensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Laysan Duck, also known as the Laysan Teal, Anas laysanensis, 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 [larger view].
NOTE: Unless you are a beginning bird watcher, PLEASE wait 24 hours before identifying this bird. (Intermediate-expert birders are encouraged to use puns, anagrams, poetry references or citations, Monty Python quotes or anything else that tickles your fancy to…
grrlscientist | March 28, 2010tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My piles of books are 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 | March 28, 2010tags: Cape Thick-Knee, Spotted Dikkop, Spotted Thick-Knee, Burhinus capensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Spotted Thick-Knee, also known as the Cape Thick-Knee or the Spotted Dikkop, Burhinus capensis, photographed in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 18 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm VR lens with 1.4 extender. ISO 400, 1/1600 sec, f/6.3. Exposure compensation -1.3.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date…
grrlscientist | March 27, 2010tags: Water Dikkop, Water Thick-knee, Burhinus vermiculatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Water Dikkop, also known as the Water Thick-knee, Burhinus vermiculatus, photographed near the Kilombero River, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 9 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm VR lens. ISO 320, 1/800 sec, f/7.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 26, 2010tags: Upland Plover, Bartram's Sandpiper, Upland Sandpiper, Bartramia longicauda, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Upland Sandpiper, also known as the Upland Plover or as Bartram's Sandpiper, Bartramia longicauda, photographed in Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, Angelton, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 23 March 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/250s 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 26, 2010tags: Sanderlings Schiermonnikoog, birds, birding, wildlife, humans, conservation, education, streaming video
This is a sweet little video about the Sanderlings that nested on the Niederlande beach of Schiermonnikoog. However, in just a few short years, they are rarely seen there. Why? This video provides some hypotheses.
There is a brief mention of a book (in Dutch) at the end. I've never seen it, don't own it and have absolutely no vested interest in it or anything involved with it.
grrlscientist | March 25, 2010tags: Paddyfield Pipit, Anthus rufulus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Paddyfield Pipit, Anthus rufulus, photographed on the Yamuna River, New Delhi, India. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Adrian White, November [larger view].
Nikon D40x with 70-300AF.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
HINT: I think you can narrow this bird down to one of two very similar species.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 24, 2010tags: Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis, Diomedea immutabilis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria (Diomedea) immutabilis, 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 [larger view].
NOTE: Unless you are a beginning bird watcher, PLEASE wait 24 hours before identifying this bird. (Intermediate-expert birders are encouraged to use puns, anagrams, poetry references or citations, Monty Python quotes or anything else that tickles…
grrlscientist | March 23, 2010tags: Red-footed Booby, Sula sula, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-footed Booby, Sula sula, 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 [larger view].
NOTE: Unless you are a beginning bird watcher, PLEASE wait 24 hours before identifying this bird. (Intermediate-expert birders are encouraged to use puns, anagrams, poetry references or citations, Monty Python quotes or anything else that tickles your fancy to indicate you've identified this species during…
grrlscientist | March 22, 2010tags: Wideawake, Wideawake Tern, Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscata, Sterna fuscata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Sooty Tern, also known as the Wideawake Tern or simply as the Wideawake, Onychoprion (Sterna) fuscata, photographed out of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Paul Sweet, 4 August 2007 [larger view].
NOTE: Unless you are a beginning bird watcher, PLEASE wait 24 hours before identifying this bird. (Intermediate-expert birders are encouraged to use puns, anagrams, poetry references or citations, Monty Python…
grrlscientist | March 21, 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 | March 21, 2010tags: Life, Discovery Channel, Reptiles and Amphibians, Waterfall Toad Leap from Danger, animals, mammals, birds, BBC, television, streaming video
Gail Weiswasser at the Discovery channel emailed a few days ago to tell me about TONIGHT's premiere on the Discovery Channel of BBC's LIFE, the 11-part follow up to PLANET EARTH (the most successful natural history documentary of all time). While PLANET EARTH told the story of the natural world through the framework of our planet's ecosystems and regions, LIFE takes us on a more intimate journey, introducing different animal and plant groups, using…
grrlscientist | March 21, 2010tags: Chelicut Kingfisher, Striped Kingfisher, Halcyon chelicuti, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Striped Kingfisher, also sometimes known as the Chelicut Kingfisher, Halcyon chelicuti, photographed near the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 13 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm VR lens, ISO 800, 1/1600 sec, f/7.1, Exposure compensation 0..
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 20, 2010tags: Pink-breasted Lark, Mirafra poecilosterna, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pink-breasted Lark, Mirafra poecilosterna, photographed near the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 13 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm VR lens, ISO 800, 1/1600 sec, f/7.1, Exposure compensation 0..
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
HINT 1: this species is in the Alaudidae family and was first described by a German.
HINT 2: anagram of scientific name included in comment…
grrlscientist | March 20, 2010tags: Life, Discovery Channel, Reptiles and Amphibians, Komodo Dragons Hunt Buffalo, animals, mammals, birds, BBC, television, streaming video
Gail Weiswasser at the Discovery channel emailed a few days ago to tell me about the upcoming March 21 premiere on the Discovery Channel of BBC's LIFE, the 11-part follow up to PLANET EARTH (the most successful natural history documentary of all time). While PLANET EARTH told the story of the natural world through the framework of our planet's ecosystems and regions, LIFE takes us on a more intimate journey, introducing different animal and plant…
grrlscientist | March 19, 2010tags: Great Thick-Knees, Greater Thick-Knees, Esacus recurvirostris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Great Thick-Knees, also known as the Greater Thick-Knees, Esacus recurvirostris, photographed on the Kosi River, Ramnagar, North 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.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 19, 2010tags: Life, Discovery Channel, BBC, Challenges of Life, Stalk-Eyed Fly, animals, mammals, birds, television, streaming video
Gail Weiswasser at the Discovery channel emailed a few days ago to tell me about the upcoming March 21 premiere of BBC's LIFE on the Discovery Channel. LIFE is the 11-part follow up to PLANET EARTH (the most successful natural history documentary of all time). While PLANET EARTH told the story of the natural world through the framework of our planet's ecosystems and regions, LIFE takes us on a more intimate journey, introducing different animal and plant groups, using…
grrlscientist | March 18, 2010tags: blue shank, American Avocet, Recurvirostra americana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] American Avocet, also known as the blue shank, Recurvirostra americana, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Richard Ditch, 25 February 2010 [larger view]. You are encouraged to purchase photographs from this photographer. I am happy to email his contact information to you.
Exposure Time: 1/400
F-Number: 8.00
ISO: 200
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.