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	<title>Three Star Owl - Functional and Sculptural Clay Artwork with a Natural History &#187; etymology/words</title>
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	<link>http://threestarowl.com</link>
	<description>Three Star Owl clay studio</description>
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		<title>Tale of Two Tiny Tarantulas</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tale-of-two-tiny-tarantulas</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tale-of-two-tiny-tarantulas#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:50:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14459</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On our way home from our weekend getaway, E and I stopped at Montezuma Well National Monument.  It&#8217;s one of our favorite places: a compact confluence of archæology, geology, and natural history. If you haven&#8217;t been there while visiting central Arizona, I highly recommend it.
&#62;&#62; Montezuma Well and beautiful fall color (all photos in this [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tale-of-two-tiny-tarantulas/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A new Spot the Bird&#8230; kind of</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-new-spot-the-bird-kind-of</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-new-spot-the-bird-kind-of#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Aug 2011 22:25:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13753</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well, it&#8217;s not actually a bird.  Perhaps these posts should be called &#8220;Not the Bird&#8221;. 
Here is an appropriately faded Old West-y snap shot of a neighbor of ours, taken with my cell phone.  Can you spot the non-avian subject?  It&#8217;s a Desert Iguana, posing with dignity as if for a Victorian formal portrait, lurking [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-new-spot-the-bird-kind-of/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the Bird answer: rock and wren</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answer-rock-and-wren</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answer-rock-and-wren#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:42:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rox]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12611</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To the right is the photo key to the Rock wren of the current Spot the Bird.  Rock wrens rock one of my favorite Latin names in the bird world (along with Upupa epops, the hoopoe): Salpinctes obsoletus.  According to Choate, the name comes from Greek salpinctes, &#8220;a trumpeter&#8221; and Latin obsoletus, &#8220;indistinct&#8221;, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answer-rock-and-wren/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Year&#8217;s First New Bird</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-years-first-new-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-years-first-new-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Jan 2011 22:44:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11129</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last post was the New Year&#8217;s first bird &#8212; a frosty Costa&#8217;s hummingbird &#8212; but this one is the Year&#8217;s First New Bird, and it&#8217;s a hummer, too.
We just returned from Baja California, and in the mission village of San Javier on the dramatic east side of the Sierra de la Giganta in Baja California [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-years-first-new-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Falconeye</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/falconeye</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/falconeye#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:49:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10897</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As long ago as the Old Kingdom (the middle of the third millenium BCE), the Egyptians used the eye of the Falcon &#8212; the eye of Horus, the falcon-headed deity &#8212; as an apotropaic, or protective symbol, wearing the still-popular faience amulets as personal ornament, or tucking them into the wrappings of mummies.
The Left Eye [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/falconeye/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The &#8220;Hot Sword of Shock&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-hot-sword-of-shock</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-hot-sword-of-shock#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 06 Nov 2010 01:51:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[E]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10868</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Some readers know that the E who appears occasionally in this space is my husband, Everett Shock. Some readers also know that he&#8217;s a geochemist on the faculty of the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the department of Chemistry at Arizona State University.  But up until now, no one knew that an organism [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-hot-sword-of-shock/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Three small pictures of four small things&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/three-small-pictures-of-four-small-things</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/three-small-pictures-of-four-small-things#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 16 Oct 2010 22:33:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10751</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230; I missed at first, when outside friday morning shooting passionflowers.
It really irked me to not have my own photo of a Gulf Fritillary to post yesterday, so once the sun was higher, I went out to fetch one, if possible (a photo, that is, not a flutterby).  I ended up encountering not only [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/three-small-pictures-of-four-small-things/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Quite a lot of penguins</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/quite-a-lot-of-penguins</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/quite-a-lot-of-penguins#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Oct 2010 02:54:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10622</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s still hot in Phoenix, although less hot than formerly, so here&#8217;s a cooling black-and-white-and-gray vista to cool the eye.

