birding
grrlscientist | May 14, 2008tags: books, field guides, bird watching, birding, birds
Image: Bill Thompson, III.
There are a variety of field guides to the birds, for English-speaking parts of the world at least, each with their own particular qualities. I have an extensive collection of these books on my shelves that I use as references. But my own choice of my primary in-the-field guide has changed as my skills have improved throughout my lifetime. So this prompts me to ask you two questions (below the fold);
First; how has your field guide choices changed throughout your lifetime? Would you list the guides you…
grrlscientist | May 13, 2008tags: Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, birds, Kansas, image of the day
"Not skulking"
Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 12, 2008tags: Male Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, birds, Kansas, image of the day
"Blue enough for ya?"
Male Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 12, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Common Pochard, Aythya ferina (Hiroshima, Japan).
Image: Bardiac [larger].
Birds in Science News
Climate change threatens many animals -- but with any luck, some will handle weather shifts with as much aplomb as Parus major, a colorful songbird also known as the great tit. In a study published today in Science, ornithologists from the University of Oxford tracked the egg-laying times of great tits in Wytham, England. Since the mid-1970s, temperatures in Wytham have risen steadily, hastening the start of spring by two…
grrlscientist | May 11, 2008tags: Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura, birds, Kansas, image of the day
"Cool morning yoga pose"
Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 8, 2008tags: White-Cheeked Turaco, Tauraco leucotis, birds, Image of the Day
Fourth in a series of non-passerine images by this photographer.
White-Cheeked Turaco, Tauraco leucotis.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
The turacos are classified into the bird family Musophagidae, which translates as "banana-eaters". Musophagidae also include the plantain-eaters and go-away-birds. Musophagidae are medium-sized arboreal birds that are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. They live in forests, woodland and savanna. They have weak flight but run quickly through the tree canopy. Musophagidae are primarily…
grrlscientist | May 7, 2008tags: Red-crested Turaco, Tauraco erythrolophus, birds, Image of the Day
Third in a series of non-passerine images by this photographer.
Red-crested Turaco, Tauraco erythrolophus.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
The turacos are classified into the bird family Musophagidae, which translates as "banana-eaters". Musophagidae also include the plantain-eaters and go-away-birds. Musophagidae are medium-sized arboreal birds that are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. They live in forests, woodland and savanna. They have weak flight but run quickly through the tree canopy. Musophagidae are…
grrlscientist | May 7, 2008tags: Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City, nature, field guide, NYC, Leslie Day, Mark Klingler, book review
What do you think of when you heard the words, "New York City"? Money? Skyscrapers? Broadway plays? Restaurants? Millions of people living in tiny apartments? Fire hydrants spurting water on hot muggy days? Rotting garbage on the sidewalks? How about birds: do any of you think of birds and other wildlife? Most people don't. Many people, especially visitors, are unaware of the wealth of green spaces and parks in NYC, along with their resident and migratory wildlife. However…
grrlscientist | May 6, 2008tags: White-Cheeked Turaco, Tauraco leucotis, birds, Image of the Day
Second in a series of non-passerine images by this photographer.
A portrait of a White-Cheeked Turaco, Tauraco leucotis.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
The turacos are classified into the bird family Musophagidae, which translates as "banana-eaters". Musophagidae also include the plantain-eaters and go-away-birds. Musophagidae are medium-sized arboreal birds that are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. They live in forests, woodland and savanna. They have weak flight but run quickly through the tree canopy. Musophagidae…
grrlscientist | May 5, 2008tags: Purple-Crested Turaco, Tauraco porphyreolophus, birds, Image of the Day
First in a series of non-passerine images by this photographer.
Purple-Crested Turaco, Tauraco porphyreolophus.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
The turacos are classified into the bird family Musophagidae, which translates as "banana-eaters". Musophagidae also include the plantain-eaters and go-away-birds. Musophagidae are medium-sized arboreal birds that are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. They live in forests, woodland and savanna. They have weak flight but run quickly through the tree canopy. Musophagidae…
grrlscientist | May 5, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Male mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides.
This bird surprised birders in Washington state by visiting Bainbridge Island this past April.
Image: Eva Gerdts, April 2008 [larger view].
Birds in Science
A team of scientists believe they can provide the key to an enduring wildlife mystery: how do birds navigate? Two main theories joust to explain the seemingly miraculous avian compass. One, supported by research among homing pigeons four years ago, is that birds have tiny particles, called magnetite, in their upper…
grrlscientist | May 4, 2008tags: red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, birds, Central Park, Image of the Day
Gerry or George IV.
Male Central Park red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger].
Here is George IV (or Gerry if you prefer) in a more dignified pose. This is more befitting royalty, don't you think?
grrlscientist | May 3, 2008tags: red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, birds, Central Park, Image of the Day
Gerry or George IV.
Male Central Park red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger].
Bob Levy writes;
I believe there have been three successive male Red-winged Blackbirds holding the territory on the western half of Turtle Pond in Central Park since the main protagonist of my book Club George reigned there. I have given these males names. I call this one Gerry but the name "George" has become a kind of honorary title at the pond where visitors routinely call…
grrlscientist | April 30, 2008tags: Yellow-Throated Laughing Thrush, Garrulax galbanus, birds, Image of the Day
This is the third in a series of passerine images by this photographer.
Yellow-Throated Laughing Thrush, Garrulax galbanus.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 29, 2008tags: Melba Waxbill, Pytilia melba, birds, Image of the Day
This is the second image in a series of passerine images by this photographer.
Melba Finch, Pytilia melba, also known as the Melba Waxbill or the Green-winged Pytilia.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 28, 2008tags: Turquoise Tanager, Tangara mexicana, birds, Image of the Day
This is the first in a series of passerine images by this photographer.
Turquoise Tanager, Tangara mexicana.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 28, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
"Abstract"
Male Wood Duck, Aix sponsa.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
Birds in Science
It wasn't too long ago that paleontologists thought that fossilization was a process where all biological material was replaced with inert stone. However, in 2005, Mary Higby Schweitzer of North Carolina State University rocked the paleontological world when she recovered a still-elastic blood vessel from inside a fractured thigh bone fossil of a Tyrannosaurus rex that lived 68 million years ago. Recent phylogenetic analyses of…
grrlscientist | April 27, 2008tags: spring, nature, Image of the Day
Spring, 2.
This is the Canada goose family (slightly increased in size) in College Park that you saw earlier.
Image: Karen Davis [larger].
grrlscientist | April 26, 2008tags: Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, birds, Central Park, Image of the Day
Female Central Park cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger].
Bob Levy writes;
I caught Mama Castle deep into her Yoga session. Here she beautifully demonstrates perfect form in her flawless performance of the Blowing Palm pose. I wish I could do it as well. Sigh.
grrlscientist | April 24, 2008tags: Common Pochard, Aythya ferina, birds, Image of the Day
Common Pochard, Aythya ferina (Hiroshima, Japan).
Image: Bardiac [larger].