ornithology
tetrapodzoology | August 26, 2009
If you said that the mystery duck from yesterday was a mallard, a weird mallard hybrid, a shoveler of some sort, or blah blah blah, then shame shame shame on you: you are a loser. If, however, you said it was a Meller's duck Anas melleri, then well done, you are some kind of freakin' duck genius, champion of your peers, wunderkid, and all round sterling human being. Yes, it was Meller's duck, an endemic Madagascan species that inhabits the lakes, rivers, streams, ponds and wetlands of the eastern side of the central plateau, being associated in particular with Lac Alaotra (Madagascar's…
grrlscientist | August 26, 2009tags: Carolina Chickadee, Poecile carolinensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Carolina Chickadee, Poecile carolinensis, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 July 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 | August 25, 2009tags: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Moulting adult female Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, photographed in Brandon, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 12 August 2009 [larger view]
Photo taken with Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
tetrapodzoology | August 25, 2009Some days ago I went to the Isle of Wight Tiger and Lemur Sanctuary (which is where I saw all those big cats). And while there, one of the undoubted highlights was this amazing beast...
What is it, and what can you tell us about it? You get points for being clever, not for trying to be funny :)
grrlscientist | August 24, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Black-crowned Night-Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 7 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/180s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Birds in Science
Brainy male birds are more sexually attractive to female birds, scientists have discovered. Researchers gave male bowerbirds a set of cognitive tests to evaluate their problem solving ability. Bowerbirds that performed well in the tests also mated with the most…
grrlscientist | August 24, 2009tags: White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher,, Melaenornis fischeri, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Melaenornis fischeri, photographed in Nakuru National Park, Kenya, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 29 August 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 VR lens at 310 mm ISO 160, f/4.5, 1/160 sec.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | August 23, 2009tags: Black Tern, Chlidonias niger, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black Tern, Chlidonias niger, photographed at Galveston's East Beach, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 14 July 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 ,Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/800s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
[Mystery bird] Black Tern, Chlidonias niger, photographed at Galveston's East Beach, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48…
grrlscientist | August 22, 2009tags: Crowned Plover, Crowned Lapwing, Vanellus coronatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Crowned Plover, also known as the Crowned Lapwing, Vanellus coronatus, photographed in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 29 August 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 Nikon Lens at 400.
So of course, before you give me an ID, I have to ask you how many legs you see in this picture.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | August 21, 2009tags: Wilson's Plover, Charadrius wilsonia, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Adult Wilson's Plover, Charadrius wilsonia, with chick, photographed at Brazoria Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird species for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 31 July 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/160s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Before you ID this bird species, tell me: how many legs do you see?
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | August 20, 2009tags: Juvenile Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Juvenile Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, photographed at Galveston East Beach, Texas. [even the photographer doesn't know the identify of this bird, maybe you can help and come to a consensus ID?]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 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 | August 19, 2009tags: Grey-backed Camaroptera, Grey-backed Bleating Warbler, Camaroptera brachyura, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Grey-backed Camaroptera, also known as the Grey-backed Bleating Warbler, Camaroptera brachyura (brevicaudata), 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, ISO 200, Nikon 200-400 VR lens at 400 mm. f/4. 1/160.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | August 18, 2009tags: Bhutan Laughing-thrush, Garrulax imbricatum, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Bhutan Laughing-thrush, Garrulax imbricatum, photographed in Bhutan (recently split from Streaked Laughingthrush, Garrulax lineatus).
Image: Larry Gardella, spring 2009 [larger view].
Sony Cybershot with 10x external zoom.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | August 17, 2009tags: Short-billed Dowitcher, Limnodromus griseus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Probable Short-billed Dowitcher, Limnodromus griseus, remains were fairly close to a busy industrial road northern Alberta (roughly 300 km northeast of Edmonton) Canada. [short of microscopic examination of these feathers or DNA analysis, this bird will probably never be definitively identified, sorry]
Image: Marcel Gahbauer, August 2009 [larger view].
Scanned, not photographed.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The collector writes;
The location of…
grrlscientist | August 16, 2009tags: Fledgling American Avocet, Recurvirostra americana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Fledgling American Avocet, Recurvirostra americana, photographed at Bear River Bird Refuge in Utah. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 27 July 2009 [larger view]
Photo taken with a Canon 50D, 400 5.6L lens.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | August 15, 2009tags: Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Common Moorhen chick, Gallinula chloropus, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 9 July 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 | August 12, 2009tags: Prothonotary Warbler, Protonotaria citrea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Prothonotary Warbler, Protonotaria citrea, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 July 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 | August 11, 2009tags: Common Nighthawk, Chordeiles minor, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Common Nighthawks, Chordeiles minor, photographed at Anahuac Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 July 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/800s 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 | August 10, 2009tags: Green Heron nestling, Butorides virescens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Green Heron nestling, Butorides virescens, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Richard Ditch, 9 June 2009 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2009:06:09 07:35:02
Exposure Time: 1/350
F-Number: 8.00
ISO: 200
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | August 9, 2009tags: Green Heron, Butorides virescens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Green Heron, Butorides virescens, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 July 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 | August 8, 2009tags: Bateleur Eagle pair, Terathopius ecaudatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Bateleur Eagle pair, Terathopius ecaudatus, photographed in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 31 August 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X 200-400 NIkon VR lens, at 400 mm. ISO 400, f4.5, 1/250 sec.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.