These King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) are amassed on South Georgia Island, located at 54〫S in the fearsome southern Atlantic ocean.  There are tens of thousands of them on this breeding beach.  Most of the individuals in [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/quite-a-lot-of-penguins/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>More Mightier Pink</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-mightier-pink</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-mightier-pink#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Sep 2010 04:17:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10117</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The last post, on Roseate Spoonbills, was mighty pink. But I have to admit Flamingos are pretty dang pink, pinker even than Roseates. This is because they are bigger, and their entire neck and head are flaming salmon.  And these two are American Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber), who are among the pinker of the world&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-mightier-pink/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Another excellent tropical owl</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-excellent-tropical-owl</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-excellent-tropical-owl#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:29:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9556</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(This post newly updated with better link to owl sound)

Here&#8217;s a Spectacled owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata), staring hard at us from its perch in the tropical lowlands of Sarapiquí in Costa Rica.  What could be more delightful than a cinnamon-and-cholcolate owl with white &#8220;spectacles?&#8221; 
I have the answer: one that makes a strange, rapidly pulsating noise [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-excellent-tropical-owl/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
<enclosure url="http://www.owlpages.com/sounds/Pulsatrix-perspicillata-1.mp3" length="102817" type="audio/mpeg" />
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Did you see a Resplendent quetzal&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/did-you-see-a-resplendent-quetzal</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/did-you-see-a-resplendent-quetzal#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:22:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8406</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
&#8230;when you were in Costa Rica?  Yes.



Did you get a photo of a Resplendent quetzal?  No.



And was the Quetzal resplendent?  Yes.

Resplendent quetzales (Pharomachrus cocinno) are glimmering emerald birds who inhabit the dense, wet montane and cloud forests of parts of Central America. The males have splendid iridescent fringed tail plumes which trail extravagantly behind them, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/did-you-see-a-resplendent-quetzal/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hordes of hummers</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoards-of-hummers</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoards-of-hummers#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:21:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8348</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Living in Arizona there&#8217;s no room for complaint about the quantity and loveliness of the hummers which visit our yard feeders.  In the Phoenix area we have Costa&#8217;s and Anna&#8217;s year round, Black-chinned in summer, with Broad-tailed and Rufous making migratory appearances. I&#8217;ve seen a brilliant Broad-billed just two miles from here at the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoards-of-hummers/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Boss in her office: &#8220;checking for lard&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-boss-in-her-office-checking-for-lard</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-boss-in-her-office-checking-for-lard#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:52:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8101</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[[This is a Spot the Bird, although it's less of a quiz than a photo series. All photos A or E Shock.  Click to enlarge.]
Here are some feral date palms, growing wild at a substantial oasis in Death Valley, CA.  The date palm is Phoenix dactylifera (&#8220;finger-bearing&#8221;), but in this case we could call it [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-boss-in-her-office-checking-for-lard/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bendire&#8217;s thrasher in Papago Park</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bendires-thrasher-in-papago-park-2</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bendires-thrasher-in-papago-park-2#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:35:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Papago Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7660</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Some things always amaze me.  One of them is why there are so many different Thrasher species in the arid Southwestern U.S.
Most of us who live in the Low Desert are used to two of the more common thrashers: the ubiquitous Northern mockingbird, its slender gray-and-white profile often seen  on high perches, singing its [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bendires-thrasher-in-papago-park-2/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Twofer Spot the Bird</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-spot-the-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-spot-the-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:56:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7545</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here are two new Spot the Bird photos.  The visual puzzle is the same in each: huge background, tiny bird.  No camouflage involved, none at all; just hiding against a big landscape.
The first photo of an enormous oaktree (?) in Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior Arizona, east of Phoenix, is a photo I took because [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-spot-the-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Nudging clay horned lizards along</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/nudging-clay-horned-lizards-along</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/nudging-clay-horned-lizards-along#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:33:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7492</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A while back, I posted about my process for making horned lizard bowls (affectionately known as Horny toads) from clay.  Here are the next few steps, all shown in one photo, below.
