birds
grrlscientist | June 14, 2008tags: Blue-throated hummingbird, Lampornis clemenciae, birds, nature, 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.
Juvenile male Blue-throated Hummingbird, Lampornis clemenciae, Cave Creek Canyon, AZ.
Image: Dave Rintoul, June 2008 [larger view].
For comparison, an adult male of the species -- also read the comments section to learn more about how to identify juvenile males of this species.
laelaps | June 13, 2008
Photographed at the Prime Hook Natural Wildlife Refuge, Delaware on May 17, 2008.
grrlscientist | June 12, 2008tags: bird nestboxes, skull, humor, streaming video
This video shows you the most remarkable nestbox that you can provide for your birds -- a nestbox that will be a certain conversation stopper, or starter, depending upon what your conversation is doing when your guests spot it [0:46]
clock | June 10, 2008If you are an astute watcher of the PLoS ONE homepage (or the PLoS Blog, or my blog for that matter), you may have noticed that PLoS ONE now has something like a 'theme of the month', i.e., a single, broad topic that we highlight in several different ways on the homepage, blog, in e-mails, etc. We check out the most viewed and downloaded papers on the topic and interview the authors and Academic Editors of those papers, etc. Last month, in May, the theme was Cell Signaling. This month, June '08, the overarching theme is The Birds!
If you search PLoS ONE for bird + avian (keep clicking '…
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…
laelaps | June 6, 2008
A reconstruction of Archaeopteryx. Photographed May 18, 2008 at the Delaware Museum of Natural History.
For those of you who wanted the original, super-sized image, you can now download it here. If there are any other pictures that you would like the original, large versions of, please don't hesitate to ask.
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.…
laelaps | June 5, 2008
A pair of laughing gulls (Larus atricilla). Photographed May 17, 2008 at Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware.
grrlscientist | June 4, 2008tags: Anna's hummingbird, Calypte anna, birds, Image of the Day
Female Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna, sitting on her nest.
Notice her long tongue sticking out of her mouth and the uncommonly bright colors on her gorget.
This bird is nesting on Bainbridge Island in Washington state.
Image: Eva Gerdts, May 2008. [larger view].
grrlscientist | June 3, 2008tags: Beauty and the prosthetic beak, bald eagle, human technology, birds, raptors, streaming video
The Bald Eagle Beauty's beak was shot off in Alaska leaving her unable to feed herself. In this streaming video, you see Birds of Prey NW fitting her with a prosthetic beak. She cannot be released into the wild but will serve as an educational bird showing that human compassion can undue human cruelty. [3:51].
laelaps | June 3, 2008
A group of turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) hanging out on the dunes. Photographed May 17, 2008 at Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware.
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…
laelaps | May 31, 2008
Even though I didn't frame this laughing gull (Larus atricilla) exactly right I still think that this is a pretty cool picture. Photographed May 17, 2008 at Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware.
grrlscientist | May 28, 2008tags: Grey-bellied Tragopan, Tragopan blythii, birds, Image of the Day
First in a series of non-passerine images by this photographer.
Blyth's Tragopan, Tragopan blythii, also known as the Grey-bellied Tragopan.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
Tragopans comprise a genus within the avian order, Phasianidae -- the pheasants.
laelaps | May 28, 2008
A close-up of yesterday's photo of a laughing gull (Larus atricilla) preparing to dive after a fish (because Neil said he liked it so much). (Photographed May 17, 2008 at Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware.)
laelaps | May 27, 2008
A laughing gull (Larus atricilla) spots a fish and prepares to dive after it. (Photographed May 17, 2008 at Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware.)