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grrlscientist | November 22, 2008tags: Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Steve Sosensky [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
It's always a good idea to figure out just what parts of the bird you're seeing; it isn't always obvious. This chunky, lax-plumaged waterbird is in profile, with its aft end to the right and its breast at…
grrlscientist | November 21, 2008tags: Pied-billed Grebe chick, Podilymbus podiceps, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pied-billed Grebe chick, Podilymbus podiceps, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: John del Rio [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
You probably don't know that these photos are usually sent to me without the "answer." But like most of you, I knew right away what this worth-two-in-the-bush nub of stringy fluff was; or did I…
grrlscientist | November 20, 2008tags: Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, birds, bird ID quiz, mystery bird
[Mystery bird] Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, photographed at Hermann Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 March 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/250s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Look at that tail! The elegant black-and-white patterning of this duck told us at first glance…
grrlscientist | November 19, 2008tags: Cassin's Kingbird, Tyrannus vociferans, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Cassin's Kingbird, Tyrannus vociferans, photographed in the central Sonora of Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Rick Wright [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Sometimes it's the lousy views that are the most instructive, and this view -- so lousy as to be nearly impolite -- is chockfull of information that most of the standard field guides won't…
grrlscientist | November 18, 2008tags: Phainopepla, Phainopepla nitens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Female Phainopepla, Phainopepla nitens photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 2006 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2006:05:21 06:26:05
Exposure Time: 1/249
F-Number: 13.00
ISO: 200
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
There are birds that are instantly recognizable once we "know" them, but those same species can be puzzling when encountered…
grrlscientist | November 17, 2008tags: Hoatzin, Opisthocomus hoazin, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Hoatzin, Opisthocomus hoazin, photographed in South America [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Indonesian Parrot Project [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Are these real birds? As anyone who has enjoyed a slow cruise along a South American river will attest, they are real -- so real that they have been made the national bird of Guyana.
The mangrove thicket…
grrlscientist | November 16, 2008tags: African Scops-Owl, Otus senegalensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Scops-Owl, Otus senegalensis, photographed in subsaharan Africa. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Thomas Dressler, 2008.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
I'm at a loss. I know where this bird was photographed, and so I know what it has to be, but I fail miserably at the little test I like to set myself: could I identify this bird correctly if I discovered it…
grrlscientist | November 15, 2008tags: Male Von der Decken's Hornbill, Tockus deckeni, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Male Von der Decken's Hornbill, Tockus deckeni, endemic to savanna and woodland of sub-Saharan Africa. Photographed in the African Bird Safari at London Zoo. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: GrrlScientist, 2 September 2008 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
What a crazy-looking bird this one is! With that huge bill and long tail, it can only be…
grrlscientist | November 14, 2008tags: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pheucticus ludovicianus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pheucticus ludovicianus, photographed at Sabine Woods and Sabine Pass area, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 28 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/125s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
This bird is closely related to the cardinals, as a…
grrlscientist | November 13, 2008tags: Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, photographed in Manhattan, Kansas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Dave Rintoul, 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
This is a small, medium-tailed, fat-bodied, big-headed, huge-billed sparrow. And that's probably enough: many birders would be able to identify this bird just from that description without…
grrlscientist | November 12, 2008tags: Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Stelgidopteryx serripennis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Stelgidopteryx serripennis, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 2006 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2006:03:12 09:45:40
Exposure Time: 1/249
F-Number: 14.00
ISO: 200
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Look at those wings! They're obviously long, and we can roughly quantify their…
grrlscientist | November 11, 2008tags: Mallard duckling, Anas platyrhynchos, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Mallard duckling, Anas platyrhynchos, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 2008 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2008:04:22 07:35:53
Exposure Time: 1/319
F-Number: 11.00
ISO: 320
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Any doubt that this is a duck? Happily, most downy waterfowl are encountered in the presence of their more easily…
grrlscientist | November 10, 2008tags: Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, photographed at Hermann Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 March 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/200s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
This photo should fill you with a flush of accomplishment: rather than running to the field…
grrlscientist | November 9, 2008tags: Superb Starling, Lamprotornis superbus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Superb Starling, Lamprotornis superbus (sometimes known as the "Spreo" starling because its scientific name was Spreo superbus once), endemic to thornbush and acacia country in Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and East Africa. Photographed at London Zoo's African Bird Safari. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: GrrlScientist, 2 September 2008 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Based on the fact that this bird is endemic to many parts…
grrlscientist | November 8, 2008tags: Eurasian Wigeon, Anas penelope, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eurasian Wigeon, Anas penelope (also known simply as the Wigeon in Europe), photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 2004 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2004:12:11 10:29:27
Exposure Time: 1/319
F-Number: 11.00
ISO: 320
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Starting at the rear of this handsome duck, we find a long, pointed tail and white-edged…
grrlscientist | November 7, 2008tags: Orchard Oriole, Icterus spurius, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Orchard Oriole, Icterus spurius, photographed at Sabine Woods and Sabine Pass area, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 28 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Like many North American birders, I grew up where "the oriole problem" was a trivial…
grrlscientist | November 6, 2008tags: Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea, photographed at Quintana Sanctuaries, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 14 April 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/200s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
A blue bird. With a short tail. A moderately short wing. And a thickish bill. Not much else…
grrlscientist | November 5, 2008tags: Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus -- a hatching-year bird of unknown sex -- photographed in central New York. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Rick Wright [larger view].
NOTE: Rick says this is a favorite image because it shows the wing formula so well, so in this case, we are going to ask you to age and sex this bird as well as identify it.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide,…
grrlscientist | November 4, 2008tags: politics, birdie message, image of the day
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George, 2008 [larger view].
grrlscientist | November 4, 2008tags: Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Female Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea, photographed at the east end of Galveston Island, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 16 April 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/125s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Hard to image anything plainer. But that very plainness -- plus the odd hint…