ornithology
grrlscientist | December 6, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, evolutionary behavior, sociobiology, ornithology, birds, avian, evolution, William Dilger, Agapornis roseicollis, Agapornis fischeri, lovebirds
Peach-faced lovebirds, Agapornis roseicollis (left)
and Fischer's lovebirds, Agapornis fischeri (right),
can interbreed to produce sterile offspring.
Images: LoveBirds New Zealand.
Is behavior genetically "programmed" or is it the result of learning? Or is it instead a little bit of both? This is the old "nature versus nurture" argument that has occupied behavioral and evolutionary scientists, psychologists and even…
grrlscientist | December 5, 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 today and going daily through the 12th of December. I would love to publish more of his images here but I didn't want to be selfish and take advantage of his generosity. 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-…
grrlscientist | December 4, 2007tags: laughing gull, Larus atricilla, birds, Image of the Day
A basic (winter) plumage Laughing Gull, Larus atricilla.
Image: Scott Lewis. [Much larger view].
grrlscientist | December 3, 2007tags: Great-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus, birds, Image of the Day
Great-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus.
Image: The Ridger [wallpaper size].
grrlscientist | December 3, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
A brown pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, relaxes on a people-watching and photography trip at the Port Aransas Birding Center, Texas.
Image: Scott Lewis [MUCH larger view].
Birds in Science
A £200,000 study into what happens when people hear birdsong is taking off. Researchers at Aberdeen University in Great Britain will spend two years listening to birds to find out how their songs, calls and cries become a part of people's lives. "Listening to birds: an anthropological approach to bird sounds" has received…
grrlscientist | December 1, 2007tags: great blue heron, Ardea herodias, birds, Image of the Day
Hrm, maybe I can see better if I tilt my head like this?
A brown pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, tries digiscoping at the Port Aransas Birding Center, Texas.
Image: Scott Lewis [MUCH larger view].
grrlscientist | November 30, 2007tags: great blue heron, Ardea herodias, birds, Image of the Day
Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, engaging in peculiar behavior at the Port Aransas Birding Center, Texas.
Image: Scott Lewis [larger view].
Does anyone know the purpose for this behavior?
grrlscientist | November 29, 2007tags: birds, bird sex chromosomes, ZZ, ZW, parrots, sex identification, molecular biology
Evolution of Avian and Mammalian sex chromosomes.
Image: E.R.S. Roldan and Montserrat Gomendio "The Y chromosome as a battle ground for sexual selection" Trends in Ecology & Evolution 1999, 14:58-62.
You all are probably curious to know what is happening with my birds these days, so I shall tell you about how sex is identified in birds, such as parrots, where the sexes look the same. But wait a minute, you ask, what does an update about my birds have to do with identifying sex in parrots?
You…
grrlscientist | November 27, 2007tags: crow, kitten, unlikely friends, streaming video
This is a story that I've linked to before, but the video is new since then; it tells the story of a wild crow that befriended a motherless kitten, fed and protected it and now that the kitten (now more a cat than a kitten) has found a home with humans, the crow still is fast friends. [7:29]
grrlscientist | November 26, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Swainson's Hawk, Buteo swainsoni, in flight.
Image: Justawriter [wallpaper size].
People Hurting Birds
An extremely rare lesser spotted eagle, shot earlier this year by dumbass human hunters on the island of Malta, has been saved from death but may never be able to return to the wild. The bird, nicknamed Sigmar after Germany's environmental minister, underwent three operations to repair damage it suffered after being shot, but it may not be enough for the bird to live in the wild again. The bird can feed itself and…
grrlscientist | November 25, 2007tags: Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, birds, NYC, Central Park, Image of the Day
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [wallpaper size].
grrlscientist | November 24, 2007tags: Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, birds, Image of the Day
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [wallpaper size].
The photographer writes: On November 18, you posted an image of a male English (House) Sparrow. "Albatrosity", an astute parrot pal commentator, noted that the black bib feathers on this bird have gray tips that will wear away by the time breeding season comes around. I have two recent images of Papa Castle, a Northern Cardinal of my acquaintance, that illustrate a similar process at work except on a larger scale.
In the first image close-up you can see a gray…
grrlscientist | November 23, 2007tags: sanderling, Calidris alba, birds, Image of the Day
Sanderling, Calidris alba, in the early morning light on Thanksgiving Day.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [wallpaper size].
The photographer writes: A sanderling, taken on the beach at Bald Head Island this morning. The fact that this shorebird species lacks the back toe (hallux) is obvious and visible in the photo, but I mostly like that long early morning shadow that makes his dumpy little legs look quite stilt-like!
grrlscientist | November 20, 2007tags: Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, birds, Image of the Day
Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis.
Image: Justawriter [larger view].
A very photogenic red-tailed hawk. North Dakota has become something of a haven for raptors. I never saw a bald eagle until seven years ago. Now they are so common that seeing one isn't worth mentioning. Hawks like this one and the previous photo (yesterday) are as common as mile markers.
grrlscientist | November 19, 2007tags: Swainson's Hawk, Buteo swainsoni, birds, Image of the Day
Swainson's Hawk, Buteo swainsoni, in flight.
Image: Justawriter [wallpaper size].
grrlscientist | November 19, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Black-necked weaver, Ploceus nigricollis.
Image: Basia Kruszewska, author of India Ink. [Wallpaper size]
Birds in Research
A native Hawaiian bird has surprised researchers with its ability to survive malaria, apparently thanks to a number of resistant populations that have spread throughout the Hawaiian forest. The discovery hints that genes for natural resistance to the avian disease may lurk inside the genomes of many of Hawaii's endangered birds. Two years ago, researchers reported that one species, the amakihi,…
grrlscientist | November 18, 2007tags: house sparrow, Passer domesticus, birds, Image of the Day
House sparrow, Passer domesticus, which I usually refer to as an English Sparrow, in honor of where it originally came from. This is a young male that lives in Central Park, NYC.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [larger view].
More below the fold;
The photographer writes: I enjoyed the series of sparrow photos very much but I did not recall seeing the House Sparrow, [which is] often taken for granted. These birds intrigue me for a number of reasons not the least of which is the history of how they came to be here.…
grrlscientist | November 17, 2007tags: white-crowned sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys, birds, Image of the Day
White-crowned sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys, in the central valley of California.
Image: Madhu [larger view].
grrlscientist | November 16, 2007tags: song sparrow, Melospiza melodia, birds, Image of the Day
A friend who is a professor of Biology at KSU sent me a bunch of lovely images of sparrows that he took recently while birding. The song sparrow is one of the species that I studied for my dissertation work, although most of my dissertation focused on the white-crowned sparrow. These images are scheduled to appear daily at 3 pm from 6 November through 16 November.
Song sparrow, Melospiza melodia.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger size].
grrlscientist | November 15, 2007tags: swamp sparrow, Melospiza georgiana, birds, Image of the Day
A friend who is a professor of Biology at KSU sent me a bunch of lovely images of sparrows that he took recently while birding. These images are scheduled to appear daily at 3 pm from 6 November through 16 November.
Swamp sparrow, Melospiza georgiana.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger size].