Category Archives: Website

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Republic of Niger – Endangered Birds

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In May 2022, Stamperija issued for the Niger postal authority a sheetlet of four stamps which features Endangered Birds.

The sheetlet depicts the following birds: Top-left: Giant Ibis (Thaumatibis gigantea) from the family of Ibises and Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae) which has “Critically Endangered” status; Top-right: Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus) from the family of Falcons (Falconidae) which has “Endangered” status; Bottom-left: Golden-cheeked Warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia) from the family of New World Warblers (Parulida) which has “Endangered” status; and Bottom-right: Negros Bleeding-heart (Gallicolumba keayi) from the family of Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae) which has “Critically Endangered” status.

The two top row birds have previously appeared on stamps: the Giant Ibis, about five times; and the Mauritius Kestrel, about 10 times.  The most recent issue of the Mauritius Kestrel was by Mauritius Post, as reported in a previous blog article.

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The Blue Flamingo

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Mention “the Blue Flamingo” and I immediately think of a seedy nightclub in a 1940s film noir, possibly starring Alan Ladd, William Bendix or Robert Dennehy. But perhaps that was the Blue Dahlia. So, it was rather uplifting to meet, for the first time, the real Blue Flamingo from the bird world. Though I am not sure that you would find too many of these birds in Grenada.

This is perhaps because the supply of blue shrimp is not sufficient to sustain the bird. Interestingly, both the IUCN Red List and Birds of the World are silent on the Blue Flamingo, which leads me to conclude that it is in the “Data Deficient” conservation category, that I have come across for a few birds that I have looked at in stamp issues.

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UK Habitat Wildlife Conservation Stamps

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Introduction

The Wildlife Habitat Trust (WHT) is an organisation that dates from 1986, when members of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) got together to create an entity that has as its aim to raise and distribute funds to acquire land for shooting and conservation.  Today, the WHT provides grants to help manage sites for wildlife and more recently, has been involved in providing support for local and national biodiversity plans.

The Wildlife Habitat Conservation Trust (WHCT) is the charitable organisation (registered charity 1013816) that manages the UK Habitat Conservation Stamp Programme.   A major part of the UK Habitat Stamp income is used to assist habitat conservation across the UK.  Working with government agencies, the income from UK Habitat Stamps has helped contribute to acquisition and management of some important wetlands, some of which are Ramsar sites.

The UK Habitat Stamps

The WHT has issued a UK Habitat Stamp annually since 1991, based on specially commissioned wildlife artwork, which generally features a waterfowl as the central image. The WHT has always priced the stamp at £5.  In creating the UK Habitat Stamp, the trustees of the WHT were inspired by the success of the US Federal Duck Stamp programme, which has been raising funds for wetlands conservation since 1934, the date of the first stamp issue.

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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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