ornithology
tetrapodzoology | April 12, 2010When there's no time for anything else, at least I can recycle text from the aborted field-guide (see bottom for previous excerpts). Hmm, I really should get that published. Anyway...
Protopteryx fengningensis was named in 2000 for two specimens discovered in the Yixian Formation of Fengning County, northern China [adjacent figure from Zhang & Zhou (2000): the tail feather shown in C belongs to Confuciusornis, not Protopteryx]. It's an enantiornithine about the same size as a modern starling. As is common among Cretaceous birds, it had teeth in both its premaxillae and dentaries. Its…
grrlscientist | April 10, 2010tags: African Skimmer, Rynchops flavirostris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] African Skimmer, Rynchops flavirostris, photographed mystery location Nyamba ya Mungo, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 14 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 x 1.4 lens ISO 320, 1/1000 sec, f/6.3. Exp comp +.3
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 9, 2010tags: Pied Crested Kingfisher, Crested Kingfisher, Megaceryle lugubris, Alcedo lugubris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pied Crested Kingfisher, Crested Kingfisher, Megaceryle (Alcedo) lugubris, photographed at Kosi River, Ramnagar, India. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: John Kneeshaw [larger view].
Canon EOS 40D with 300mmAF lens.
What sex is this bird and upon what are you basing that assessment?
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 8, 2010tags: evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, molecular ecology, personality, novelty seeking, exploratory behavior, dopamine receptor, dopamine receptor D4 gene, DRD4 gene polymorphism, ornithology, birds, Great Tit, Parus major, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper
Bold or cautious? Individuals with a particular gene variant are very curious --
but only in some populations.
Image: Henk Dikkers.
Research suggests that personality variations are heritable in humans and other animal species, and there are many hypotheses as to why differences in personality…
grrlscientist | April 8, 2010tags: Pacific Golden-Plover, Asian Golden-Plover, Eastern Golden-Plover, Pluvialis fulva, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pacific Golden-Plover, also known as the Asian Golden-Plover or Eastern Golden-Plover, Pluvialis fulva, photographed on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Midway Island, Hawai'i. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Image: Joe Fuhrman, March 2010. I encourage you to purchase images from this professional photographer.
This migratory bird that visits North America as well as countries on the other side of the Pacific Ocean shares a…
grrlscientist | April 7, 2010tags: Butcherbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Loggerhead Shrike, also known as the Butcherbird, Lanius ludovicianus, photographed on the Katy Prairie, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/80s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This mystery bird has a weird common name .. can anyone tell me why it has such an odd name?
Review…
grrlscientist | April 6, 2010tags: Razorbill, Alca torda, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Razorbill, Alca torda, photographed at the Machias Seal Island, Maine. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Paul Sweet, 26 May 2008 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
These stunning birds are the only member of their genus -- can you identify it? As a bonus question, can you tell me about one of its famous relatives?
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tetrapodzoology | April 6, 2010Over the weekend I and a bunch of friends and colleagues (representing the Southampton Natural History Society) went to Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, in search of Great bustards Otis tarda.
The Great bustard (one of 26 or so bustard species found throughout the Old World and Australasia) is a British native, but excessive hunting and (probably) changing agricultural practises, increasing human disturbance and perhaps other factors led to its extinction as a breeding species round about 1832, though some eggs were apparently discovered in 1838 and it is suspected that some native birds were…
grrlscientist | April 5, 2010tags: Lake Gull, Common Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ring-billed Gull, also known as the Common Gull or Lake Gull, Larus delawarensis, photographed at Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, March 2010 [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 | April 4, 2010tags: birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] photographed in mystery world location. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours, unless I've eaten them all first]
Image: orphaned [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This flock of birds is easy to ID, so I am "upping the ante" by also asking you to give me these birds' scientific name, traditional geographic range, age and gender! Can you do this?
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grrlscientist | April 3, 2010tags: African Pied Wagtail, Motacilla aguimp, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Pied Wagtail, Motacilla aguimp, photographed in East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 12 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm lens ISO 320, 1/200 sec, f/ 7.1 Exp comp -.3
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 2, 2010tags: Collared Scops-Owl, Otus lettia, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Collared Scops-Owl, Otus lettia, photographed on the Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Adrian White [larger view].
Nikon D40x with 70-300AF.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 1, 2010tags: Short-billed Dowitcher, Limnodromus griseus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Short-billed Dowitcher, Limnodromus griseus, photographed on Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, March 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s 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 | March 31, 2010tags: Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus, photographed at the Perry Nature Area near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 21 March 2010 [larger view]. You are encouraged to purchase photographs from this photographer. I am happy to email his contact information to you.
Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 30, 2010tags: Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus, photographed in the photographer's back yard in Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, March 2010 [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.
tetrapodzoology | March 30, 2010
The Madagascan cuckoo-roller or Courol* Leptosomus discolor is a distinctive, large-headed, short-legged predatory bird that inhabits the forests of Madagascar and the Comores [adjacent photo of male Courol taken at Vakona in Madagascar; image courtesy of Mary Blanchard]. It's superficially similar to true rollers (Coraciidae) and ground-rollers (Brachypteraciidae) but, unlike them, has semi-zygodactyl feet (though it has frequently very depicted inaccurately by artists who, in the absence of better information, have assumed that it's anisodactyl, like true rollers). It's often placed in its…
grrlscientist | March 29, 2010tags: Laysan Teal, Laysan Duck, Anas laysanensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Laysan Duck, also known as the Laysan Teal, Anas laysanensis, photographed on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Midway Island, Hawai'i. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joe Fuhrman, March 2010 [larger view].
NOTE: Unless you are a beginning bird watcher, PLEASE wait 24 hours before identifying this bird. (Intermediate-expert birders are encouraged to use puns, anagrams, poetry references or citations, Monty Python quotes or anything else that tickles your fancy to…
grrlscientist | March 28, 2010tags: Cape Thick-Knee, Spotted Dikkop, Spotted Thick-Knee, Burhinus capensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Spotted Thick-Knee, also known as the Cape Thick-Knee or the Spotted Dikkop, Burhinus capensis, photographed in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 18 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm VR lens with 1.4 extender. ISO 400, 1/1600 sec, f/6.3. Exposure compensation -1.3.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date…
grrlscientist | March 27, 2010tags: Water Dikkop, Water Thick-knee, Burhinus vermiculatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Water Dikkop, also known as the Water Thick-knee, Burhinus vermiculatus, photographed near the Kilombero River, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 9 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm VR lens. ISO 320, 1/800 sec, f/7.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 26, 2010tags: Upland Plover, Bartram's Sandpiper, Upland Sandpiper, Bartramia longicauda, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Upland Sandpiper, also known as the Upland Plover or as Bartram's Sandpiper, Bartramia longicauda, photographed in Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, Angelton, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 23 March 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date…