Here’s a bird you won’t see in Pennsylvania. He was photographed at Carrizo Plain National Monument, 100 miles (as the crow flies) northwest of Los Angeles, California.
Quiz: Who is this on the wire? … Notice his long legs.
(photo by Bob Wick, BLM via Wikimedia Commons; click on the caption to see the original)
Here’s a puzzle. Don’t google it. Look at the photos to arrive at an answer.
In botany: What is a peduncle?
We encounter peduncles every day though we don’t use the word much anymore. Since 1950 the word has fallen out of common use and because it looks like pedophile+uncle the urban dictionary lists a raunchy meaning. But that’s not what it is.
Peduncle comes from ped (Latin for foot) plus -uncle (an Old French diminutive ending) so it literally means tiny foot.
Each photo on this page has at least one visible peduncle. Can you find it?
Here’s a clue. The number of peduncles in each photo above is:
Final clue: The photo below shows no fruit, but it has peduncles.
Still stumped? Click here for the answer.
(photos from Kate St. John, Dianne Machesney and Wikimedia Commons. Click on the Wikimedia captions to see the originals.)
Here’s an assortment of wildflowers found in western Pennsylvania this month. Many are blooming. One has a fruit.
For fun, a quiz: Can you match their names to the list below?
(photos by Kate St. John)
Can you identify these birds in flight?
Hints:
(photo by Don Weiss)
The Answer … or at least part of the answer …
Any others?
Legend says that reindeer will pull Santa’s sleigh tonight.
What do we know about real reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)?
Here’s a quiz based on Reindeer: 12 Fascinating Facts About These Amazing Creatures on the National Wildlife Federation website. Click on the 12 Facts link to see the answers and even more information.
a. Reindeer live in Europe, Asia and North America, but on our continent they have a different name. What are they called?
b. Among moose, elk and white-tailed deer, only the males grow antlers. What about reindeer?
c. Reindeer coats change from winter to summer and so do their hooves. What’s different about their hooves and why do they change?
d. “Some subspecies have knees that make a clicking noise when they walk.” What’s the advantage to making this noise? (Do your knees click? Here’s an excuse for it.)
e. Reindeer do migrate and those in North America travel quite far. How far do they go?
f. Reindeer used to live in the Lower 48. Which state? And how long ago was that?
g. Where did we get the idea that reindeer can pull sleighs? Here’s a visual answer.
h. Who is the leading predator of reindeer calves? (Hint: It’s a bird!)
Visit Reindeer: 12 Fascinating Facts About These Amazing Creatures for the answers.
(clipart from Clipart Library; photos from Wikimedia Commons. Click on the images to see the originals)
Today, a quiz.
I found green eggs on stinging nettle on August 9 at Wolf Creek Narrows, Butler County, PA.
Are they eggs or something else?
And who laid them?
Post a comment with your answer.
I’ll reveal their identity later today.
THE ANSWER: 29 August, 3:15pm
This was a tricky quiz because the structures really do look like eggs. I thought they were butterfly eggs but they are too smooth. The butterflies most likely to lay eggs on nettle have very wrinkled eggs. For instance, click here to see the eggs of the small tortoiseshell butterfly.
Mary Ann Pike correctly identified the green “eggs” as nettle galls of (probably) Dasineura investita. The galls are the plant’s defenses against the larvae inside them. The larvae are from midges so tiny that I can’t find photographs of the adult insects though these three photos may give you an idea.
Caterpillars of the Sordid Hypena moth (Hypena sordidula) eat these galls. Click here to see it.
(photo by Kate St. John)
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On a birding trip in Costa Rica:
Back in 2011 I made a bird identification quiz that featured this bird because it looks cool and I’d never seen it before.
Today I’m in Costa Rica within this bird’s home range.
Follow the link below to figure out what bird this is.
(photo from Wikimedia Commons; click on the image to see the original)
(*) p.s. As I mentioned on Jan 27, I wrote this article before I left home so I couldn’t know if I’d see this bird. I’ll let you know when I get back.
Day 7: Las Cruces Field Station
This Featured picture from Wikimedia Commons was taken in Franz Josef Land, a Russian archipelago of 191 islands in the Arctic Ocean.
It’s a beautiful photo of an iceberg and there’s a bird in it.
Quiz: What bird?
Here are some hints:
So what bird is flying by this iceberg in Russia? I think I know.
Leave a comment with your answer.
(photo from Wikimedia Commons. Click on the image to see the original)
Time for a quiz!
Name at least 5 bird species found on every continent except Antarctica. Hint: One of them is my favorite bird.
Leave a comment with your answer. (My answer will be in the comments, too.)
(map from Wikimedia Commons. Click on the image to see the original)
