ornithology
grrlscientist | October 5, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
"Magpie Menace"
Pete Marshall, 2009, Oil [larger view].
Birds in Science
By genetically modifying the brains of songbirds for the first time, scientists may have a devised useful new tool for studying neurological growth and healing in humans. "Songbirds have become a classic tool for studying vocal learning and neuron replacement. This will bring those two topics into the molecular age," said neuroscientist Fernando Nottebohm of Rockefeller University, author of a study published recently in the Proceedings of the…
grrlscientist | October 5, 2009tags: Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa, photographed in a backyard in Stanwood, Washington. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 27 September 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm Nikon VR lens ISO 800 1/80 f/5.6.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
tetrapodzoology | October 5, 2009
Thanks to everyone who had a go at identifying the Moroccan passerine pictured here yesterday, and shown here again. As virtually everyone said, it's a female or juvenile male redstart (Phoenicurus). The fact that it was seen in Morocco in December makes an identification as Common redstart P. phoenicurus unlikely, as this species winters further south than the Atlas Mountains. At the time I ruled out this species, as the bird shown here has a browny/greyish breast (rather than a buffy/orange one) and a very pale eye ring. Moussier's redstart P. moussieri - which also occurs in the region…
grrlscientist | October 4, 2009tags: Tropical Boubou, Laniarius aethiopicus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Tropical Boubou, Laniarius aethiopicus, photographed in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 8 August 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, ISO 800, 200-400 VR lens at 360 mm. 1/60 sec, f/4.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Regarding distinguishing the Tropical Boubou vs Black-backed Puffback, the photographer writes;
The Tropical Boubou has a black eye, the puffback a red eye.
Boubou…
tetrapodzoology | October 4, 2009Here's a bird I saw in the snowy Atlas Mountains last year...
Can you tell me what it is, and - better (as I know the answer) - can you tell me something interesting about it? Photo by Bob Loveridge.
grrlscientist | October 3, 2009tags: Coqui Francolin, Francolinus coqui, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Male Coqui Francolin, Francolinus coqui, photographed in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 31 August 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 VR lens at 250 mm ISO 400 1/350 f/4.5.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | October 2, 2009tags: Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus banksii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus banksii, also known as Bank's Black Cockatoo, photographed at Walgett, New South Wales, Australia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 18 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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tetrapodzoology | October 1, 2009I received some really nice cards for my birthday last week. But this has to be my favourite... (oh, after the one from the kids of course)...
I mean, how often do you see Balaeniceps rex on a birthday card? Not often enough in my view (with a nod to those who have a phobia of this daunting bird). The image is by Elizabeth Diggins. Thank you Tina!
grrlscientist | October 1, 2009tags: White morph Reddish Egret, Egretta rufescens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] White morph Reddish Egret, Egretta rufescens, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 26 September 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s 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 | September 30, 2009tags: Seaside Sparrow, Ammodramus maritimus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Seaside Sparrow, Ammodramus maritimus, photographed at Anahuac Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 May 2009 [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 | September 30, 2009tags: nature, birds, Antarctica, emperor penguins, Aptenodytes forsteri, David Attenborough, streaming video
This is a chance to see amazing images from deep inside the frozen inland areas of Antarctica. The BBC natural history masterpiece, Planet Earth, documents the gruelling and heroic winter life of male Emperor Penguins, Aptenodytes forsteri, that breed in almost impossibly cold temperatures. Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough.
grrlscientist | September 29, 2009tags: Hooded Crow, Corvus cornix, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Hooded Crow, Corvus cornix, photographed on Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]
Photographed with Canon SX100 IS.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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tetrapodzoology | September 28, 2009After all that talk of tapirs biting people's arms off and killing Brazilian farmers, it only seems appropriate to post these pictures, taken at Bristol Zoo on Sunday (a group of us went there after SVP). The keeper obviously has a great relationship with Denzil, the male Brazilian (or Lowland) tapir Tapirus terrestris on the right (the female, on the left, is called Tamang)...
As for Meller's duck Anas melleri - a species you'll now be very familiar with - I find that they do not hesitate to attack humans, should the opportunity arise...
Still working hard to catch up after SVP, still…
grrlscientist | September 28, 2009tags: Willow Flycatcher, Empidonax traillii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Willow Flycatcher, Empidonax traillii, photographed near Park City, Utah. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 29 July 2009 [larger view]
Canon 50D, 400 5.6L lens.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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grrlscientist | September 27, 2009tags: nature, birds, New Guinea, Black Sickle Bill Bird of Paradise, Epimachus fastuosus, Bruce Beehler, streaming video
This streaming video is a clip from 60 Minutes where Bob Simon and Bruce Beehler, a scientist from Conservation International, head off into the New Guinea wilderness in search of the Black Sickle Bill Bird of Paradise, Epimachus fastuosus, and -- amazingly -- the cameramen capture video of this species's rarely seen courtship dance.
My life-long dream has been to explore untouched parts of the world. Ever since I read Alfred Wallace's Malay Archipelago, as a child, I've…
grrlscientist | September 27, 2009tags: Scarlet-tufted Malachite Sunbird, Nectarinia johnstoni, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Scarlet-tufted Malachite Sunbird, Nectarinia johnstoni, photographed on Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 27 August 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 70-200 VR Nikon lens, at 200 mm. ISO 200, f/5.6 1/320 sec.
Note the size of the heather that grows on Mt. Kilimanjaro!
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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grrlscientist | September 26, 2009tags: Yellow-bellied Sunbird, Nectarinia jugularis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Yellow-bellied Sunbird, Nectarinia jugularis, photographed at Mossman, Queensland, Australia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 25 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 1/640 sec, f/4 iso 400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 25, 2009tags: Ring-necked Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ring-necked Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus, photographed in Lyman County, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 1 February 2005 [larger view]
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 24, 2009tags: Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla, photographed at Smith Point Hawk Watch, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 23 August 2009 [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.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 24, 2009tags: nature, birds, Antarctica, Emperor Penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri, Leopard Seal, Hydrurga leptonyx, David Attenborough, streaming video
Emperor Penguins, Aptenodytes forsteri, return from the seas to feed their young. Dramatic scenes unfold as they hesitate at the edge of the Antarctic sea ice after spotting a Leopard Seal, Hydrurga leptonyx, on the prowl under the Antarctic ice. Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough.