| Mongolian Cabinet holds meeting in Gobi desert By GANBAT NAMJILSANGARAV 2010-08-30T00:34:10ZGASHUUNII KHOOLOI, Mongolia (AP) -- Top Mongolian officials donned dark green baseball caps reading "Save our planet" and set up chairs and tables in the sands of the Gobi desert for a Cabinet meeting aimed at drawing attention to climate change.... hosted.ap.org |
Mystery bird: Tennessee warbler, Vermivora peregrina | GrrlScientist A mystery bird demystified! This mystery bird includes information about how this species was given its misleading common nameTennessee Warbler, Vermivora peregrina, photographed in the Sabine Woods and Sabine Pass area in Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge, USA. Image: Joseph Kennedy, 28 April 2008 [larger view]Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/800s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400. [larger view].This North American Mystery Bird species is often mistaken for several other birds in the field; one is a close relative, while the others comprise a species complex of similar-looking birds. Can you name this Mystery Bird species along with those that it is confused with? Fall female and juvenile Tennessee warblers, Vermivora peregrina, are commonly confused with their close relative, the orange-crowned warbler. These two species can be distinguished by the duller green on the orange-crowned warbler's back, its yellow undertail, the faint or blurry streaks on the sides of its breast, and its thin, split eyering. (Note that the above image clearly shows the diagnostic white undertail area.)Tennessee warblers can also be confused with vireos. But a closer look reveals that vireos are slightly larger birds with a more robust body, more distinct eyelines, duller green backs, and they have thicker but less pointy bills. These birds' behaviors are distinctive as well: vireos are less active foragers than the fast-moving Tennessee warbler.The Tennessee warbler's common name is sadly misleading: even though they neither breed nor winter in this state, their common name is a rather dubious honor because the first specimen ever collected was shot in 1832 on the banks of Tennessee's Cumberland River. That unfortunate individual was collected during its annual migration by naturalist and artist, Alexander Wilson. Wilson is notable because he co-wrote and illustrated the book, American Ornithology, with a nephew of Emperor Napoleon, French ornithologist, Charles Lucien Bonaparte. 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.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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Sea ice melting as Arctic temperature rises By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID 2010-10-21T18:56:03ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- The temperature is rising again in the Arctic, with the sea ice extent dropping to one of the lowest levels on record, climate scientists reported Thursday.... hosted.ap.org |