⭕️50 years of Nagaland

Great Hornbill (雙角犀鳥)
India (2013)
13th January, 2014. Bangalore International Airport

Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Myanmar to the east and Manipur to the south, it was established on 1 December 1963 to be the 16th state of the Indian Union. Nagaland is rich in flora and fauna. About one-sixth of Nagaland is under the cover of tropical and sub-tropical evergreen forests, the Great Indian Hornbill is one of the most famous birds found in the state.

Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary lies in the Malappuram District of the state of Kerala in India. It spreads over a cluster of islands where the Kadalundipuzha River flows into the Arabian Sea. The Sanctuary hill is around 200 m above sea level. It is 19 km from Kozhikode city centre. It is home for the birds like Painted Stork, Asian Openbill Stork and Common Spoonbill.

Great Hornbill (雙角犀鳥) ; postmark : Painted Stork (彩鸛)
India (2013)
15th January, 2014. Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary, Kadalundi

⭕️Flamingos

Lesser Flamingo (小紅鸛)
São Tomé e Príncipe (2013)
30th May, 2013. Central

Greater Flamingo (大紅鶴)
São Tomé e Príncipe (2013)
30th May, 2013. Central

Two flamingo species are selected for this article, which issued by rare country São Tomé e Príncipe, the islands country located in Equator. Lesser Flamingo is a species of flamingo occurring in sub-Saharan Africa with another population in India. Birds are occasionally reported from further north, but these are generally considered vagrants. And another one, Greater Flamingo is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia (coastal regions of Pakistan and India), and southern Europe.

Although São Tomé e Príncipe is far away from Africa mainland, two flamingos still to be found in there.

⭕️Owls of Togo

Verreaux's Eagle-owl (乳黃鵰鴞) ; Pel's Fishing-Owl (橫斑漁鴞)
Togo (2010)
25th November, 2013. Pagouda

African Wood-Owl (非洲林鴞)
Togo (2010)
25th November, 2013. Pagouda

Here are three cards returned from Togo Philatelic Office, thanks to their coordinate for the postmark, although they are not match the common rules of FIP. Pagouda is a town nearby Benin, the forest in this area commonly to be found variety owls, above are three of them. is a large species of owl in the Strigidae family. It feeds nocturnally on fish and frogs snatched from the surface of lakes and rivers. The species prefers slow moving rivers with large overhanging trees to roost and forage from. African Wood-Owl is a medium-sized owl with dark eyes and no ear tufts. It is 30 to 36 cm long and weighs from 240 to 350 grams. It lives in Africa from Senegambia to Sudan and south to Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and on the east coast to South Africa. It lives mainly in forest and woodland though it sometimes inhabits plantations. Verreaux's Eagle-Owl is the largest African owl. This owl is the world's third heaviest living owl, after the Blakiston's Fish Owl and Eurasian Eagle-Owl and the fourth longest owl, after additionally the Great Gray Owl.

⭕️Christmas robin 2013

European Robin (知更鳥)
Isle of Man (2013)

17th October, 2007. Douglas (First day special postmark)

 

European Robin (知更鳥)
Ireland (2013)

7th November, 2007. Dublin (First day special postmark)

 

After a month of rest, here is new article renew the blog this year, the first article on 2014. I selected two cards which related to Christmas, as before, Robin is the hottest item to Christmas theme, do you need review again last issue, here it is.

⭕️Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Tree Sparrow (麻雀)
Macao (2013)
1st November, 2013. Macao

Eurasian Tree Sparrow is widespread in the towns and cities of eastern Asia, but in Europe it is a bird of lightly wooded open countryside, with the House Sparrow breeding in the more urban areas. The Eurasian Tree Sparrow's extensive range and large population ensure that it is not endangered globally, but there have been large declines in western European populations, in part due to changes in farming practices involving increased use of herbicides and loss of winter stubble fields. In eastern Asia and western Australia, this species is sometimes viewed as a pest, although it is also widely celebrated in oriental art.

