parrots
grrlscientist | July 22, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, dichromatism, mating system, plumage color, sex allocation, eclectus parrots, Eclectus roratus, ornithology, birds, avian, parrots
Elektra, my female Solomon Islands eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis.
This is the smallest and most distinctively marked of all the subspecies of eclectus parrots.
Image: GrrlScientist 4 July 2008 [larger view].
Some of you might recall the recent story about scientists learning to identify plumage coloration from fossilized feathers. This might seem a sort of esoteric pursuit meant to entertain scientists with access to…
grrlscientist | July 4, 2008tags: companion parrots, Solomon Islands eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, hawk-headed parrot, red fan parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus accipitrinus, Friday Parrot Blogging
Elektra (left), a 5-year old female Solomon Islands eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, and
Orpheus (right), a 1-year old male hawk-headed (red fan) parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus accipitrinus.
Images: GrrlScientist 4 July 2008
[Elektra, larger view and Orpheus, larger view].
Orpheus, especially, is camera-shy, and always manages to turn his head or turn his back on me when the camera comes out.…
grrlscientist | July 1, 2008tags: Green-naped Rainbow lory, Trichoglossus haematodus haematodus, birds, Image of the Day
Last in a series of ten images of lories by this photographer.
A playful group of green-naped subspecies of the Rainbow lory, Trichoglossus haematodus haematodus. There are 15 subspecies of rainbow lories occurring throughout the islands of the south Pacific Ocean. This subspecies is primarily found along the east coast of Australia.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
grrlscientist | June 30, 2008tags: smuggling parrots, poaching parrots, ProFauna Indonesia, endangered species, conservation, politics
Indonesians protest the illegal wildlife trade.
Image: ProFauna Indonesia.
You know that I am passionate about the parrots of the south Pacific Ocean -- I devoted my life to researching them, in fact. So it is my responsibility to bring a very important and tragic issue to your attention. Indonesia, home to many of the birds that I love so much, is killing its endemic parrots through poaching and smuggling.
There are 85 parrot species in Indonesia, 14 of which are globally threatened…
grrlscientist | June 30, 2008tags: Blue Mountain Rainbow Lory, Swainson's Rainbow Lory, Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus, birds, Image of the Day
Eighth in a series of lory images by this photographer.
Rainbow Lory, Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus. This subspecies of rainbow lory is also found in Australia, along the east coast.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
grrlscientist | June 29, 2008tags: Moluccan Lory, Red Lory, Eos bornea, birds, Image of the Day
Seventh in a series of images of lories by this photographer.
Red Lory, also known as the Moluccan Lory, Eos bornea.
There are two subspecies on several closely clustered islands in Indonesia's Moluccas.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
grrlscientist | June 28, 2008tags: yellow-backed Chattering lory, yellow-backed scarlet lory, Lorius garrulus flavopalliatus, birds, Image of the Day
This image depicts another of the parrot species that I bred and raised when I lived in Seattle, and that I researched before my NYC postdoctoral fellowship ended. How I miss my lories!
Sixth in a series of images of lories by this photographer.
Yellow-backed subspecies of the Chattering Lory, Lorius garrulus flavopalliatus. This subspecies, distinguished from the nominate race by the yellow patch on its back, is found on the Indonesian island of Maluku. It is…
grrlscientist | June 27, 2008tags: Chattering lory, scarlet lory, Lorius garrulus, birds, Image of the Day
This image depicts another of the parrot species that I bred and raised when I lived in Seattle, and that I researched before my NYC postdoctoral fellowship ended. How I miss my lories!
Fifth in a series of images of lories by this photographer.
Profile of a Chattering Lory, Lorius garrulus. Two subspecies are formally recognized and are found on nearby islands in Indonesia.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
grrlscientist | June 26, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, Early Bird Project, Tree of Life, avian evolution, deep avian evolutionary relationships, avian phylogenomics, location cues, Shannon J. Hackett, Rebecca T. Kimball, Sushma Reddy
Basic topology of the evolutionary relationships between birds.
