ornithology
tetrapodzoology | November 10, 2010Back in July 2009 I wrote an article on what little I knew (and had read) about lightning strikes and animal deaths [in composite image below, lightning image by John R. Southern; Angolan giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis by Hans Hillewaert. Both from wikipedia].
As discussed therein, there are a few cases on record where African bush elephants Loxodonta africana have died after lightning strikes, and there are also references here and there to deaths of wild deer and rhino caused by lightning (so far, I've found one technical paper: Zele et al. (2006)). More impressive are the…
tetrapodzoology | October 14, 2010
The recent, brief foray into Shoebill territory made now a sensible time to use a few other Shoebill-based images I have here in the Tet Zoo archives. That, and I haven't been able to finish anything more substantive due to other commitments. We begin with a lateral view of a skull I once photographed - sorry about the crazy colours, once again my fantastic photographic skills have done me proud (this image is a scan of a piece of special paper featuring the image... I think it's called a photograph [thanks to Victor for providing modified versions]).
Note how robust the jugal is (the thick…
tetrapodzoology | October 9, 2010Do you remember this post, all about a birthday card I received in 2009? (go check, then come straight back here). The picture - which I like very much - is by Elizabeth Diggins of Oakwood Artists, and I'm not the only one who likes it: it was placed runner-up in BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year competition 2010. Well, here's me, with Liz and the illustration itself, at an exhibition last night...
Funnily enough, there are a few personally relevant things here. Firstly, a Shoebill also appears on the cover of Tetrapod Zoology Book One. Secondly, the model that Liz used for her drawing has…
tetrapodzoology | September 27, 2010
Among one of many interesting and perplexing Mesozoic fossil assemblages is that known from Cornet, Romania. I've been really interested in this collection of archosaur remains - currently housed at the Tarii Crisurilor Museum, Oradea - ever since I first heard about it in the 1990s, and recently I've been lucky enough to work with Gareth Dyke, Michael Benton and Erika Posmosanu in re-evaluating the more controversial of the Cornet fossils: namely, those claimed to represent a bizarre and motley assortment of Mesozoic birds and pterosaurs. Our paper on these fossils has just been published…
tetrapodzoology | September 24, 2010
For no particular reason, here are some interesting raptor photos. Birds of many kinds often sit around with their wings only partially folded, partly hanging down at their sides; one reason for this is that they're sun-bathing and are using their wings to soak up heat. Among raptors, this behaviour is well known for Turkey vultures Cathartes aura in particular. But many others do it, and here's another New World vulture (cathartid), an Andean condor Vultur gryphus, doing the same thing [photo by Markus Bühler, taken at Berlin Zoo].
During cold weather, captive Andean condors are reported…
tetrapodzoology | August 6, 2010A challenge for you (albeit another easy one): what species, and what activity, do these photos represent? I'll give you a few clues...
On second thoughts, I won't. Well, all I'll say is that the photos were taken in the New Forest in southern England and show one of the region's most famous birds. Tell me more!
Photos by Tara Dempsey, used with permission.
UPDATE (added 9th August 2010): Many thanks to all of you for your guesses. Many of you got it right, or mostly right. What we're looking at here is a juvenile Dartford warbler Sylvia undata, shown impaled on gorse spines. Admittedly,…
tetrapodzoology | July 23, 2010
Regular readers will, hopefully, have shared my surprise on learning - firstly - that oystercatchers are sometimes 'captured' and killed by bivalves, and - secondly - that someone was clever enough to photograph such an occurrence and publish it (Baldwin 1946). Prior to seeing Baldwin's paper, I might well have imagined that such cases can occur occasionally, but I wasn't aware of anyone recording them.
