ornithology
grrlscientist | June 10, 2008tags: Canyon Towhee, Pipilo fuscus, birds, Image of the Day
My good friend, Dave Rintoul, has just returned from a much-deserved vacation camping in the Chiricahuas and Gila Wilderness area and sent a couple images to share with you.
Canyon Towhee, Pipilo fuscus, in Chaco Canyon.
Image: Dave Rintoul, June 2008 [larger view].
tetrapodzoology | June 9, 2008
Actually, given that they've been extinct for quite some time now, 2007 wasn't really a particularly good year for either terror birds, aka phorusrhacids, or for mega-ducks (on which read on), but it was a pretty good year in terms of the new material that was published on them. Phorusrhacids were covered a few times back on Tet Zoo ver 1 in 2006 (go here and here): we looked at their phylogeny, taxonomy, anatomy and palaeobiology, and at the then-new discovery of BAR 3877-11, a gigantic Patagonian skull, 716 mm long, and most similar to the skull of Devincenzia pozzi (Chiappe & Bertelli…
grrlscientist | June 9, 2008tags: Black-Throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata, birds, Image of the Day
My good friend, Dave Rintoul, has just returned from a much-deserved vacation camping in the Chiricahuas and Gila Wilderness area and sent a couple images to share with you.
Black-throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata, in Chaco Canyon.
Image: Dave Rintoul, June 2008 [larger view].
grrlscientist | June 9, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Male prothonotary warbler, Protonotaria citrea in breeding plumage.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [OMG view].
Birds in Science
New research led by Dr Melanie Massaro and Dr Jim Briskie at the University of Canterbury, which found that the New Zealand bellbird is capable of changing its nesting behaviour to protect itself from predators, could be good news for island birds around the world at risk of extinction. The introduction of predatory mammals such as rats, cats and stoats to oceanic islands has led to the extinction…
grrlscientist | June 7, 2008tags: northern cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis, birds, Central Park, Image of the Day
Mama knows best.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger].
The photographer, Bob Levy, writes;
Remember my story about Mama and Papa Bank Rock: Behind the Green Mesh (see this website May 25, 2008, also see part 2 and part 3)? Well, apparently Mama is still convinced she is invisible as she continues to incubate her eggs. To date, with the exception of a few bird-watchers, she has gone undetected. When Mama Bank Rock got off the nest during my last visit I stood on tiptoe to get a look inside.…
grrlscientist | June 6, 2008tags: northern cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis, birds, Central Park, Image of the Day
Mama and Papa Bank Rock: Behind the Green Mesh.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger].
The photographer, Bob Levy, writes;
Finding the Bank Rock nest had been fully constructed was a satisfying discovery but I felt I still did not have the information I wanted. Without seeing either cardinal at the site I did not know if it was still active or if it had abandoned. I decided to continue my walk but come back later for another look. I returned forty minutes later. I stopped twenty feet away and…
grrlscientist | June 5, 2008tags: northern cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis, birds, Central Park, Image of the Day
Mama and Papa Bank Rock: Behind the Green Mesh.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger].
The photographer, Bob Levy, writes;
I returned to the park two days later. It was raining lightly but steadily so my camera was tucked inside its case. The light was poor for both photography and bird-watching but from about fifteen feet away I saw evidence that Mama Bank Rock had indeed returned to her nest. A gleaming white object was tucked behind the fence where the Northern Cardinal and I had last met.…
grrlscientist | June 2, 2008tags: Blue-throated hummingbird, Lampornis clemenciae, bats, Image of the Day
My good friend, Dave Rintoul, is on a much-deserved vacation camping in the
Chiricahuas and Gila Wilderness area at the moment, but he took a little time out from the fun and games to send me a couple images to share with you. This is the last of the two images he sent, but more are on the way, as soon as he reaches a computer or wifi site, so stay tuned!
Blue-throated hummingbird, Lampornis clemenciae,
feeds from flowers in Cave Creek Canyon in
the Chirichahua Mountains of Arizona and New Mexico.
Image: Dave…
grrlscientist | June 2, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
"Not skulking"
Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger view].
People Hurting Birds
The number of lesser scaup is dwindling, and it could be an invasive species that does them in. Invasive snails and parasites are attacking these and other ducks on the Upper Mississippi. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials say with no natural predators, the snails and the parasites are thriving, and killing off a duck population that is already in trouble. The snail has helped kill nearly 50,000…
grrlscientist | May 31, 2008tags: Long-toed Lapwing, Long-toed plover, Vanellus crassirostris, birds, Image of the Day
Fourth in a series of non-passerine images by this photographer.
