birding
grrlscientist | March 25, 2008tags: birds, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis, ornithology, Image of the Day
Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger view].
By the time this image pops up, I will be meeting my hosts, Dave and Elizabeth, at the Kansas City, MO, airport. I'll probably be dragging my dufflebag along, while carrying my precious laptop, digital camera, and binoculars -- all crammed into the super-strong computer bag that I have packed them into. Hopefully, the airlines will treat me well and will allow me to pre-board each flight (I switch planes in Detroit -- another…
grrlscientist | March 24, 2008tags: birds, Eastern Phoebe, Sayornis phoebe, ornithology, Image of the Day
Eastern Phoebe, Sayornis phoebe.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger view].
With any luck, by the time you are looking at this image, I will have finished running around the city trying to get last minute tasks completed, such as buying food for my birds, cleaning my birds as much as possible (I've given up on cleaning my apartment and caved-in bathroom so both are complete disasters), doing my looong-overdue laundry (I have no idea how I will do this one-handed since it involves hauling a mountain of dirty clothes…
grrlscientist | March 24, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Wilson's snipe, Gallinago delicata. It is a little unusual to see a shorebird off the the ground, but this fellow decided he needed a higher perch to take in some of the scenery.
Image: Jerry Kram. [larger size].
Birds in Research
The songs that each spring announce when birds are ready to compete for homes and sex have been traced to changes in the brain, according to a study that can shed new light on winter depression in people. While some birds, such as robins, sing throughout the winter, other species of bird…
grrlscientist | March 21, 2008tags: birds,California Condor, Gymnogyps californianus, ornithology, Image of the Day
California condor, Gymnogyps californianus, #97,
flying over Bright Angel Lodge at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, August 2006.
Image: Jeff Lanam. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 20, 2008tags: birds,Ocellated Turkey, Meleagris ocellata, ornithology, Image of the Day
Male Ocellated Turkey, Meleagris ocellata,
in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in the Southern Yucatan
in the state of Campeche. They are endemic to the region
and are known locally as both Pavo Ocelado or Guajalote Ocelato.
Image: Kevin Sharp. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 19, 2008tags: birds,Ocellated Turkey, Meleagris ocellata, ornithology, Image of the Day
Female Ocellated Turkey, Meleagris ocellata,
in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in the Southern Yucatan
in the state of Campeche. They are endemic to the region
and are known locally as both Pavo Ocelado or Guajalote Ocelato.
Image: Kevin Sharp. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 18, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, birds, aves, ornithology, Zosterops somadikartai, Togian white-eye, Indonesia, Sulawesi
An undated artist's rendering of Zosterops somadikartai, or Togian white-eye.
This small greenish bird that has been playing hide-and-seek with ornithologists on a remote Indonesian island since 1996, but was declared a newly discovered species on March 14, 2008 and promptly recommended for endangered lists.
Image: Agus Prijono.
Sharp-eyed scientists have discovered a new species of bird on a remote Indonesian archipelago in the Southern Pacific Ocean. A formal description…
grrlscientist | March 18, 2008tags: birds,Ocellated Turkey, Meleagris ocellata, ornithology, Image of the Day
Ocellated Turkey, Meleagris ocellata,
in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in the Southern Yucatan
in the state of Campeche. They are endemic to the region
and are known locally as both Pavo Ocelado or Guajalote Ocelato.
Image: Kevin Sharp. [larger size].
Kevin writes:
The Ocellated Turkey, Meleagris ocellata, is one of only two species of wild turkey. The Ocellated Turkey is near-endemic to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The species' range also extends a bit into Guatemala and Belize, but all total encompasses…
grrlscientist | March 17, 2008tags: birds,Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, ornithology, Image of the Day
Immature Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, in the Yucatan.
Image: Kevin Sharp. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 17, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Male Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, in Central Park.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [larger size].
