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A Nest Building Hummingbird

May 10, 2013 at 6:59 pm / Natural history, Short Observations, Video

In this short but condensed observation you can watch a female Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna) construct her nest over 10 days between 18-28th January 2010 recorded in Victoria, British Colombia, Canada. She uses fluff feathers of other birds, spider webbings and cotton tissue around seeds of poplar trees as nest material. The size of the finished nest is typically about 5cm across x 4cm high. Unlike most other bird species in all hummingbirds nest construction and parental care is always […]

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Sponge Bob or Sponge “Poop”

April 14, 2013 at 10:07 am / Ecological Documentaries, Natural history, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

It is ironic that biologically diverse habitats are usually rather poor in nutrients. Coral reefs are one of them. Crystal clear waters of the tropical seas is a “clear” indication of nutrient poor environment. Because nutrients in the water column are scarce microscopic plants and animals (planktons) that form the basis of food webs cannot maintain high numbers and the water column remains clear. Dissolved organic carbon is a nutrient that is inedible for most organisms living in a reef. […]

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A Cannibal Caterpillar?

April 11, 2013 at 7:27 am / Ecological Documentaries, Natural history, NatureDocumentaries.org, Short Observations, Video

On September 22 2012, I encountered this caterpillar eating another fuzzy insect part along the White Trail of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens, GA. While the munching was going on, a familiar bully of the bushes the ground beetle (Calleida punctata) came in. The beetle harassed and eventually forced the caterpillar away from the leaf. I desperately needed help in explaining the sequence of events happening in this video. Why was the ground beetle so interested in […]

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Empire of the Desert Ants – BBC (2011)

April 3, 2013 at 11:10 pm / BBC documentaries, Natural history, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

BBC Wildlife Division’s Natural World series tells the natural history of the honeypot ant (Myrmecocystus mimicus) in the Arizona desert. This is the first footage to show honeypot ant queens co-operating in the wild. Filmmakers spent 150 days in the deserts of Arizona, US to capture the behavior of the ants. Filming the foundation of a new colony was a considerable challenge because the insects rarely ventured above ground. The team was fortunate enough to witness a mating swarm that […]

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An Illustrated Introduction to Natural Selection & Sexual Selection – Cornell Lab of Ornithology (2013)

March 10, 2013 at 1:04 am / Evolution, Natural history, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

Cornell Bird Lab produced a series of quite informative teaching materials to provide scientific explanation for how new species have evolved (and are evolving). Evolution is not only a struggle for existence, it is also an effort to pass on genes to next generation. Modern biology has described mechanisms of evolution with fine details and this video effectively tells how natural selection works with three cartoonified traits in an island setting at the first few minutes. In many animals females […]

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Hammer Eyed Fly (Richardia telescopica)

March 6, 2013 at 11:25 pm / Natural history, NatureDocumentaries.org, Short Observations, Video

On September 9th 2001, I encountered this hammer-eyed fly (Richardia telescopica) on STR trail (~600m mark) at La Selva Biological Field Station in Costa Rica. I was rushing on my bicycle to my field site one morning. I had to make an abrubt stop because my path was blocked by a tree fall which I believe was a Hampea appendiculata (Malvaceae). I noticed the fly on one of the branches of the downed tree. I rushed to get the camera […]

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Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air – PBS (2010)

March 6, 2013 at 5:03 pm / Evolution, Natural history, PBS Nature, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

Hummingbirds. Today they are strictly found on American continent but there are hummingbird-like fossil specimens from Germany hinting that this group might have been more widespread in its evolutionary past. More than 8000 species of plants have evolved to get their pollination services from hummingbirds. In 2013 a 50 million year old fossil showed the earliest ancestor of hummingbirds. With a heart beating at 600 beats per minute hummingbirds are champions of survival. The PBS documentary explores a rich repertoire […]

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Carolina Cranesbill (Geranium carolinianum) Flower Self-pollination

January 24, 2013 at 10:30 am / Evolution, Natural history, NatureDocumentaries.org, Video

Dr. Rebecca Shirk has studied genetic diversity and adaptation in native and invasive populations of Carolina cranesbill (Geranium carolinianum) during her PhD project in Department of Plant Biology at the University of Georgia in Athens. Flowers of this genus has a quite diverse pollination strategy. Flowers come in a staggering diversity of forms. There are huge flowers; tiny flowers; flowers that never open; flowers with patterns that can’t be seen by the human eye; and extremely specialized flowers that are […]

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A Biography of Edward O. Wilson – Lord of the Ants (2008)

September 5, 2012 at 11:01 am / Natural history, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

Edward O. Wilson is one of the leading myrmecologists of our time. However, he is best known as a sociobiologist which in his words is “the extension of population biology and evolutionary theory to social organization”. Sociobiology didn’t gain major recognition as a concept until 1975. That year, the publication of his book, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis created a lot of rattle in public space. It quickly drew arrows from prominent scientists of their field including evolutionary biologists. In a […]

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Nesting Chestnut Mandibled Toucan (Ramphastos swainsonii)

April 9, 2012 at 11:27 pm / Ecological Documentaries, Natural history, Short Observations, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

Filmed and edited by by Jean and Phil Slosberg in 2010 the captured footage reflects a slice of natural history of chestnut-mandibled toucans. Slosbergs were able to record the nest preparation, parental care and nest maintenance phases from their home in Costa Rica. They note that after a successful breeding season the pair tried to nest in the same tree again in 2011 but were not successful because meliponid stingless bees have taken over the cavity. They attempted to clean […]

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Ants – Nature’s Secret Power (2006)

January 29, 2012 at 11:23 am / Ecological Documentaries, Evolution, Natural history, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

Ants, bees and wasps make up only 3 percent of animal diversity yet they may constitute up to 50 percent of the total animal biomass in land habitats. Bert Hölldobler is a leading entomologist (scientist who studies insects). He collaborated with ant biologist E.O. Wilson and developed the field of Sociobiology. The documentary does an excellent job introducing us observations coming from both natural and laboratory setting. First observation comes from the European red wood ants (Formica polyctena). These ants […]

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Nesting Nightjar in Camouflage

January 16, 2012 at 11:25 pm / Ecological Documentaries, Natural history, Short Observations, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

This is an excellent footage capturing the behavior of a ground nesting nightjar. These birds are night-flying aerial insectivores active during dusk and dawn. It is almost impossible to see them during the day because of their camouflage. Nightjars are also known as goatsuckers which has no biological basis. If an intruder comes dangerously close to the nest, adults perform a well-known “broken wing” display. It is an excellent visual distraction. The bird will easily disappear soon after the intruder is at a […]

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