
I thought that this issue from Belgium was interesting in that it is features two birds that were not designed by André Buzin:
This sheet of five stamps is designed to illustrate the colours of the national flag: Black, Red and Yellow (hence the reference to “La Nature Tricolore” in the French title for this issue).
The Miniature Sheet of five stamps is on sale at €10.70, with each stamp valued at €2.14 for non-priority domestic postage up to 100g (i.e., equivalent to second class postage here).
Technical details: Sheet dimensions: Width 165mm x 220mm Height. Perforations: 11.5. Printing: Offset. Printer: bpost Philately and Stamps Printing. Designer: Marijke Meersman.
The two birds featured show:
- Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) [Width 40mm x 50mm Height]
- Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus) [Width 30mm x 50mm Height]
The Red Junglefowl is the bird that appears on the flag of Wallonia:
This design is based upon one developed by Pierre Paulus (1913) for the region of Wallonia.
In its federal structure, Belgium has three geographical regions: Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels Capital City Region. The Belgian Constitution also provides for three linguistic communities: the French speaking Community, the Flemish speaking Community and a German speaking Community.
Acknowledgements: bpost for the technical details and Kjell Scharning for the Latin names. Also the Belgian Senate website for the Belgian Constitution; and the official Wallonia information site.