To the right is a now completely assembled and textured horned lizard, in the leather hard stage, drying.  In the center is a bone [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/nudging-clay-horned-lizards-along/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Got Gila Monster?</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/got-gila-monster</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/got-gila-monster#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:47:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effigy vessels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6769</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum) are large stumpy lizards with bright handsome markings that are both cryptic and aposematic simultaneously, and whose hands look like neoprene wetsuit gloves with claws.  They are remarkable for being one of only two venomous lizard species in the world.  They live in the Sonoran and southern Great Basin Deserts and [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/got-gila-monster/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Quite a Toadly Frog</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/quite-a-toadly-frog</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/quite-a-toadly-frog#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:48:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5817</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It looks a lot like a toad, with a stumpy physique and warty skin, but it&#8217;s a Canyon Tree Frog (Hyla arenicolor).  How to tell it&#8217;s a frog? One way: no parotoid glands &#8212; instead you can see the round flat areas of its tympani (hearing structures) behind and slightly below the eye. Also, this [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/quite-a-toadly-frog/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tweaking Tiny Tins: making mini watercolor kits from mint boxes</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/tweaking-tiny-tins-making-mini-watercolor-kits-from-mint-boxes</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/tweaking-tiny-tins-making-mini-watercolor-kits-from-mint-boxes#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:24:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5026</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Everybody in the world has posted their version of the Miniature Watercolor Box, usually ingeniously created from any flat metal tin, often Altoids, sometimes Velamints, or others (see here, here, and here, just for a few examples of many).  These projects are all well-described and illustrated. I hereby add my version, but will only add [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/tweaking-tiny-tins-making-mini-watercolor-kits-from-mint-boxes/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Cnemie-philia</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/cnemie-philia</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/cnemie-philia#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2009 05:09:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5645</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yes, that&#8217;s &#8220;Cnemie-philia&#8221; &#8212; the love of lizards in the genus Cnemidophorus, now more properly called by their current genus name, Aspidoscelis, or Whiptails.  Our locals are Sonoran tiger whiptails (Aspidoscelis tigris punctilinealis), and they&#8217;re the most commonly seen lizard in our Phoenix area yard.  They like it hot and are out and about during [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/cnemie-philia/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hallux, Retrix and Feak&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/etymology/hallux-retrix-and-feak</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/etymology/hallux-retrix-and-feak#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:42:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5395</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
&#8230;are not a Victorian law firm.
They are delightfully specific bird-related terms: it seems that falconers and ornithologists, like the French, have a different word for everything.
You can talk about a raptor&#8217;s &#8220;thumb&#8221;, meaning the strong digit that in most birds is at the back of the foot, and people will know what you mean.  But [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/etymology/hallux-retrix-and-feak/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Festival of Desert Doves: the Other Collared Dove</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-the-other-collared-dove</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-the-other-collared-dove#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:08:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5015</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) has an agenda well-befitting a Columbid: &#8220;Must Colonize New World.&#8221; 
Actually, it started before that, and a lot farther east: a native of central Asia, the Collared Dove had populated Europe as far west as Great Britain by the 1950s.  By the early &#8217;80s, a population had taken hold [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-the-other-collared-dove/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>One of the best things we DIDN&#8217;T see in New Zealand&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/one-of-the-best-things-we-didnt-see-in-new-zealand</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/one-of-the-best-things-we-didnt-see-in-new-zealand#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:02:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Zealand]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4455</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;was a Ruru, or Morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae).

