hello everyone,

well, the antarctica contest has less than 24 hours to go before it concludes. after briefly being in first place (remember that?) i slipped to third place where i have languished ever since. despite my impending defeat, i would like to finish with a strong surge of support from you .. is it too much to hope for that i might meet or surpass 2500 votes? well, probably, but it's still worth hoping for, right? that said, i view strong support for my candidacy as being indicative of the public's desire for good science and nature writing and photography rather than support for me as a person. anyway, if you, your friends, neighbors, coworkers, and your barista haven't voted for me yet, i'd be very grateful if you would take the time to register and vote. it only takes a minute or two;

http://bit.ly/En2Ux

today's mystery bird is a species i photographed while in finland. it's a species that i think you can easily identify, to genus at least;

http://bit.ly/ZnWi6

the most recently demystified mystery bird was a Scarlet-tufted Malachite Sunbird, Nectarinia johnstoni, which is endemic to Africa -- thanks to photographer Dan Logen;

http://bit.ly/TIsbY

we saw a stunning congener that is found in Australia the day before, the Yellow-bellied Sunbird, Nectarinia jugularis, thanks to photographer Steve Duncan;

http://bit.ly/1csw1L

here's a video of the courtship display of black sicklebill bird of paradise, filmed in western papua (formerly irian jaya). this might possibly be the first time this species' courtship has been captured on film;

http://bit.ly/FoJkP

here's a video that follows some researchers as they seek to answer some questions about the amazing blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus;

http://bit.ly/2XVMqG

cheers,

GrrlScientist
http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/
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http://profile.to/grrlscientist/
Vote to make me official Antarctica blogger: http://bit.ly/En2Ux
Roosting high up a tree somewhere in Central Park, NYC