Long-toed Lapwing, also known as the Long-toed plover, Vanellus crassirostris, which is endemic to southeastern Africa.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
tetrapodzoology | May 30, 2008
Something came up at a meeting the other day and I consider it worth discussing. And it concerns birds - which is good, because I haven't done much on birds at Tet Zoo lately. Specifically, it concerns sunbirds, or nectariniids, the nectarivorous, superficially hummingbird-like passerines of the Old World tropics. Sunbirds are passeroid oscines: they've generally been considered related to the mostly frugivorous, mostly Australasian flowerpeckers or dicaeids*, and both appear to be the sister-group to the huge passeroid clade - dubbed 'core passeroids' by Barker et al. (2001) - that includes…
grrlscientist | May 29, 2008tags: Hamerkop, Scopus umbretta, birds, Image of the Day
Second in a series of non-passerine images by this photographer.
Hamerkop, Scopus umbretta, also known as the Hammerhead Stork or the Anvilhead.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 26, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Red-crested Turaco, Tauraco erythrolophus.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
Birds in Science
Surface tension can be a wonderful thing. It helps some insects walk on water. It allows the dappling of raindrops on the hood of a car. And, a new study in Science shows, it enables certain birds to eat. Like many birds, phalaropes, small shorebirds with long, thin beaks, feed by pecking, but phalaropes peck at water, capturing droplets, on the order of a tenth of an inch in diameter, which can contain tiny crustaceans or…
grrlscientist | May 25, 2008tags: northern cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis, birds, Central Park, Image of the Day
You do not have to be a photography expert to notice that the only thing in focus in this image is the green mesh in the foreground and even then you might have to enlarge it to see that it is so. To appreciate why I relish this photo a detailed explanation is necessary. Of course that might be said about many of my other images too but none more so than this one: at least so far.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger].
The photographer, Bob Levy, writes;
You will, I hope, recognize that there…
tetrapodzoology | May 22, 2008
Another busy week, so no time yet to finish any new articles, sorry. The photo here - kindly supplied by Mary Blanchard - depicts the little-known Collared nightjar Caprimulgus enarratus, a Madagascan endemic associated with humid evergreen forest and primary lowland forest (though it has also recently been reported from mangroves and brush forest). Its broad rufous collar is distinctive, and it is easily distinguished from the paler, more streaky-patterned Madagascar nightjar C. madagascariensis (these two are the only nightjars on Madagascar). The cryptic patterning deserves no comment,…
grrlscientist | May 22, 2008tags: Oology And Ralph's Talking Eggs, conservation, ornithology, oology, Carrol L. Henderson, book review
People's methods for learning about the lives of birds have varied throughout the decades. Today, birders learn about their feathery subjects by using binoculars, telescopes, sound recording devices and cameras, while ornithologists and molecular biologists add further insight by analyzing avian DNA, transponder data and satellite information. But such powerful technologies have not always been available, so people have relied on other methods to learn about birds. For example, between…
grrlscientist | May 21, 2008tags: online books, ornithology, birds, anatomyAvian Anatomy books
I have been informed that the previous link for one of the avian anatomy books has been deactivated. I am not surprised by this since my source warned me that this would likely happen. But there is still demand for this book, so I have downloaded it, along with the other one, to RapidShare, where you can get your free copies. I have updated the link on the previous blog entry, too.
The first book, The Anatomical Atlas of Gallus by Mikio Yasuda is the English edition of the Japanese book published by the University of Tokyo in…
grrlscientist | May 20, 2008tags: online books, ornithology, birds, anatomyAvian Anatomy books
A reader of mine sent me the links to two more avian anatomy books that are available for download from FlipDrive. How long these two downloads will last is anyone's guess, though. But I know that my overseas readers, particularly those two of you who are working on your dissertations, will be interested in these. Both books are important additions to your bookshelf, for different reasons. One book is in full color and both books are more up-to-date than the Baumel book I made available to you for download earlier (However,…
grrlscientist | May 19, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Yellow-Throated Laughing Thrush, Garrulax galbanus.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
Birds in Science News
A team of researchers recently described fossils from two Lower Eocene parrots that were discovered in Denmark. Analysis of the fossils reveals that one of the ancient parrots, named Mopsitta tanta, is the largest fossil parrot found so far and it has the most northerly distribution yet known. Further, it resembles modern parrots almost as closely as younger fossils found from the Miocene, making it the…
grrlscientist | May 18, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, Aves, Psittaciformes, Pseudasturidae, parrots, Palaeogene, Eocene, Denmark
An artist's impression of the parrot-like bird, Mopsitta tanta, dating back 55 million years. The fossils indicate that parrots once flew wild over what is now Norway and Denmark.
Image: David Waterhouse [larger view].
A team of researchers, including a former postdoctoral colleague of mine, recently described fossils from two Lower Eocene parrot-like birds that were discovered in Denmark. The analysis of the fossils reveals that one of the ancient parrots, named Mopsitta tanta, is the…