I came across a video highlighting the unique mating system and courtship displays of tiny tropical birds known as manakins. They interesting for forming leks — a place where multiple males will gather and engage in elaborate displays to get the ladies’ attention.

Take a look at this following video. Now for you none birding folks out there, don’t give up on me… The last minute contains a bird moonwalking, and trust me, you’ll want to see it.

It brings back fond memories of a time when I was near the shores of Lake Catemaco in southern Veracruz, Mexico, standing right next to a friend who suddenly found himself look at one of these birds, a Red-headed Manakin. No sooner had he seen it than the bird was gone.

Long-tailed Manakin – photo source

I have seen other species in the tropics though. I’m particularly fond of the coveted Long-tailed Manakin. These birds will form leks where males will jump up and down as they call, trying to attract a female. The displays can last 20 minutes.

They’re extremely vocal too, giving a series of varied noises. Two of the most notable are their toledo song and a call that I can only describe as sounding like a baby crying — a descending waaah.

I’ve included them at the bottom of the post. (If you’re using internet explorer, you may have to click play twice due to the new way Microsoft handles the Flash plugin. I won’t get into it).

Toledo Song:

Waaah Call:

It’s little things like this that should remind us how important conservation is. The life and diversity within tropical rainforests is simply staggering. Even now, after years of study and exploration, it yields new secrets and new beauties.

Each night as I come or go from my apartment, I’ve noticed a sizable Mediterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) hunting in the dim lights on the side of the building. As their name implies, Mediterranean Geckos are an introduced species, naturally occurring in parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Not being a herpetologist, I’m not sure if they’re having any harmful effect on native species. But being nocturnal and highly associated with urban / suburban environments, you might think of them as the House Sparrows of reptiles. My guess is that they’re filling a niche that was previously unfilled (nocturnal insect hunter on the walls of human structures) and that they’re not hurting anything. But that’s just a guess.

I’ve been meaning to grab the camera and try and get some shots. Here’s an excellent one of a beetle walking by. He didn’t make a lunge for it, but seemed attentive to the movement nonetheless.

And another one of him clinging to the walls with those incredible suction pad feet. (For further edification, here’s a BBC article on the fascinating foot structure of geckos.)

And as always, there are larger versions of the pictures in the photo gallery. Clicking a picture will take you through.

I watched Walk the Line, the movie about singer Johnny Cash last night. Overall I was very impressed.

If there’s any complaint I have, it’s that the movie was very much like Ray. Singer has an incredible amount of talent. Singer has emotional and psychological damage from childhood. Singer turns to drugs and adulterous affairs, destroying his life and nearly killing himself. Singer finds redemption in painful recovery process. In this respect, the two movies are identical. Still, both are great movies with great performances by their lead actors (Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line and Jamie Foxx in Ray).

Watching the movie, I was reminded of song Cash sung not long before his death. The song is titled Hurt, and it’s a Nine Inch Nails cover. For what it’s worth, I’m no fan of Nine Inch Nails. But this song, combined with the video, is one of the most poignant pieces of art I’ve ever seen reflecting on the mistakes of a lifetime.

I’ve included the video, and if you haven’t seen it, give it a watch. The words, the corresponding imagery, and the tiredness of Cash’s voice give me chills.

I hurt myself today
to see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
the only thing that’s real
the needle tears a hole
the old familiar sting
try to kill it all away
but I remember everything

what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of thorns
upon my liar’s chair
full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
beneath the stains of time
the feelings disappear
you are someone else
I am still right here

what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

if I could start again
a million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

So I know this is going to creep some people out, but don’t blame me! At a family reunion a few weeks ago, I looked on the floor to find a single Barbie’s head. All the other toys had been put away, but someone missed this head.

I love the picture. The head without a body, the darkness of the background, and the tussled hair, all in stark contrast to Barbie’s perfect features and smile.

The Bruce loves getting up behind the large living room windows to look out at the world. I’m always getting out the camera to try and capture an artistic picture of him looking out between the blinds. So far, this is the best I’ve got.

Let me introduce you to a person you might find handy some day… I’ve just finished setting up a blog for my good friend (and frequent Ocellated commenter) Kelley. Bugs for Thugs.

Kelley’s an entomologist who will gladly answer your questions about “what’s this insect.” Like birders when asked about a little brown bird, she will probably hate you when you ask her, “I saw this beetle, do you know what it was?”

She also reminisces on how we met.

I met Jay more than a couple years ago during some summer field classes we both took in Puget Sound. He was my first encounter with a Texan…and I haven’t met another one like him since . In all honesty though, Jay has an unquenchable passion for birds and for the integrity of science. I admire him very much for that. I would have never guessed that I would be making a life long friend the day I first heard the strange sounds of a Texan accent coming from a guy who was wearing a t-shirt with birds on it.

Well, I’m just glad to put a good foot forward for the lone star state. Good luck Kelley, and I look forward to learning something about insects. (Oh, and do explain the name Bugs for Thugs. It’s a great story).

Okay, this one’s just creepy. I posted the Mentos / Diet Coke thing yesterday. Today, I awake to find that JM O’Donnell, over at Immunoblogging has posted this, two days earlier.

Not only had I not seen his post, I hadn’t even seen this video until last night, when a commenter left a link to it on yesterday’s post… Someone should investigate the possibility that we were twins, separated at birth. There could be a huge conspiracy going on.

Still, either Ocellated or Immunoblogging needs to go back to elementary school for a refresher on the rudimentary principles of math. Everyone’s family with the commutative property of addition, yes?

Adding 1 + 2, is the same as adding 2 + 1.

Well, in my case, Mentos + Diet Coke = Fun. But when Mr. O’Donnell does the math, he gets Diet Coke + Mentos = Awesome. Someone is clearly wrong.

You know, it’s that song everybody enters the church to…

What do you get when you take The Fresh Maker ® and The Real Thing ® and put them together?

My wife and I heard about this recently on the popular show Myth Busters, and after seeing it, we had to try it out.

Lucky for me, I had a professor that needed a 3 liter bottle. After stopping at four different stores to secure a package of Mentos, the experiment was ready. A biology party was the perfect setting.

So what does it look like?

Here’s a closeup of that same shot:

Also, I’ve added a series of photos in the gallery showing the progression as the eruption occurred. The whole thing is extremely fast. It’s over within one to two seconds.

So how does it work?

Upon adding three or four Mentos to the Diet Coke, what happens is that virtually all of the carbon dioxide is released from the Diet Coke in an extremely short amount of time. The resulting pressure forces the liquid out of the bottle with surprising force, resulting in the geyser.

More specifically, the tiny holes on the surface of the Mentos serve as a nucleation site, facilitating the rapid formation and release of tiny bubbles of CO2.

Wikipedia has an article on the subject, with more detailed information on the science behind it.

It’s fun, it’s cheap, you should try it. Just not inside.

Sunset at the San Angelo State Park

A while back, the sky was looking really cool, so I grabbed the camera and made a mad dash outside of town. In truth, I might have gotten much better pictures had I been out earlier, and been in a good place when the light reached it’s best. This shot, while not especially impressive, shows a very nice cast to the sky. If there’s anything that great about living in west Texas, it’s the open skies and vivid sunsets.