It&#8217;s NZ&#8217;s only remaining native owl (the Laughing owl was last recorded in 1914), and is fairly common in many habitats, even parks and gardens, but is especially numerous in tracts of native bush.  We heard them several places, mostly in the Kauri Forest while on a night walk [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/one-of-the-best-things-we-didnt-see-in-new-zealand/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Increments: Stacked Toad Teapot Effigy FINAL Finale</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/increments-stacked-toad-teapot-effigy-final-finale</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/increments-stacked-toad-teapot-effigy-final-finale#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:31:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effigy vessels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3749</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As I mentioned previously, there are two pieces of mine in the NCECA &#8220;Potters as Sculptors; Sculptors as Potters&#8221; show currently up at Mesa Community College (see the Three Star Owl Events page for details).  One of them is the long-evolving &#8220;Toadstack&#8221; (the other is Venomosity which can currently be viewed on the Home page.) [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/increments-stacked-toad-teapot-effigy-final-finale/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tall spiny guys</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tall-spiny-guys</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tall-spiny-guys#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Mar 2009 04:53:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3453</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One more post from our desert hike last weekend, because, well &#8212; Wow!
Right along the trail we encountered two specimens of individual cactus that seemed taller than most of their kin.  One was a towering, somewhat spindly saguaro. Of course, saguaros are known for their height, but this was one of the tallest I&#8217;ve seen [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tall-spiny-guys/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Twofer: Nictitating membrane AND bonus Bonus Pervious Nostril</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-nictitating-membrane-and-bonus-bonus-pervious-nostril</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-nictitating-membrane-and-bonus-bonus-pervious-nostril#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:47:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3378</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here are a couple of photos that show two excellent see-through specializations of Turkey vulturedom: the pervious nostril (already discussed here) and an inner protective eyelid called the nictitating membrane. The camera caught the vulture in mid-blink, so the membrane is visible in this photo as a bluish milky cast over the eye of the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-nictitating-membrane-and-bonus-bonus-pervious-nostril/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Feral Quadrupeds of Interest</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/feral-quadrupeds-of-interest</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/feral-quadrupeds-of-interest#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Mar 2009 06:00:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[environment/activism/politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=3214</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In an earlier post, there was an oblique mention of seeing &#8220;Feral Quadrupeds of Interest&#8221;.  These would be the wild burros who live in the desert around Lake Pleasant, Arizona.
On our hike the other day, E and I encountered a small group of them.  They are often described as &#8220;more likely to be heard than [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/feral-quadrupeds-of-interest/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Scoter addendum &#8212; the Arizona angle</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/scoter-addendum</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/scoter-addendum#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:58:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=2866</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the last post on scoters, I forgot to add that there is a surprising Arizona angle to these sea ducks. Some years, one or two are found wintering or in transition on desert lakes around and about the state.  They are categorized as &#8220;casual&#8221; here.  This winter (Dec. &#8216;08), there was a handful of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/scoter-addendum/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Yard list: Dinky Dudes of the Desert</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-dinky-dudes-of-the-desert</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-dinky-dudes-of-the-desert#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:20:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=2736</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I left the Mississippi River Valley to come back to the West, I thought, Hmmmmm, no chickadees in the low desert.  What&#8217;s that going to be like?
We were very accustomed to Carolina chickadees as ever-present &#8220;fee-bay-fee-bee&#8221;-ers in our St. Louis yard.  They accompanied us on hikes; we heard them in the parks, they were [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-dinky-dudes-of-the-desert/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Biomimicry: when Monkey-see-Monkey-do is a good thing</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/biomimicry-when-monkey-see-monkey-do-is-a-good-thing</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/biomimicry-when-monkey-see-monkey-do-is-a-good-thing#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:56:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[environment/activism/politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=2478</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tuesday night E and I heard a biomimicry expert speak at ASU.  Her name is Janine Benyus, and she&#8217;s a natural history author who&#8217;s been documenting the emerging cross-disciplinary field of biomimicry.  Before hearing her talk, I had a very primitive notion of biomimicry: &#8220;Dude, did you know a spider&#8217;s silk is 10 times stronger [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/biomimicry-when-monkey-see-monkey-do-is-a-good-thing/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The pervious nostril: why vultures don&#8217;t need kleenex</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/the-pervious-nostril-why-vultures-dont-need-kleenex</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/the-pervious-nostril-why-vultures-dont-need-kleenex#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 31 Jan 2009 18:27:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=2206</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[An excellent feature of Turkey vultures is see-through nostrils.  That is, they lack a septum, so the opening to their sinuses goes straight through the top of their beak. This is handy for an organism which eats its meals with its head in the liquescent innards of dead things. With just a quick sneeze, any [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/the-pervious-nostril-why-vultures-dont-need-kleenex/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Gyps redux: Re-enter the Vulture</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/gyps-redux-re-enter-the-vulture</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/gyps-redux-re-enter-the-vulture#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:12:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=2172</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s St. George killing a dragon (which in this case is admittedly a very mammalian-looking scourge).  Note the size of the creature.  Most St.George dragon-slayer paintings show a dragon smaller than a horse, in the vicinity of a cave and peaks in the wilderness, not a giant dinosaurian Smaug-type scale-meister.
