TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
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| Vital Signs: Safety: Assessing the National Bill for Crashes Motor vehicle accidents cost the nation almost $100 billion dollars a year, about $500 for each licensed driver, according to government data. feeds.nytimes.com |
Mystery bird: Swainson's hawk, Buteo swainsoni | GrrlScientist A daily mystery bird demystified. Also includes some information about how this species was originally namedSwainson's hawk, Buteo swainsoni, dining on a dragonfly (I am uncertain of the species name for the dragonfly, but according to my reader, ThomLS, it is likely an Anax species). This large Buteo is also known as the grasshopper hawk or locust hawk in honour of its fondness for eating these insects. Photographed at Smith Point Hawk Watch, Chambers County, Texas.Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 September 2010 [larger view]. I encourage you to explore this generous photographer's frequently updated website. Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.This inaugural mystery bird image was suggested by our very generous photographer, Joseph Kennedy. Even though this is a North American Buteo, it seemed appropriate to start with because this species was named by Charles Bonaparte in honor of William Swainson, a British naturalist, artist and globetrotter. Swainson's hawks nest in semi-arid grasslands throughout the central and western interior of North America. This species is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Argentina (which may be where William Swainson encountered them during his own peregrinations). Interestingly, there is one accepted record of a vagrant Swainson's hawk popping up in Norway!GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Surveillance satellite in orbit after Calif launch By 2010-09-27T03:28:27ZVANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) -- A new Space Based Surveillance satellite is orbiting Earth after a successful launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base on the central California coast.... hosted.ap.org |
On Our Radar: Turtle Egg Rescue Pays Off Some 15,000 hatchlings have been released into the Atlantic since July. feeds.nytimes.com |
Today's Mystery Bird For You To Identify These lovely African mystery birds live in temperate zone short-grass prairies, where they have a specialized dietMystery Bird photographed at Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, Africa [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]Image: Dan Logen, 22 January 2010 [with binoculars].Nikon D300, 600 mm lens x 1.4 extender, ISO 400, f/5.6 1/1600 sec.HINT: These African mystery birds birds are sight-hunters, consuming termites, which constitutes a large part of their diet. Daily Mystery Bird Rules: 1. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification, keeping in mind that more than one field mark is often necessary to distinguish between species. IDs without any supporting information are not valid and may be deleted by the moderators. 2. Expert and intermediate level birders: do NOT try to be the first to blurt out the mystery bird's ID. Instead, please provide helpful hints, such as descriptions, literary references, puns, personal anecdotes, and other forms of discussion and assistance for beginning birders and for those following on their iPhones without naming the species. Expert and intermediate birders are free to name the bird species 24 or more hours after it was first published.3. Each mystery bird is usually accompanied by a question or two. These questions can be useful for identifying the pictured species, but may instead be used to illustrate an interesting aspect of avian biology, behaviour or evolution, or may be intended to generate conversation on other topics, such as conservation. 4. Each bird species will be demystified 48 hours after publication. If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and appreciate audience, feel free to email them to me for consideration.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |