Snapshot Serengeti Talk

Bird eating a snake?

  • hknora by hknora

    The black line in the gras is a snake?

    Posted

  • katherineslive.co.uk by katherineslive.co.uk

    cool!

    Posted

  • wilderzone by wilderzone moderator

    This is an old image, but I was going through all the old discussions looking for good bird image and came across this. I think it's a genet's tail, which would make it super cool. What say all of you?

    Posted

  • okopho by okopho in response to wilderzone's comment.

    When I zoom all three images and play them, the "stripes" look very much like blades of grass in front of the dark, moving object. It's difficult to say what the dark, moving object is, since it looks so different in each of the three frames. My best guess is that it is simply a shadow cast by the animal. As to what the animal is: I'm not sure about that either (although some kind of bird doesn't seem unreasonable).

    Unfortunately, I don't see any reason to classify this as a Genet. But that's just my interpretation - I'm sure others will see it differently 😉

    Posted

  • dms246 by dms246 moderator

    The impression I get is of a small creature facing directly away from us, with a longish tail snaking/swishing from side to side a bit. Apart from mongoose, though, I haven't a clue what the creature might be. 😦

    Posted

  • wilderzone by wilderzone moderator in response to okopho's comment.

    I see what you mean about the stripes, it is just the grass. So I think that leaves us with some weasely thing, either mongoose or (could it be?) zorilla? The tail's not fluffy enough for the white-tailed mongoose, but could be one of the others.

    Posted

  • okopho by okopho in response to wilderzone's comment.

    Another thing it might be (going by the domed body-shape), is an Aardvark.

    I also had a look at a few nearby captures and found this Springhare, which is also somewhat suggestive:

    springhare

    ASG00017bt

    Posted

  • wilderzone by wilderzone moderator

    Oh, that might be it. I forgot about the springhares. They do have pretty long tails, and the black tip on the tail matches the photo. I think that might be the winner.

    Posted

  • tsering by tsering

    I took all three images and brightened/sharpened them. Whatever it is, it has an extremely long and stripy tail. It's crouching and swishing it's tail from side to side.

    I second the genet proposal!

    Posted

  • dms246 by dms246 moderator

    Except that there's absolutely no indication of spots on the body of the animal.

    Posted

  • okopho by okopho in response to dms246's comment.

    Yeah, but that's because it's an albino Genet :b

    Posted

  • dms246 by dms246 moderator

    Heheh! In which case it'd have a white tail too. So there! :p

    Posted

  • dms246 by dms246 moderator

    OK... here are enlarged, brightened and cropped versions of frames 1-3:

    Frame 1 Frame 2 Frame 3

    If you compare the apparent stripes in each photo carefully, you can see that they are in exactly the same position in each image, regardless of the position of the tail. Like okopho, I reckon these are created by grass stems between us and the creature, creating the illusion of stripes on the tail itself.

    Now have a look at this photo of a springhare and imagine this animal directly tail-on, facing away from the camera:

    Spring Hare
    (Courtesy of Flickr user CokeeOrg; some rights reserved)

    I'm about 90% sure, now, that that's what we're seeing here.

    Posted

  • BBCoaster by BBCoaster

    Why the obsessing?

    Posted

  • dms246 by dms246 moderator in response to BBCoaster's comment.

    ???

    Because I like figuring things out as far as it's possible to do so.

    Because it's interesting.

    Because it's fun.

    No-one is forced to read a thread they're no longer interested in.

    Posted

  • Daphne by Daphne

    It is interesting! 😃

    Posted

  • BBCoaster by BBCoaster

    I wanted to see how long people would be doing this instead of classifying.

    Posted

  • okopho by okopho in response to dms246's comment.

    Hear, hear 😃

    Looks like your analysis is about the best that can be done for this capture.

    Posted

  • dms246 by dms246 moderator in response to BBCoaster's comment.

    It doesn't have to be exclusively talking about stuff here or classifying, BBCoaster. I classify a bunch of images every day, and I participate here every day. I enjoy both, and I'm lucky enough to have the time available to do both. 😃

    Posted

  • dms246 by dms246 moderator

    Thanks Daphne, okopho. 😃

    As for the analysis, all I really did was pull together stuff others suggested, which, when I looked at it in more detail, made sense to me. I get occasional attacks of detail focus and a need to synthesise scattered bits of info. 😄

    Posted

  • BBCoaster by BBCoaster

    I classify all the time I am on here then spend two minutes looking on the forum, I would say my time was better used than yours and the others who spend so much time using paintshop, counting stars and their position to workout this and that which is of no real importance, why not save it until after the classifying is finished, that way the rest of us wont have so many to do.

    Posted

  • dms246 by dms246 moderator in response to BBCoaster's comment.

    Most people who are participating in this project seem to want more images to classify, not less. Every time I have a discussion about an image on the forums here, I learn something, which, as often as not, helps me classify other images more accurately. I don't regard that as a waste of time. And no-one is forced to do more classifications than they have time for, or feel inclined to do.

    I'm sorry you're having such a bad day. 😦

    Posted

  • BBCoaster by BBCoaster

    In every project there are the talkers and the doers, I'm not having a bad day, but I will forgive the sarcasm, I think the talkers should do more doing. This subject has been going for 3 pages now and you still dont know what the animal is, how does that help?

    Posted

  • dms246 by dms246 moderator

    It quite genuinely wasn't sarcasm. I simply can't think of any other reason for you to suddenly let loose with your poor opinion of those who like to discuss things on the forums. There is no need for it. If you find certain discussions annoying, simply avoid them and focus on the aspects of the project that you enjoy.

    You are absolutely entitled to your opinions. However your belief that those who spend time here are "slacking", and somehow piling more work on others' shoulders, is based on ... well, on not a lot. None of us have any way of knowing how many or how few images those who participate frequently in these discussions (or those who don't) have classified.

    There is no reason for anyone to have to justify how much time they spend on one activity rather than another. These crowd sourced projects have room for people with many different levels and types of participation. People have many different reasons for participating, and just as many different ways of participating. The fact that one person approaches a project differently to another doesn't make either of them "right" or "wrong".

    Posted

  • okopho by okopho in response to BBCoaster's comment.

    Why can't a project have people (like dms246, amongst many others) that are both talkers and doers?

    And to anwser your specific question: it's just basic scientific curiosity. It doesn't really have to "help" anything. The process of working out the right questions to ask, and how to answer them, is always more important than the eventual answers (if there are any). Science is a way of knowing, not a collection of facts.

    Personally, I don't care that I may never find out what the animal in the picture "really" is. The name of the game is identification: given the available data, and the tools at our disposal, what is the most plausible interpretation that we can come up with?

    Posted

  • sk001 by sk001

    @okopho, @dms246 - I'm with you guys. I enjoy, and learn from, the forums. Having done over 11,500 classifications I, and others - however many they've done - are entitled to some light relief on the Discussion Boards. Now, where's that elusive Civet...

    Posted

  • chipo by chipo

    And are we doing a paid job with a clock in system? No, we are volunteers. Even if someone did 10 classifications, we are happy with those 10. And indeed the boards can be an enterainting distraction, serious forum etc etc.

    Posted

  • BBCoaster by BBCoaster

    To sk001, why are you bragging? are those who do less than you less worthy?
    To ChipoYou say "we are happy" who is we? and would you be happy with ten even when the classifier was spending more time talking than classifying?
    To okpho please dont think me a fool just beacause I have the opposite opinion to you, I know perfectly well what scientific principles are. You say identification is the name of the game but then prove yourself wrong by saying you dont care what the animal in the picture is! you say basic scientific curiosity really doesnt have to help anything, thats true, though I prefer it when it does help, to call what you and the others were doing on this thread and others is a travisty, you were trying to see who could be the smartest at using software, you had no chance to id the animal, do you think it is so rare or maybe an alien? that you spend so much time on it, why cant you do what we have been told to do, if you cant id it use your best guess? you really dont have a logical arguement.
    To dms246 you call a month wasted on this thread suddenly letting loose! if people want to talk on the board, asking for help etc fine, but when you spend an inordinate amount of time trying to fathom the unfathomable thats just a wast of time. You say most people involved with this project seem to want more images, you have absolutely no evidence to support that assertion, I have been doing this since the beginning and quite honestly I am looking forward to the end, but will also look forward to season 5 if there is one, I am now finding the endless grass images with nothing here a little tedious, I think any thinking person would, however I still do every image to the bestof my ability and with 100% concentration and focus. I am sure the scientists would like this finished as soon as possibly.
    Which brings me back to the beginning, the more people do the quicker we finish, I have done quite a few of these projects and have seen the same in those, there are those that like to show off, there are those that like to tell us how good they are, but the really excellent people are those that just get on with it, and thats what I am going to do now. Peace.

    Posted

  • BBCoaster by BBCoaster

    Should read, to call what you and others were doing on this thread and others science.

    Posted

  • dms246 by dms246 moderator

    There are very few moderation tools available on these boards, unfortunately. Otherwise, I or one of the other moderators would simply close this thread now to prevent it descending further into personal animosity. That isn't possible, so all I can do is ask people to drop this thread and let it die. Now. People have made their views known, and it's clear there will be little to gain in continuing this discussion.

    Your co-operation will be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you.

    Posted