This observation is added to the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/gyps-redux-re-enter-the-vulture/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Enter the Vulture</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/enter-the-vulture</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/enter-the-vulture#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:15:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effigy vessels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1959</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A vulture blew up in a bisque kiln yesterday.  Dang!  And it was my own fault, too, a foolish, neophyte error: its body was hollow, and I forgot to make a hole in it for the hot air inside to escape, kerPOW.  The carnage is visible, right.  Fortunately, nothing else in the kiln was harmed.
Vultures [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/enter-the-vulture/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Close in &#8212; tiny mud pot forms on wall</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/close-in-tiny-mud-pot-forms-on-wall</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/close-in-tiny-mud-pot-forms-on-wall#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:45:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[archaeology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1544</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Every once in a while, I find a clay pot &#8212; a tiny, perfect clay pot &#8212; on the wall of the house.  They look like little half-buried Mediterranean amphorae, without handles, with a narrow neck and a flared rim, the entire thing only half an inch across.  But they have no openings: like the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/close-in-tiny-mud-pot-forms-on-wall/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Yard list &#8212; Miss Thang</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/yard-list-miss-thang</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/yard-list-miss-thang#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:23:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1345</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Meet Miss Thang.  She is a female Costa&#8217;s hummingbird (Calypte costae), and unlike her purple-mustachioed male counterpart, she&#8217;s a plain green-gray above, and a plain gray-white below, with a chunky round body, almost no tail, and no neck at all.  She holds territory right outside our front door, as Queen of the Desert Garden.  The [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/yard-list-miss-thang/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Yard list &#8212; Gray fox</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-gray-fox</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-gray-fox#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 16 Nov 2008 05:33:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1310</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Saturday morning while walking through our neighborhood to the Park, E and I saw one of the local Gray Foxes. We didn&#8217;t have a camera!  Too bad; it posed obligingly and let us admire it for quite a while: a beautiful, delicate zorro with a most magnificent tail.  It looked just like this:

Desert Gray [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-gray-fox/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Stacked Toad Effigy Vessel: part 2</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/stacked-toad-effigy-vessel-part-2</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/stacked-toad-effigy-vessel-part-2#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 15 Nov 2008 05:50:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effigy vessels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1266</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Stacked Toad Effigy Vessel is being built from the bottom up, with a brown, groggy, stoneware clay. The working composition is in my head, informed by pictures of desert toads on the work bench, and adapted as it goes.  A small maquette modeled last week is nearby for reference, although the maquette has [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/stacked-toad-effigy-vessel-part-2/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Too Many TOES:  Pentadactyly in the Studio&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/too-many-toes-pentadactyly-in-the-studio</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/too-many-toes-pentadactyly-in-the-studio#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:26:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effigy vessels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1179</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;with a guest appearance by Charles Darwin
 Pentadactyly, from Greek πέντε &#8220;five&#8221; plus δάκτυλος &#8220;finger&#8221;, is the condition of having five digits on each limb. 
