Hello Tweeties,

Monday's mystery bird resulted in a dearth of comments, which disappointed me. However, the mystery bird was easy enough (black-throated magpie-jay -- I've seen this species in captivity and in fact, was offered a captive-bred individual as a pet, which I almost accepted!). However, identifying the species wasn't the question. The question was to name at least ten avian species that live in the same habitat as this very range-restricted bird. Rick did not include a list with his essay, so I took a wild guess of my own. I freely admit my list is woefully incomplete, and probably not 100% correct (I need a field guide to Mexico to reference). To read Rick's essay and my list (and probably Rick's corrections to my list sometime later in the day), and to add your own species to the list, go here;

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2008/10/todays_mystery_bird_for_you_to_51.php

Here's today's mystery bird, courtesy of Rick Wright;

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2008/10/todays_mystery_bird_for_you_to_53.php

now, I admit this is a challenging bird that "will separate the men from the boys" among birders, and I doubt I could ID this bird without reading Rick's analysis first, BUT let me remind you that this bird CAN be identified without hearing its voice. But to identify it, you are relying totally on ALL available field marks. Complaints? leave 'em in comments for Rick to read! ;)

I also wanted to let you know that I have not given up on seeing PBS's program, Parrot in the Land of Oz, and have found a two part series of videos that I wanted to share with you. Here's part one;

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2008/10/australias_wild_parrots.php

cheers,

GrrlScientist
Devorah
http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/
Roosting high up a tree somewhere in Central Park, NYC