ornithology
grrlscientist | September 23, 2009tags: Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Empidonax flaviventris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Empidonax flaviventris, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 15 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/125s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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grrlscientist | September 22, 2009tags: Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis, photographed at Anahuac Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 August 2009 [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.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 21, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Fiji (MacGillivray's) Petrel, Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi, off Gau Island, Fiji.
Fiji Petrel Pelagic Expedition, May 2009.
Image: H. Shirihai, Tubenoses Project [larger view].
Birds in Science News
Maori legends told of a giant predatory bird called the Te Hokioi, whose wingspan approached the length of a full-grown man and whose prey included human beings. Now Kiwi scientists are adding to the legend by claiming that a skeleton found in the 1870s shares some of the legendary bird's traits. "We don't think it…
grrlscientist | September 21, 2009tags: Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, photographed at Bob Road, Bolivar Peninsula, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 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 20, 2009tags: Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, Cinnyris mediocris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, Cinnyris mediocris, photographed in the West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 4 September 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 VR lens at 400 mm. ISO 400. 1/250 f/7.1.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 19, 2009tags: Scarlet Honeyeater, Myzomela sanguinolenta, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Scarlet Honeyeater, Myzomela sanguinolenta, photographed at Yungaburra, Queensland, Australia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 26 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 1/1250 sec, f/4 iso 400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes:
One of the fun things about photographing wild birds and nature are the unexpected encounters. I've learned that the best shots happen only because…
grrlscientist | September 18, 2009tags: Black-headed Gull, Larus ridibundus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black-headed gull, Larus ridibundus, 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: exposure time: 1/400, F-value: 4.3, ISO: 80, Focal length: 60mm.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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grrlscientist | September 17, 2009tags: Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, photographed in Minnehaha County, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 31 July 2008 [larger view]
Photo taken with Canon 40D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes:
This photo pretty much sums up my relationship with these guys. I see them all the time, but whenever I get within 1/4 mile of one, they either fly off, or…
grrlscientist | September 17, 2009tags: nature, birds, Antarctica, emperor penguins, Aptenodytes forsteri, David Attenborough, streaming video
This video presents a Nature program that briefly documents the breeding biology of Antarctica's Emperor Penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri, a bird that nests far inland in the winter months, enduring the worst weather imaginable. Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough.
grrlscientist | September 16, 2009tags: Eastern Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] female Eastern Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, photographed at Newton Hills State Park in South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 13 May 2009 [larger view]
Photo taken with Canon 20D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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grrlscientist | September 15, 2009tags: Pyrrhuloxia, Cardinalis sinuatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pyrrhuloxia, Cardinalis sinuatus, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 19 December 2004 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2004:12:19 11:18:31
Exposure Time: 1/319
F-Number: 11.00
ISO: 320
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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grrlscientist | September 14, 2009tags: Curve-Billed Thrasher, Toxostoma curvirostre, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Curve-Billed Thrasher, Toxostoma curvirostre, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Richard Ditch, 9 April 2009 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2009:04:09 16:05:57
Exposure Time: 1/319
F-Number: 4.50
ISO: 400
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 14, 2009tags: Cyprus, illegal migratory bird trapping, songbird slaughter, Committee Against Bird Slaughter, CABS, streaming video
This video below the jump records and documents the astonishing arrogance and viciousness of Cypriot bird slaughterers who continue to wantonly kill tens of millions of migratory songbirds every year so their bodies can be sold to restaurants who then sell them as a delicacy, often to tourists. These slaughterers kill endangered species as well as common; songbirds as well as owls, birds of prey and other non-passerine species. In fact, NO BIRD IS SAFE from them. Since…
grrlscientist | September 13, 2009tags: Superb Blue Wren, Blue Fairywren, Malurus cyaneus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Non-breeding male Superb Blue Wren, also known as the Blue Fairywren, Malurus cyaneus, photographed at Grafton, Australia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 14 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 12, 2009tags: African Green-pigeon, Treron calvus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Green-pigeon, Treron calvus, photographed drinking on the Masai Mara, Kenya, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 31 August 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, Nikon 200-400 mm lens, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/45 sec.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 11, 2009tags: Crested Tern, Great Crested-tern, Swift Tern, Thalasseus bergii, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Crested Tern, also known as the Swift Tern or Great Crested-tern, Thalasseus (Sterna) bergii, photographed at Michealmas Cay, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 24 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 10, 2009tags: Burrowing Owl, Speotyto cunicularia, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Burrowing Owl, Speotyto cunicularia, photographed on Antelope Island, a wonderful birding location north of Salt Lake City, Utah. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 27 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 10, 2009tags: researchblogging.org, global warming, climate variation, climate change, penguins, El Nino, marine zoning, P. Dee Boersma
Adélie penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae, and chicks.
(a) Adélie penguin chicks may get covered in snow during storms, but beneath the snow their down is warm and dry. (b) When rain falls, downy Adélie chicks can get wet and, when soaked, can become hypothermic and die.
Images: P. Dee Boersma.
According to an article that was just published in the journal BioScience, penguin populations are declining sharply due to the combined effects of overfishing and pollution…
grrlscientist | September 10, 2009tags: travel, nature, Antarctica, macaroni penguins, Eudyptes chrysolophus, David Attenborough, streaming video
This video presents a Nature program that briefly documents the natural history of Antarctica's Macaroni Penguin, Eudyptes chrysolophus. Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough while standing in the middle of a colony of 80,000 shrieking macaroni penguins.
tetrapodzoology | September 9, 2009
If you're a long-time reader of Tet Zoo you'll be familiar with the remarkable fact that Greater noctules Nyctalus lasiopterus predate on nocturnally migrating passerine birds (this was discussed in a ver 1 article that I'll update and recycle for ver 2 at some stage). Various predatory microbats around the world predate on small birds, but it was a bit of a surprise to learn that this behaviour occurred in western Europe. Of course, bats don't have it all their own way: it's well known that bats are heavily predated upon by raptors and owls. As revealed today by Péter Estók and colleagues…