I make a lot of TOES.  Gila monster toes.  Crane toes.  Jaguar toes. Hummingbird toes, owl toes, and roadrunner toes.  Toad toes.  A lot of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/too-many-toes-pentadactyly-in-the-studio/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Fierce-footed Cooper&#8217;s Hawk &#8212; Yard list</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/fierce-footed-coopers-hawk-yard-list</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/fierce-footed-coopers-hawk-yard-list#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:59:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1158</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A couple of mornings ago, we saw our first Cooper&#8217;s hawk of the season, swooping nimbly around the big backyard mesquite in an unsuccessful attempt at snagging a dove or finch from the feeders under the tree.  It lit on the utility pole in the alley and, having an itchy face, primly scratched itself [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/fierce-footed-coopers-hawk-yard-list/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>HAPPY HALLOWEEN!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/etymology/happy-halloween</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/etymology/happy-halloween#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:10:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=1148</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
This is a Spectacled Owl from the recent Veracruz trip.  Spectacled owls are boldly patterned, unsociable owls of tropical forests of Central and South America.  This one flew silently in to check us out from its perch high in the canopy, and suffered to have its photo snapped illuminated only by a flashlight, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/etymology/happy-halloween/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
<enclosure url="http://www.owlpages.com/sounds/Pulsatrix-perspicillata-1.mp3" length="102817" type="audio/mpeg" />
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Yard list: Desert Iguana, spotted</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-desert-iguana-spotted</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-desert-iguana-spotted#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:29:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=896</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The first day of autumn has been a red letter day in our yard.  Not only was there a Western screech owl calling last night &#8212; a new species for the yard, as far as my observations go &#8212; but this afternoon, in the heat of the day, a young Desert iguana raced under [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yard-list-desert-iguana-spotted/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Couch&#8217;s spadefoots: Tons of tiny toadlets!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/three-star-owl/couchs-spadefoots-tons-of-tiny-toadlets</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/three-star-owl/couchs-spadefoots-tons-of-tiny-toadlets#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:36:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment/activism/politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=578</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My friend Kathy gave me a bucket of toads.  Twenty five tiny toads, actually Couch&#8217;s spadefoots (Scaphiopus couchii) to be precise.  Spadefoots are toadlike amphibians, with their own family, Pelobatidae (see etymological note below). They&#8217;re native to the Sonoran desert, and their reproductive cycle is timed to take advantage of summer monsoon rains, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/three-star-owl/couchs-spadefoots-tons-of-tiny-toadlets/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Isabelline California towhee in Huntington Beach Central Park</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/isabelline-california-towhee-in-huntington-beach-central-park</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/isabelline-california-towhee-in-huntington-beach-central-park#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:28:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=558</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On Sunday, Aug 31 2008, while birding in the middle of the Civil War (or at least a re-enactment of it), I saw a sandy-beige bird feeding on the lawn at the edge of a brushy area in Huntington Beach Central Park.  It was consorting with two typically-plumaged California towhees, and it appeared to [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/isabelline-california-towhee-in-huntington-beach-central-park/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Yard list: Coachwhip</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/coachwhip</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/coachwhip#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:40:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=367</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It is a long thin snake.
Working this morning in the backyard, E heard the scolding of cactus wrens, thrashers and other regulars of our deserty neighborhood.  He tracked down the source: a sleek and mottled coachwhip marauding, trying to take advantage of the monsoon &#8220;bloom&#8221; of young animals.  Coachwhips (Masticophis or Coluber flagellum) [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/coachwhip/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Cylinder seals and castanets</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/cylinder-seals</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/cylinder-seals#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:24:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[archaeology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=183</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On the left is a green limestone cylinder seal and the impression it leaves in wet clay. Six thousand years ago, it hung around the neck of a Mesopotamian scribe or businessman.  Now it&#8217;s now in the Louvre and despite a nasty crack you can see lovely stout beeves in a wheat field marching [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/cylinder-seals/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

