birds
grrlscientist | December 8, 2007tags: Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorous rufus, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting on 5 December and going daily through the 12th of December. I will likely be publishing more of his images here in the future, as well. But until then, be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Male Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorous…
grrlscientist | December 7, 2007tags: Costa's Hummingbird, Calypte costae, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting on 5 December and going daily through the 12th of December. I will likely be publishing more of his images here in the future, as well. But until then, be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Male Costa's Hummingbird, Calypte costae.…
grrlscientist | December 7, 2007tags: hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, Psittacus e. erithacus, African grey parrot, streaming video
This is an amusing streaming video of Bibi, an African grey parrot who clearly enjoys talking. [0:53]
Dirty Bird
grrlscientist | December 6, 2007tags: Eclectus roratus solomonensis, parrots, pets, birds, avian, behavior
Sophie, a female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis,
who looks just like my own Elektra.
Image: Courtesy of Denise and Dave Bell/Eclectus House.
As I had mentioned earlier, I am playing host to a surprise house guest, so my birds are behaving in new and different ways than usual. The usually stoic Elektra, my Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, has been especially mischievous.
Yesterday morning, all the birds were out and the hawk-headed parrot (still…
grrlscientist | December 6, 2007tags: Black-chinned Hummingbird, Archilochus alexandri, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting on 5 December and going daily through the 12th of December. I will likely be publishing more of his images here in the future, as well. But until then, be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Black-chinned Hummingbird,…
grrlscientist | December 6, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, evolutionary behavior, sociobiology, ornithology, birds, avian, evolution, William Dilger, Agapornis roseicollis, Agapornis fischeri, lovebirds
Peach-faced lovebirds, Agapornis roseicollis (left)
and Fischer's lovebirds, Agapornis fischeri (right),
can interbreed to produce sterile offspring.
Images: LoveBirds New Zealand.
Is behavior genetically "programmed" or is it the result of learning? Or is it instead a little bit of both? This is the old "nature versus nurture" argument that has occupied behavioral and evolutionary scientists, psychologists and even…
grrlscientist | December 5, 2007tags: Broad-billed Hummingbird, Cynanthus latirostris, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting today and going daily through the 12th of December. I would love to publish more of his images here but I didn't want to be selfish and take advantage of his generosity. Be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Male Broad-…
grrlscientist | December 4, 2007tags: laughing gull, Larus atricilla, birds, Image of the Day
A basic (winter) plumage Laughing Gull, Larus atricilla.
Image: Scott Lewis. [Much larger view].
grrlscientist | December 3, 2007tags: Great-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus, birds, Image of the Day
Great-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus.
Image: The Ridger [wallpaper size].
grrlscientist | December 3, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
A brown pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, relaxes on a people-watching and photography trip at the Port Aransas Birding Center, Texas.
Image: Scott Lewis [MUCH larger view].
Birds in Science
A £200,000 study into what happens when people hear birdsong is taking off. Researchers at Aberdeen University in Great Britain will spend two years listening to birds to find out how their songs, calls and cries become a part of people's lives. "Listening to birds: an anthropological approach to bird sounds" has received…
grrlscientist | December 1, 2007tags: great blue heron, Ardea herodias, birds, Image of the Day
Hrm, maybe I can see better if I tilt my head like this?
A brown pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, tries digiscoping at the Port Aransas Birding Center, Texas.
Image: Scott Lewis [MUCH larger view].
grrlscientist | November 30, 2007tags: parrots, behavior
My hawk-headed parrot is teething. Or, because she's a parrot and thus, has no teeth, she is "beaking". Except she typically proceeds quickly from "beaking" (testing substances with her beak) to puncturing or otherwise destroying various objects -- "chomping", if you will. So, for your amusement, I have compiled a list of objects that she has "beaked" and "chomped" so far;
Beaked;
DVDs
CDs
the blanket on my futon
my futon mattress
my fingers
several books (I rescued them before she made "v" shaped punctures in their covers and pages)
the refrigerator
my…
grrlscientist | November 30, 2007tags: great blue heron, Ardea herodias, birds, Image of the Day
Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, engaging in peculiar behavior at the Port Aransas Birding Center, Texas.
Image: Scott Lewis [larger view].
Does anyone know the purpose for this behavior?
grrlscientist | November 29, 2007tags: birds, bird sex chromosomes, ZZ, ZW, parrots, sex identification, molecular biology
Evolution of Avian and Mammalian sex chromosomes.
Image: E.R.S. Roldan and Montserrat Gomendio "The Y chromosome as a battle ground for sexual selection" Trends in Ecology & Evolution 1999, 14:58-62.
You all are probably curious to know what is happening with my birds these days, so I shall tell you about how sex is identified in birds, such as parrots, where the sexes look the same. But wait a minute, you ask, what does an update about my birds have to do with identifying sex in parrots?
You…
grrlscientist | November 29, 2007tags: birds, birding, bird watching, blog carnival, I and the Bird
The 63rd edition of I and the Bird blog carnival is now available for your reading pleasure. It's a big one, as usual, which always pleases me -- of all the things that a person can write about on their blog, birds and birdwatching are high on everyone's list. Of course, they saw fit to include a contribution from me, too, which also makes me happy.
grrlscientist | November 26, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Swainson's Hawk, Buteo swainsoni, in flight.
Image: Justawriter [wallpaper size].
People Hurting Birds
An extremely rare lesser spotted eagle, shot earlier this year by dumbass human hunters on the island of Malta, has been saved from death but may never be able to return to the wild. The bird, nicknamed Sigmar after Germany's environmental minister, underwent three operations to repair damage it suffered after being shot, but it may not be enough for the bird to live in the wild again. The bird can feed itself and…
grrlscientist | November 25, 2007tags: Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, birds, NYC, Central Park, Image of the Day
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [wallpaper size].
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.