ornithology
grrlscientist | January 5, 2010tags: Least Grebe, Least Dabchick, American Dabchick, Tachybaptus dominicus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Least Grebe, also known as the Least Dabchick and the American Dabchick, Tachybaptus dominicus, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, 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 one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | January 4, 2010tags: Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, 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 1/500s 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 | January 3, 2010tags: Ashy Starling, Cosmopsarus (Spreo) unicolor, Yellow-collared Lovebird, Black-Masked Lovebird, Agapornis personatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Ashy Starling, Cosmopsarus (Spreo) unicolor (L), and Yellow-collared Lovebird, also known as the Black-Masked Lovebird, Agapornis personatus (R), photographed at 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 mm lens at 400. ISO 400, 1/250, f/5.6.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your…
grrlscientist | January 2, 2010tags: White-eared Barbet, Stactolaema leucotis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] White-eared Barbet, Stactolaema leucotis, photographed at Amani Preserve, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 6 September 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 mm lens, at 400. ISO 200, 1/250, f/6.3.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | January 1, 2010tags: Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Dusky Kinglet, Ruby-Crown, Regulus calendula, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ruby-crowned Kinglet, also known as the Dusky Kinglet or as the Ruby-Crown, Regulus calendula, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, 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 1/500s 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 | December 31, 2009tags: Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, photographed at Hermann Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 23 December 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 | December 30, 2009tags: California Gull, Larus californicus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] California Gull, Larus californicus, photographed on Antelope Island Causeway and State Park of the Great Salt Lake and Northern Wasatch Mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dave Rintoul, 13 May 2005 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 29, 2009tags: Black Kite, Milvus migrans, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black Kite, Milvus migrans, photographed at Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen [larger view].
Nikon D2X and Nikon 200-400 VR lens at 270 mm. ISO 160 f/6.3 1/800.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 28, 2009tags: Fencing Flamingos, ornithology, ecology, endangered species, food webs, research, field work, Marita Davison, Jennifer Moslemi, Jamie Herring, streaming video
"Fencing Flamingos" follows the work of Marita Davison, a PhD student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University, and her collaborator Jennifer Moslemi as they study flamingos in the rugged high-Andes of Bolivia. The harsh conditions made it challenging to make the video, Davison says, but it's been worth it. "We've had more people see the video than I'll ever have reading a journal article that I write." The video…
grrlscientist | December 28, 2009tags: Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, photographed on the Konza Prairie Biological Station (Riley County) in Manhattan, Kansas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dave Rintoul, 8 July 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 27, 2009tags: Female Painted Bunting, Passerina ciris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Female Painted Bunting, Passerina ciris, photographed at Pelican Island (A&M Property), Galveston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 April 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 | December 26, 2009tags: Intergrade Northern Flicker, red-shafted x yellow-shafted Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Intergrade (red shafted x yellow shafted) Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus, photographed at the Black River Riparian Forest in Renton, Washington. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Michael C. Hamilton, 9 August 2009 [larger view].
Digiscoped using a Leica 77-mm spotting scope with a Nikon P6000 compact camera.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 25, 2009tags: birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Christmas Duck, Anas noellus, photographed in a kitchen on the 13th floor of an apartment building in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Unlike most mystery birds, this individual came with a label indicating that it originated in France. [I might identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: GrrlScientist, 25 December 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Yes, I did roast this duck a little longer, after so rudely slicing into the leg like that.
Image: GrrlScientist, 25 December 2009…
grrlscientist | December 24, 2009tags: Crimson Rosella, Pennant's Rosella, Platycercus elegans, Australian King Parrot, Alisterus scapularis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Australian King Parrots, Alisterus scapularis (3 on right), and Crimson Rosellas, sometimes known as Pennant's Rosella, Platycercus elegans (13 on top, left and bottom, also one in lower right side), photographed at Lamington National Park, west of the Gold Coast, Australia. The bird at the bottom is about to jump into the center, to the discontent of the other birds. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Matthew…
grrlscientist | December 23, 2009tags: Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea (Ajaia) ajaj, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea (Ajaia) ajaj, photographed at Arthur Storey Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 December 2009 [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 | December 22, 2009tags: Northern Pintail, Pintail, Anas acuta, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Northern Pintail, also known simply as the Pintail, Anas acuta, photographed at Arthur Storey Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 December 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/350s 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 | December 21, 2009tags: Common Redstart, Phoenicurus phoenicurus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Adult female Common Redstart, Phoenicurus phoenicurus, photographed at La Lanterna in Genova, Italy. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Cliff Miles, 11 December 2009 [larger view].
Canon EOS Rebel XT with a 75-300mm zoom lens.
Here's a challenging bird for you to identify courtesy of a friend, who narrowed it down to one of two species (but it doesn't "fit" either species well). He contributed four images of this bird (what I think is the best image is published here) to…
grrlscientist | December 20, 2009tags: Bronzed Cowbird, Molothrus aeneus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Bronzed Cowbird, Molothrus aeneus, photographed at Quintana, Brazoria County, Texas. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 22 April 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.
tetrapodzoology | December 19, 2009
Welcome to another article in the 'over-enthusiastic swallowing' series. As was the case with the previous article (the one on Mushu the pet bearded dragon), this one doesn't involve the death of the animal(s) concerned. In fact - so far as we can tell - the creature(s) that did the swallowing didn't suffer any ill effects from its/their behaviour at all. The creatures concerned are gulls: specifically, Herring gulls Larus argentatus and Lesser black-backed gulls L. fuscus [adjacent image from Camphuysen et al. (2008); read on].
Camphuysen et al. (2008) were interested in finding out what…
grrlscientist | December 19, 2009tags: Green Jay, Cyanocorax yncas, Blue Morph, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Blue Morph Green Jay, Cyanocorax yncas, photographed at Laguna Atascosa Refuge, Harlingen, Texas. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 8 April 2008 [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.
You might be interested to read an article I wrote about schemochromes and the physics of blue coloration in birds. This piece was…