Tree Sparrow (麻雀)
Macao (2013)
1st November, 2013. Centro Cultural

Our city in a Garden

Our city in a Garden (我們的花園城市)
Singapore (2013)
18th October, 2013. Change Alley

In the 1960s, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew mooted the creation of a clean and green environment to mitigate the harsh concrete urban environment and improve the quality of life in the city. This was the beginning of Singapore’s development into a Garden City. As a result, Singapore’s clean and green environment has allowed us to meet the lifestyle and recreational needs of an increasingly affluent population, and enhanced Singapore’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign businesses and talents. Our green policies have contributed to the transformation of Singapore into a distinctive and vibrant global city.

Going forward, the plan is to evolve Singapore into a City in a Garden—a bustling metropolis nestled in a lush mantle of tropical greenery.

⭕️Bras d'Eau National Park

Bras d'Eau National Park (Bras d'Eau國家公園)
Mauritius (2013)
16th October, 2013. Waterfront

In the east of Mauritius, the Bras d'Eau Reserve stretches out over an area of 1,235 acres. It takes its name from the mass of water in the shape of an arm that traverses it. Originally made up of the Bras d'Eau and Mare-Sacelle Nature Reserves, it has been listed as a national park since October 2011. It brings together various animal and plant species in an area that mainly consists of forests. The park is notably home to trees that rise 40m tall, such as the Australian White Eucalyptus and the Florida Mahogany.

Mascarene Martin (馬島原燕)
Mauritius (2013)
16th October, 2013. Central Flacq

Blue Tit

Blue Tit (藍山雀)
 Germany (2013)
6th October, 2013. Wirges

Seems it still an extension series of Germany birds, which issued on August, 2013.

Blue tits, usually resident and non-migratory birds, are widespread and a common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and western Asia in deciduous or mixed woodlands with a high proportion of oak. They usually nest in tree holes, although they easily adapt to nest boxes where necessary. The main rival for nests and search for food is the much larger Great Tit.

⭕️Tristan Albatross

Tristan Albatross (特島信天翁)
Tristan da Cunha (2013)
12th August, 2013. Tristan da Cunha

Tristan Albatross (Diomedea dabbenena) is a large seabird from the albatross family, which was only widely recognised as a full species in 1998. Due to the difficulty in distinguishing them from Wandering Albatrosses, their distribution at sea is still not fully known, but the use of satellite tracking has shown that they forage widely in the South Atlantic, with males foraging west of the breeding islands towards South America and females to the east towards Africa. There have been sightings near Brazil and also off the coast of Australia.

The Tristan Albatrosses are endemic to the islands of the Tristan da Cunha group and more specifically Gough Island. The majority of the world's population nest on Gough Island, around 1500 pairs. On some years a pair breeds on Inaccessible Island.

Red Book of Moldova

From left to right :
85b : Glossy Ibis (彩䴉) ; 1.20l : Eastern White Pelican (白鵜鶘)
5.40l : Eurasian Spoonbill (白琵鷺) ; 1.20l : Ferruginous Duck (白眼潛鴨)
Moldova (2011)
30th October, 2013. Chisinau

It is the second issue related to birds of 'Red Book of Moldova' stamp series, the first one issued on 2003.

Glossy Ibis is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean region of the Americas. It is thought to have originated in the Old World and spread naturally from Africa to northern South America in the 19th century, from where it spread to North America. This species is migratory; most European birds winter in Africa, and in North America birds from north of the Carolinas winter farther south. Eastern White Pelican, breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and in Africa in swamps and shallow lakes. It usually to be found in and around shallow, (seasonally or tropical) warm fresh water. Well scattered groups of breeding pelicans occur through Eurasia from the eastern Mediterranean to Vietnam. In Eurasia, fresh or brackish waters may be inhabited and the pelicans may be found in lakes, deltas, lagoons and marshes, usually with dense reedbeds nearby for nesting purposes.

Eurasian Spoonbill is a Palearctic species, breeding from the United Kingdom and Spain in the west through to Japan, and also in North Africa. In Europe, only The Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Hungary and Greece have sizeable populations. Ferruginous Duck is a medium-sized diving duck from Eurasia. The species is known colloquially by birders as "Fudge Duck". It breeding habitat is marshes and lakes with a metre or more water depth. These ducks breed in southern and eastern Europe and southern and western Asia. They are somewhat migratory, and winter farther south and into north Africa.