ornithology
grrlscientist | December 31, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Gull with Reflection.
California Gull, Larus californicus, with reflection -- Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island Causeway, April 2005.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [really large view]
People Hurting Birds
The bald eagle injured when it flew into a utility line in Plumsted last week has died. Don Bonica of Toms River Avian Care in New Jersey had taken the bird in with hopes of rehabilitating it, but the attempt was unsuccessful, he said. "When I went out to take care of it this morning, it was dead," Bonica said. The bird…
grrlscientist | December 27, 2007tags: I and the Bird, blog carnivals
The 65th edition of the birding blog carnival, I and the Bird, is now available for you to enjoy. There's lots of birding tips there, as well as some Christmas Bird Count news, too.
grrlscientist | December 24, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Male Broad-billed Hummingbird, Cynanthus latirostris, with a pollen cap.
Image: Greg Scott [wallpaper size].
Birds in Science
A new research paper shows that female blue tits use plumage color to clue in males of the species to their genetic quality: the brighter their blue cap coloring and their yellow collar coloring, the better mothers they make.
Some birds nesting in the central and eastern United States have moved their range over a hundred miles farther north in less than three decades. Scientists at…
grrlscientist | December 20, 2007tags: The Snoring Bird, Bernd Heinrich, book review, birds, ornithology, biography, science
I remember that I felt very cold when I read Bernd Heinrich's book, Ravens in Winter, even though it was a hot summer day. That was the first of Heinrich's books that I read, but it definitely wasn't the last. I just finished reading his most recent book, The Snoring Bird: My Family's Journey Through a Century of Biology (NYC: HarperCollins; 2007) and just as I wore a sweater while I finished his Ravens in Winter, I found that my normally routine daily subway rides to and from the library were…
grrlscientist | December 19, 2007tags: California Gull, Larus californicus, birds, ornithology, Image of the Day
Gull with Reflection.
California Gull, Larus californicus, with reflection -- Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island Causeway, April 2005.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [really large view]
grrlscientist | December 19, 2007tags: slow motion, streaming video
I've linked to streaming videos of moonwalking male manakin (birds) before, but it is so amazing that I had to share two more links with you (the first one of these videos of the moonwalking manakins is the extended version, and both are new links to this site). Includes music by Michael Jackson [3:28 & 1:50]
Yet another video of these birds that you will enjoy [1:50];
grrlscientist | December 18, 2007tags: eared grebe, Podiceps nigricollis, birds, ornithology, Image of the Day
Sun and Sparkles.
Eared grebe, Podiceps nigricollis. Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island Causeway, April 2005.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [really large view]
grrlscientist | December 17, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, Parus caeruleus, sexual selection, mate choice, ornithology, female coloration, reproduction, maternal quality, evolution, birds, ornithology
In many bird species, the females are brightly colored, just as the males are, but the evolutionary reasons for brightly colored females is unclear. According to one hypothesis, because males and females share the same genome, their traits are similar. However, according to another hypothesis, there may also be selective pressures on females, just as there are on males, to develop brightly…
grrlscientist | December 17, 2007tags: Caracara creightoni, fossils, birds, ornithology, Image of the Day
The fossil skull of an extinct bird of prey, Caracara creightoni, preserved in an ancient sink-hole in the Bahamas. Several thousand years old, the fossils owe their exquisite preservation to immersion in peat. The bird is a relative of the crested caracara of Central and North America.
Image: PNAS [larger view]
grrlscientist | December 17, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Male Broad-billed Hummingbird, Cynanthus latirostris.
Image: Greg Scott [MUCH larger view].
Birds in Science
A new study by the University of Exeter, UK has revealed that stressed out birds are more likely to take risks than their relaxed counterparts. The research team selectively bred zebra finches to create "laid-back", "normal", and "stressed" groups of birds. These groups differ by their levels of stress hormone, which in birds is corticosterone. The research team observed the behavioral strategies of birds to…
grrlscientist | December 14, 2007tags: Northern cardinal, Aix sponsa, birds, NYC, Central Park, Image of the Day
Male wood duck, Aix sponsa, in Central Park, NYC.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [wallpaper size].
The photographer writes: I was so lucky to get this shot that I had to create an entirely new file for it. After sunset, I started on my way home down the path along the Riviera (i.e. a section of the northern shore of Central Park Lake). I noticed a group of Mallards coming out of the water. They began to forage along the shoreline where they were joined by a male Wood Duck. Only a few Wood Ducks -- if…
grrlscientist | December 14, 2007tags: Meyer's parrot, Poicephalus meyeri, hatching, streaming video
This isn't the best video, but it's really interesting because it shows a Meyer's parrot, Poicephalus meyeri, chick in the process of hatching [3:20]
grrlscientist | December 12, 2007tags: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting on 5 December and going daily through the 12th of December. I will likely be publishing more of his images here in the future, as well. But until then, be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird,…
grrlscientist | December 11, 2007tags: Magnificent Hummingbird, Eugenes fulgens, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting on 5 December and going daily through the 12th of December. I will likely be publishing more of his images here in the future, as well. But until then, be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Male Magnificent Hummingbird, Eugenes…
grrlscientist | December 10, 2007tags: Broad-billed Hummingbird, Cynanthus latirostris, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting on 5 December and going daily through the 12th of December. I will likely be publishing more of his images here in the future, as well. But until then, be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Male Broad-billed Hummingbird,…
grrlscientist | December 10, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Winter in NYC means the return of migratory White-throated Sparrows, Zonotrichia albicollis (this bird is in its first winter plumage). There are thousands of these birds in Central Park and in the other parks here, subsisting on grass seeds along with crumbs and other foods that people give them.
Image: Kevin T. Karlson [larger view].
Birds in Science
Divers exploring a water-filled sinkhole in the Bahama Islands recently recovered one of the world's largest and most pristinely preserved collections of animal and…
grrlscientist | December 9, 2007tags: Black-chinned Hummingbird, Archilochus alexandri, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting on 5 December and going daily through the 12th of December. I will likely be publishing more of his images here in the future, as well. But until then, be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Black-chinned Hummingbird,…
grrlscientist | December 8, 2007tags: Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorous rufus, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting on 5 December and going daily through the 12th of December. I will likely be publishing more of his images here in the future, as well. But until then, be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Male Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorous…
grrlscientist | December 7, 2007tags: Costa's Hummingbird, Calypte costae, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting on 5 December and going daily through the 12th of December. I will likely be publishing more of his images here in the future, as well. But until then, be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Male Costa's Hummingbird, Calypte costae.…
grrlscientist | December 6, 2007tags: Black-chinned Hummingbird, Archilochus alexandri, birds, Image of the Day
Thanks to Greg Scott, who has offered to share his gorgeous images with me and all of you here, I am running a series of his hummingbird images starting on 5 December and going daily through the 12th of December. I will likely be publishing more of his images here in the future, as well. But until then, be sure to peek in here daily for yet another hummingbird to brighten your day and also check out Greg's webpage, where he sells images -- yet another wonderful holiday gift idea!
Black-chinned Hummingbird,…