Today I'm very pleased to report that I'm now aware of numerous additional such occurrences: I owe a huge debt of thanks to Tet Zoo regular Dartian, who went ferreting through the…
grrlscientist | July 20, 2010tags: Magnificent Frigatebird, Man O'War, Fregata magnificens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Magnificent Frigatebird, sometimes known as the Man O'War, Fregata magnificens, photographed at Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary, Brazoria County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 15 July 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This bird is built for speed and agility in the air and is…
grrlscientist | July 19, 2010tags: Reddish Egret, Egretta rufescens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Reddish Egret, Egretta rufescens, photographed at Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary, Brazoria County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 15 July 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This lovely species was nearly exterminated in the US by hunters who killed the birds for their plumes. The population is small…
grrlscientist | July 18, 2010tags: Black Kite, Milvus migrans, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black Kite, Milvus migrans, photographed at Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 23 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, with 600 mm lens with 1.4 extender, ISO 320, 1/350 sec f/5.6.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
You've seen this African species before, but may not remember, but there are plenty of family members in North America that you are familiar with, so if you cannot identify this…
grrlscientist | July 17, 2010tags: Gray Wren-warbler, Zambia Wren-warbler, Western Wren-warbler, Calamonastes simplex, Lesser Striped Swallow, Striped Swallow, Hirundo abyssinica, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird]Gray Wren-warbler (perched), also known as a Zambia Wren-warbler or Western Wren-warbler, Calamonastes simplex, and a Lesser Striped Swallow (flying), also known as a Striped Swallow, Hirundo abyssinica, photographed near the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 14 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300s, 600 mm VR lens. ISO…
grrlscientist | July 16, 2010tags: White Tern, Gygis alba, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] The White Tern is known by more alternate names than a con-artist, also being known as the Angel Tern, Common White-tern, Common White Tern, Little White Tern, Little Fairy Tern, Fairy Tern, Little White-tern, Little Fairy-tern, and even (since it lives in tropical oceans of the world) as the Atlantic White Tern, Gygis alba (formerly; Gygis microrhyncha), photographed on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge -- one of the most remote coral atolls on earth -- a US territory in the north Pacific Ocean [I will…
grrlscientist | July 15, 2010tags: Bicolored Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus gubernator, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Fledgling Bicolored Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus gubernator, photographed at Las Gallinas Wildlife Ponds, Marin County, California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 13 May 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This mystery bird is quite challenging to identify, but for those of you who can ID this…
tetrapodzoology | July 14, 2010
A little while back we looked at the claws, bony knobs and other structures present on the hands of certain palaeognaths, waterfowl and other birds. Time to look at more of this sort of stuff - I kind of got distracted by lapwing taxonomy, so this is all going on for a bit longer than expected, sorry. Anyway...
Charadriiformes - waders, gulls and relatives - are also notable in including species that possess spurs and other peculiar forelimb structures. At least three jacanas have spurs: the Northern jacana [shown in the adjacent image, from wikipedia] is named for this feature, being known…
grrlscientist | July 14, 2010tags: Red-throated Loon, Red-throated Diver, Gavia stellata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-throated Loon, also known as the Red-throated Diver, Gavia stellata, photographed at Bodega Bay, California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 12 May 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This bird has a character that sets it apart from the others in the same genus and family, and this…
grrlscientist | July 13, 2010tags: Least Bittern, North American Bittern, Ixobrychus exilis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Least Bittern, Ixobrychus exilis, photographed at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Anahuac, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 July 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Why are these bird's eyes placed in such a strange way on its head?
This bird's eyes are placed in a pointing down way…
grrlscientist | July 12, 2010tags: Swallow-tailed Kite, Fork-tailed Hawk, Swallow-tailed Hawk, Snake Hawk, Fish Hawk, Elanoides forficatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Swallow-tailed Kite, also known by a bunch of other common names, such as the Fork-tailed Hawk, Swallow-tailed Hawk, Snake Hawk and Fish Hawk, Elanoides forficatus, photographed at Double Bayou Park, Chambers County, Anahuac, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 26 June 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/400s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please…
grrlscientist | July 11, 2010tags: Irania, White-throated Robin, Irania gutturalis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Irania, also known as the White-throated Robin, Irania gutturalis, photographed at Nyumba ya Mungu Reservoir, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 14 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm VR lens. ISO 500 1/400 sec, f/6.3.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
tetrapodzoology | July 11, 2010Inspired both by the clam catches oystercatcher story, and by Greg Laden's coverage of oystercatcher learning and predation behaviour, I thought it an opportune time to recycle the following from Tet Zoo ver 1. It originally appeared as one of my Ten Bird Meme posts of 2006...
One of my most favourite birds is the extraordinary, charismatic, beautifully interesting oystercatcher (meaing Eurasian oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus: adjacent photo by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, from wikipedia). One of ten or eleven extant haematopodid species, it sports pied plumage, pinkish legs, and has…
grrlscientist | July 10, 2010tags: Green Barbet, Stactolaema olivacea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Green Barbet, Stactolaema olivacea, photographed at Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 10 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 200-400 VR lens at 400 mm., ISO 800, 1/640 sec, f/7.1.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.