ornithology
tetrapodzoology | March 11, 2010
Waterfowl (or wildfowl, or anseriforms, or ducks, geese, swans and kin) are awesome. Last year saw the publication of a particularly freakish, recently extinct member of the group that's been known to some of us for a while: the surreal Hawaiian duck Talpanas lippa Olson & James, 2009 from Kauai*. I'll admit that I missed the memo (didn't know about publication until Glyn Young sent me a pdf), even though Chris Taylor at Catalogue of Organisms wrote about Talpanas on its publication.
* Note that Talpanas joins that very annoying list of names where the authorship of the taxon [Olson…
grrlscientist | March 11, 2010tags: Vermilion Flycatcher, Galapagos Flycatcher, Darwin's Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Vermilion Flycatcher, also known as the Galapagos Flycatcher or as Darwin's Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, photographed on the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 November 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.…
grrlscientist | March 10, 2010tags: evolution, evolutionary biology, ancient DNA, aDNA, molecular biology, molecular ecology, archaeology, paleontology, fossil eggshell, extinct birds, giant moa, Dinornis robustus, elephant birds, Aepyornis maximus, Mullerornis, Thunderbirds, Genyornis, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper, journal club
Elephant bird, Aepyornis maximus, egg
compared to a human hand with a hummingbird egg balanced on a fingertip.
To conduct my avian research, I've isolated and sequenced DNA from a variety of specimens, such as blood, muscle, skin and a variety of internal…
grrlscientist | March 10, 2010tags: Black-necked Stilt, Himantopus himantopus mexicanus, Himantopus mexicanus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black-necked Stilt chick, Himantopus (himantopus) mexicanus, photographed on Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 May 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/1.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 9, 2010tags: Grey Plover, Gray Plover, Silver Plover, Black-bellied Plover, Pluvialis squatarola, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black-bellied Plover, also known as the Grey (Gray) Plover and the Silver Plover, Pluvialis squatarola, photographed at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, Rodanthe, North Carolina. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Paul Sweet, 3 August 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
tetrapodzoology | March 9, 2010Even in this day and age - when anyone who's anyone has a huge personal pdf archive - 'dead tree' libraries are still used by many (or most?) of us.
Partly because I've never worked on a computer that can do more than three things at once, partly because I spend 90% of my waking life staring at screens anyway, and partly because I really prefer to hold literature in my hands and have it scattered about the desk while writing, I hate using pdfs and will always use hard-copy when possible. I even find myself wasting time hunting down a printed-out copy of a paper when I know full well that a…
grrlscientist | March 8, 2010tags: Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus, photographed at PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 February 2010 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 7, 2010tags: Praying Mantis, Preying Mantis, mantid, insects, birds, hummingbirds, offbeat, predation, predatory behavior, nature, streaming video
Sandy Lizotte, the Ventura Hummingbird Lady, captures a rare and remarkable moment where a praying mantis was waiting patiently at a hummingbird feeder to ambush a hummingbird. As you'll see in this video, the mantid succeeds.
The hummingbird did survive.
grrlscientist | March 7, 2010tags: Eastern Black-headed Batis, Black-headed Batis, Batis minor, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Black-headed Batis, also known as the Black-headed Batis, Batis minor, photographed at the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300s, 600 mm lens, ISO 1000, 1/160 sec, f/5.6 -0.3 exposure compensation.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 6, 2010tags: Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Juvenile Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio, photographed about 5 miles away from the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300 600 mm lens, ISO 400, 1/1250 sec, f/7.1 -1 exposure compensation.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Photograph 1:
[Image 1] Juvenile Isabelline Shrike (?), Lanius isabellinus, photographed about 5 miles away from the Pangani River…
grrlscientist | March 5, 2010tags: Least Bittern, Ixobrychus exilis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] 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, 31 July 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 4, 2010tags: Masked Bobwhite, Common Bobwhite, Rufous-bellied Bobwhite, Black-headed Bobwhite, Bobwhite, Northern Bobwhite, Colinus virginianus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Northern Bobwhite, known by a bevy of common names including Bobwhite, Common Bobwhite, Rufous-bellied Bobwhite, Masked Bobwhite, and Black-headed Bobwhite, Colinus virginianus (thank science for scientific names so we all know what we're talking about!), photographed on the Katy Prairie, Waller County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 29 April 2007 [larger view…
grrlscientist | March 3, 2010tags: Red Grass Bird, Marsh Sparrow, Swamp Finch, Swamp Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Melospiza georgiana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Swamp Sparrow, also known by a wide variety of other names, such as the Marsh Sparrow, Red Grass Bird, Swamp Finch, and the Swamp Song Sparrow, Melospiza georgiana, photographed on the Brazos Bend State Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 December 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…
grrlscientist | March 2, 2010tags: Dusky Kinglet, Ruby-Crown, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ruby-crowned Kinglet, also known as the Dusky Kinglet and the Ruby-Crown, Regulus calendula, photographed on the Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 10 January 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.
grrlscientist | March 1, 2010tags: Pied-Billed Dabchick, Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pied-billed Grebe, also known by a much cuter name, the Pied-Billed Dabchick, Podilymbus podiceps, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 & TC17E.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 28, 2010tags: Large Flycatcher, African Grey Flycatcher, Bradornis microrhynchus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Grey Flycatcher, also known as the Large Flycatcher, Bradornis microrhynchus, photographed in the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm lens, ISO 500, 1/320 sec, f/8, Exposure compensation -1.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 27, 2010tags: Taveta Weaver, Taveta Golden Weaver, Ploceus castaneiceps, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Taveta Golden Weaver, also known as the Taveta Weaver, Ploceus castaneiceps, photographed in the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm lens, ISO 800, 1/640 sec, f/7.1, Exposure compensation 0.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 26, 2010tags: Oriental Dwarf-Kingfisher, Ceyx erithaca, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Oriental Dwarf-Kingfisher, Ceyx erithaca, photographed "somewhere" in Indonesia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: a herpetologist photographed this bird while visiting the islands of Indonesia [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 25, 2010tags: Black-crowned Night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Juvenile Black-crowned Night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 & TC17E.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 24, 2010tags: Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 & TC17E.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.