100th anniversary of Kiev Zoo

Cuban Amazon (古巴亞馬遜鸚鵡)

Ukraine (2009)
20th February, 2009. Kiev
20th August, 2010. Dnipropetrovsk

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of foundation of Kiev Zoo, the Ukraine Post issued a souvenir sheet for this event. As well as other issues of different countries, species in the stamps mostly are not local species, above Cuban Amazon is one of example. Thanks to Volodymyr for this nice first day cover.

Cuban Amazon is almost greenish bodied with blue wings parrot which endemic to islands of Cuba, Bahamas and Cayman. There has four sub-species to indicate the bird appears on which area, while they features different colour of head. For human-feed parrot, almost just called Cuban Amazon. Wild parrot only to be found inside Cuba and Isla de la Juventud with population 10.000 and 1.320 birds respectively. For other sub-species, there has 3.420 birds of Grand Cayman Amazon (開曼島亞馬遜鸚鵡) A. l. caymanensis which endemic to Cayman Islands ; Bahama Amazon (巴哈馬群島亞馬遜鸚鵡) A. l. bahamensis has 3.550 birds while Cayman Brac Amazon (開曼巴克島亞馬遜鸚鵡) A. l. hesterna has 500 birds only, these two sub-species only live in dry forest and fields of these two islands.

I also collected a cover of Grand Cayman Amazon, which is a part of WWF stamp series. It will be shown here on next March.

Eastern White Pelican

Eastern White Pelican (白鵜鶘)
Ukraine (2007)
12th October, 2009. Kiev

Thank you Philipp of this mail from Kiev, actually this stamp set I waited for a long time and wanted to do it during stamp exhibition, however the Ukraine sale booth sold the stamps in HK$50, it was quite unreasonable as dealer only sells it in cheap price. The mail so pity that cancelled by machine postmark, it seems too heavy and two stamps couldn't been cancel.

Eastern White Pelican is one of large pelicans in the world, it breeds in south-east European countries and have short migration to southern Africa or south-west Asia for winter. This species is not endanger species but as more than 50% pelicans breed in the Danube Delta, where is an important breeding place of the pelicans in Romania and Ukraine. Especially only approximate 706km² of left bank of the Chilia area is situated in Ukraine, Eastern White Pelicans seem is a small settlement in this country.