Maximum Likelihood (ML) phylogram reveals the short internodes at the base of Neoaves and highlights certain extreme examples of rate variation across avian lineages. The phylogenetic tree was rooted to crocodilian outgroups (not shown). Branch colors represent major clades supported in this study: land birds (green),…
grrlscientist | June 26, 2008tags: Brown lory, Duyvenbode's lory, Chalcopsitta duivenbodei, birds, Image of the Day
This image depicts another of the parrot species that I bred and raised when I lived in Seattle, and that I researched before my NYC postdoctoral fellowship ended. The best friend I ever had was duyvenbode's lory, in fact. How I miss my lories!
Fourth in a series of images of lories by this photographer.
Brown Lory, also known as the Duyvenbode's Lory, Chalcopsitta duivenbodei. This species is endemic to the island of New Guinea.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
grrlscientist | June 26, 2008tags: The Last Flight of The Scarlet Macaw, conservation, endangered species, parrots, politics, Bruce Barcott, book review
Nonfiction books are often thought of as being "good for us", as if they were literary vitamin tablets, but many people take their summers off from their vitamins by reading trashy novels or mysteries while ensconced under an umbrella on a sandy beach. So what would you say if you could read a book that has the best qualities of both genres? If you think that such a book doesn't exist, well, think again: Bruce Barcott's recently published book, The Last Flight of The…
grrlscientist | June 25, 2008tags: Chattering lory, scarlet lory, Lorius garrulus, birds, Image of the Day
This image depicts another of the parrot species that I bred and raised when I lived in Seattle, and that I researched before my NYC postdoctoral fellowship ended. How I miss my lories!
Third in a series of images of lories by this photographer.
ABSTRACT: Chattering Lory, sometimes known as the Scarlet Lory, Lorius garrulus.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
grrlscientist | June 24, 2008tags: Dusky lory, Pseudeos fuscata, birds, Image of the Day
This image depicts one of the parrot species that I bred and raised when I lived in Seattle, and that I researched before my NYC postdoctoral fellowship ended. How I miss my lories!
Second in a series of images of lories by this photographer.
Orange phase Dusky Lory, Pseudeos fuscata.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
grrlscientist | June 23, 2008tags: Rainbow Lory, Trichoglossus haematodus, birds, Image of the Day
First in a series of lory images by this photographer.
ABSTRACT: Rainbow Lory, Trichoglossus haematodus.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 31, 2008tags: Alex And Me: A 30-Year Adventure, Alex & Me: Lessons from a Little Bird with a Big Heart, ethology, cognition, learning, parrots, Irene Pepperberg, book review
As a scientist, parrot researcher, aviculturist and parrot companion, I have met Irene Pepperberg several times, at both scientific meetings and also at avicultural meetings, and I have followed her research closely (but quietly) for most of my life. So, when Seed Media, which houses all of ScienceBlogs, asked me if I wanted to read and review Pepperberg's upcoming book, Alex & Me: Lessons from a Little Bird with a Big…
grrlscientist | May 26, 2008tags: parrots, politics, humor, behavior, streaming video
This streaming video is a CNN report about a parrot that .. er, parrots .. Barack Obama's slogan, "Yes we can". But it also includes some other parrots .. the one that says "Whateverrrr" is my favorite [2:31].
grrlscientist | May 24, 2008tags: Sun Conure, Aratinga solstitialis, birds, Image of the Day
Last in a series of psittacine images by this photographer (I do have more psittacine images in the queue, but all of them are for lories .. Loriinae).
Sun Conure chick, Aratinga solstitialis.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 23, 2008tags: budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus, birds, parrots, Image of the Day
Third in a series of psittacine images by this photographer.
Budgerigar (Budgie), Melopsittacus undulatus.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
This parrot's scientific name means "song parrot with wavy lines" and its aboriginal name was close to "budgerigar" meaning "good eating" -- they consumed these small parrots as snacks!
The bird in the above picture is a blue morph of this species. The wild-type coloring for Budgerigars is green. A blue bird results in those individuals that cannot manufacture yellow pigment…
grrlscientist | May 22, 2008tags: Red-Vented Cockatoo, Cacatua haematuropygia, birds, Image of the Day
Second in a series of psittacine images by this photographer.
The Critically Endangered Red-Vented Cockatoo, Cacatua haematuropygia.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 21, 2008tags: White-bellied Caique, Pionites leucogaster, birds, Image of the Day
First in a series of psittacine images by this photographer.
White-bellied parrot (caique), Pionites leucogaster.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].