Birds in Science
In all three groups of birds with vocal learning abilities -- songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds -- the brain structures for singing and learning to sing are embedded in areas controlling movement, researchers have discovered. The team also found that areas in charge of movement share many functional similarities with the brain areas for singing. This suggests that the brain…
grrlscientist | March 16, 2008tags: birds,Roadside Hawk, Buteo magnirostris griseocauda, ornithology, Image of the Day
Roadside Hawk, Buteo magnirostris griseocauda,
in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in the southern Yucatan.
Image: Kevin Sharp. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 15, 2008tags: birds,Ruddy Turnstones, Arenaria interpres, ornithology, Image of the Day
Ruddy Turnstones, Arenaria interpres, in the Yucatan.
Image: Kevin Sharp. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 14, 2008tags: birds, parrots, White-fronted Parrots, Spectacled Amazons, Amazona albifrons nana, ornithology, Image of the Day
White-fronted Parrots, Amazona albifrons nana,
otherwise known as Spectacled Amazons. This picture
was taken near the Maya village of El Senor in the south central Yucatan.
Image: Kevin Sharp. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 13, 2008tags: birds, Magnificent Frigatebird, Fregata magnificens, ornithology, Image of the Day
Magnificent Frigatebird, Fregata magnificens,
taken on the east coast of the Yucatan in Quintana Roo.
Image: Kevin Sharp. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 11, 2008tags: birds, Laughing Gull, Larus atricilla, ornithology, Image of the Day
Soaring Laughing Gull, Larus atricilla, in the Yucatan.
Image: Kevin Sharp. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 10, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Populations of the Southern cassowary, Casuarius casuarius,
around Mission Beach in North Queensland, Australia, are still suffering
from the effects of Cyclone Larry two years ago.
Image: iStockphoto.
Birds in Science
In humans, as in all mammals, sleep consists of two phases: deep, dreamless slow-wave-sleep (SWS) alternates with dream phases, called Rapid Eye Movement (REM)-sleep. In newly published study, sleep researchers found that pigeons can engage in "power sleep" just as mammals can to make up for lost sleep…
grrlscientist | March 10, 2008tags: courting black scoters, seaducks, Melanitta nigra, streaming video
A bird pal of mine, Al Wagar, who lives in the Seattle area, took this video of calling and courting black scoters, Melanitta nigra, that were on the coast near Edmonds, Washington. Black scoters are a large species of sea duck that dive for their dinner, eating mainly mollusks. They breed on ponds in northern boreal forests and spend the rest of their lives on oceans and salt water bays. Black scoter numbers show a long-term decline, possibly due to loss of boreal forest and coastal oil spills [0:43].
One of the cuter…
grrlscientist | March 7, 2008tags: Finding Your Wings, bird watching, birding, outdoors, Burton Guttman, book review
As a long-time professor of biology, Burton Guttman has learned two major concepts from his students about learning: first, people learn best by actively participating in the learning process and second; people often try to learn at the wrong time. To address these two challenges, Guttman used his teaching experiences to design a workbook that teaches beginners how to watch birds in the field -- the first such book that I've ever seen published on this topic (I've since learned that there are two other…
grrlscientist | March 3, 2008tags: birds, Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, ornithology, Image of the Day
Male Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, in Central Park.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [larger size].
The photographer, Bob Levy, writes; On Friday February 22, arguably the most wintry of days so far this season, as six inches of snow covered Central Park and more was falling I heard a male Northern Cardinal sing. That was the first cardinal song I detected this year and I took it as a musical sign that Spring is near. Since then I have heard other males sing and just yesterday I saw…
grrlscientist | March 1, 2008tags: birds, long-eared owl, Asia otus, ornithology, Image of the Day
Long-eared Owl, Asia otus, in Central Park.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [larger size].
Bob Levy writes: Did you know there are two Long-eared owls in Central Park this winter? They perch together in the Pinetum. My camera is not powerful enough to get a decent shot of them. Here's a not-ready-for-prime-time-posting-image of one. The other perches too deep inside an adjacent tree. There have been reports of a third but I have never seen it.