whatthegeck - Tumblr blog

[whatthegeck]

Hi! Love your work!

May I please request some Australian wrens - any colour!

Ah yes, I may have a few for you...

Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus), L - male and R - female, family Maluridae, VIC, Australia

photograph by benjamint444 

Purple-backed Fairywren (Malurus assimilis), male, family Maluridae, Victoria, Australia

Photograph by Kara’s Photography

Splendid Fairywren (Malurus splendens), male, family Maluridae, Western Australia

photograph by Jacqueline Anderson

Red-backed Fairywren (Malurus melanocephalus), male, family Maluridae, NSW, Australia

Photograph by Guy Dening

Purple-crowned Fairywren (Malurus coronatus), T - female & B - male, family Maluridae, found in northern Australia

photograph by @NeyPereira_RJ

[whatthegeck]

[whatthegeck]

Sometimes people accuse my chickens of being generated images and sometimes I think they are too

[whatthegeck]

are bird noises nature or nurture? do crows caw because they were taught to by their communities, or because their brain innately tells them the correct sound to make is caw? thank you

Bird Vocalizations:

This is really not my subfield within ornithology, but my understanding is that bird vocalizations are mostly learned.

I don't feel like I can do this topic justice, beyond that, so here are some good resources:

Bird vocalization - Wikipedia

Learn Bird Language (nature-mentor.com)

Why Do Birds Sing? Recent Studies Sing a New Tune About Birdsong - American Bird Conservancy (abcbirds.org)

_______________________________________________

photo of Golden-cheeked Warbler by Bryan Cotter

[whatthegeck]

Jens has gathered all the Mini Frogs today to send Big Congratulations to @markscherz from all the Stickyfrogs! @markscherz is a Very Awesome Herpetologist, Evolutionary Biologist and FROG WIZARD who you might know for the exquisitely named Minu ature, Mini mum, and Mini scule!

Mark has been awarded a €1.5 Million European Research Commission Starting Grant for his project GEMINI: The Genomics of Miniaturisation in Vertebrates! Read more here and here! Congratulations Mark! 🐸

[whatthegeck]

Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii), L - female, R - male, family Cacatuidae, order Psittaciformes, VIC, Australia

photograph by Adam Phillips (500px)

[whatthegeck]

Northern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata), family Plethodontidae, WV, USA

photograph by Brady O'Brien 

[whatthegeck]

Oh Yes

[whatthegeck]

Huallaga River Stubfoot Toad (Atelopus pulcher), family Bufonidae, endemic to the Huallaga River drainiage of Peru

Poisonous.

Unlike many stubfoot/harlequin toads, this species is not endangered. They are considered vulnerable, however, due to habitat loss and the chytrid fungus.

Herpetologists believe that this species may also be found in nearby areas of Ecuador.

photograph by Yuji Abematsu

[whatthegeck]

This guy's coloring up so nicely

(Florida Flagfish; Jordanella floridae)

[whatthegeck]

Japanese Sturgeon.

[whatthegeck]

Sorry the video is kinda jerky. I couldn't see what I was doing lol. But Charlie like crawled into my bun???

[whatthegeck]

Sorry freaks I saw an owl on the walk. Gotta owlpost

[whatthegeck]

Everyone look at my kuhli

[whatthegeck]

beast

[whatthegeck]

[whatthegeck]

Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber), family Plethodontidae, found in the eastern United States

Photograph via: Northeast Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation