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Bird Symbols of Canada Part 13

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Nunavut

Provincial Birds: Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus)

Nunavut has adopted the Rock Ptarmigan as its Official Territorial bird, as is explicitly stated on the website of the Nunavut Legislative Assembly.  The Assembly provides helpful background on the Rock Ptarmigan, including:

“While most other birds migrate south in the early fall, the Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus Muta) is truly an arctic bird, living in Nunavut throughout the year. Called Aqiggiq in Inuktitut, the rock ptarmigan is found throughout the circumpolar world, earning a place in the art, folklore and diet of indigenous peoples.Distinct from most other birds with its three variations of plumage instead of the usual two, the rock ptarmigan faces its biggest challenge to survival in the winter, when snow and wind conditions make food and shelter hard to find.

eBird Canada has the following to say about the Rock Ptarmigan, in particular focusing on the staged evolution of the plumage as the seasons change:“Plumage changes strikingly throughout the year. In winter, both sexes are pure white with black outer tail feathers. As summer progresses, male develops cold grayish-brown feathers on head, neck, and back; generally, quite splotchy looking. Summer female is paler golden-brown with intricate black and white markings.

eBird also states that in winter, the male Rock Ptarmigan has a distinctive black eyeline, which helps distinguish this bird from the Willow Ptarmigan which doesn’t share this winter feature. 

As regards the range of the Rock Ptarmigan, eBird shows that it can be found in northern parts of North America, from Alaska, Yukon, the Northwest Territory as well as Nunavut, then across to Newfoundland and Labrador.  Outside North America, the Rock Ptarmigan is present in Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, Norway, Sweden and Finland, with outposts in Russia. 

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Israel Post Postage or Franking Labels (2022)

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Introduction

Israel Post has issued postage or franking labels for a substantial number of years: since 1988, when it first issued FRAMA labels.  Since then, Israel Post has issued a number of different designs each year, with the number of issues increasing roughly from around seven a year in 2009 to around 10 a year more recently.

So far this year, Israel Post has issued four labels which feature birds.  This is not the first time that the postal authority has included birds amongst its designs for its postage labels.  Previous issues were in 2009, 2010 and 2015.  I have listed at the end of this piece the birds illustrated in these older issues.

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BIRD SYMBOLS OF CANADA

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Part 12 – Yukon

Provincial Bird: Northern or Common Raven (Corvus corax)

The Canadian Government website indicates that the Yukon adopted the Northern Raven in 1985 as its Territorial Bird.   The website goes on to say:

“The Northern Raven is seen everywhere in Yukon. It is a very intelligent bird and an opportunistic feeder, feasting on everything from carrion to groceries left in the back of pick-up trucks.

The raven is the largest member of the crow family and has a body length of up to 70 centimetres.The raven is called “crow” by Yukon First Nations people and is the subject of many stories passed from generation to generation.”

There is specific legislation – the Raven Act – in which the Yukon Legislature adopted the Northern Raven as its bird: “Official bird 1 The bird popularly known as the northern raven and known biologically as the common raven (Corvus corax, sub-species principalis) is adopted as the official bird of the Yukon. S.Y. 2002, c.187, s.1.”

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Conservation, New Content

Colombia – Blue-billed Curassow (Crax alberti)

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Introduction

Wandering through the website last year of the World Land Trust (WLT), the international organisation and charity that exists to “protect the world’s most biologically significant and threatened habitats acre by acre” I came across a section that deals with threatened wildlife, including birds at risk; and the work that the WLT is doing to help support that particular species.  The one bird that caught my interest was the Blue-billed Curassow, native of northern Colombia.  This is a Critically Endangered bird, native solely to Colombia and which is threatened by human activity, notably:

  • Loss of forest habitat at a rate of between 2-7 per cent a year, through conversion to farm land (cocoa, coffee and marijuana);
  • Poaching of birds for meat and eggs as well as hunting for the pet trade;
  • Loss of habitat through gold mining activities to the East of the range. 

In short, the greatest threat to the continued existence of this bird is human economic activity.  Its habitat is now limited to five small pockets of northern Colombia, where tropical lowland forests still remain.

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Bird Symbols of Canada

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Part 11 – Northwest Territories (NWT)

Provincial Bird: The Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus)

The Northwest Territories adopted the Gyrfalcon in 1990 as its Provincial bird.  The Territorial Emblems and Honours Act consolidates this status:

“Bird emblem 7. The bird known ornithologically as Falco rusticolus and called “gyrfalcon” is the bird emblem of the Northwest Territories.“

The Northwest Legislative Assembly website goes on to explain the characteristics of the Gyrfalcon:

“The gyrfalcon is the largest and most magnificent of the falcons and breeds throughout the tundra, including all the Arctic islands. Gyrfalcons usually winter in the North and during that season can be found anywhere in the Northwest Territories. They range in color from white through shades of grey and brown to almost black. Darker birds are more common in the NWT. Gyrfalcons eat mostly ptarmigan, but also ground squirrels, seabirds, waterfowl, and arctic hares. They are expert hunters, and extremely fast and powerful fliers.“

eBird Canada suggests that the Gyr Falcon is a relatively uncommon bird, even in Canada:

“Breeds on cliffs on Arctic tundra; winters in large open areas. Never common even on breeding grounds; rare everywhere in the continental U.S.“

Canada Post has issued two stamps which feature the Gyrfalcon.   The first of these was in 2003, a single design stamp that was printed as part of a self-adhesive booklet of six stamps. 

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