⭕️Horned Parakeet

Horned Parakeet (獨角鸚鵡)
New Caledonia (2014)
6th November, 2014. Bujumbura

The Horned Parakeet is a species of parrot in the genus Eunymphicus, in the Psittaculidae family, is a largely green parakeet endemic to New Caledonia. It is called Horned because it has two black feathers that protrude from the head and have red tips. This parakeet has a yellowish nape with a black and red face and bluish wings and tail. It makes a nasal "kho-khoot" contact call and also makes a wide range of shrieks and chuckles.

The species has a preference for natural forests and laurel forest habitat. The horned parakeet lives humid pine forests on New Caledonia, especially when Agathis and Araucaria pines are present. They live in pairs or small flocks and forage for seeds and nuts in the canopy. It nests both on the ground and in trees.

This bird has declined since the 1880s, but it is still found in some range on New Caledonia and recent population estimates believe that there are over 2500 birds left. Eunymphicus cornutus is declining by poaching and habitat destruction. This bird has habitat fragmented into distinct subpopulations. The total population is small, and it is restricted to single subpopulations which is suspected to have declined owing to habitat degradation, and it therefore qualifies as Vulnerable. Eunymphicus cornutus have undergone a decline over the past three generations (from 1988) owing to habitat degradation also predation by invasive species.

⭕️Tourist destinations - Maldonado and Rocha

Upper : Red Knot (紅腹濱鷸), Green Sea Turtle (綠蠵龜)
Lower : Greater Rhea (美洲鴕鳥)
Uruguay (2013, 2014)
20th October, 2014. Montevideo

Maldonado is the capital of Maldonado Department of Uruguay. As of the census of 2011, it is the seventh most populated city of the country.

Maldonado is also the name of the municipality to which the city belongs. It includes the following zones: Maldonado, Punta Ballena, Portezuelo, Barrio Hipódromo, Canteras de Marelli, Los Ceibos, Abra de Perdomo, Laguna del Diario.

Rocha is the capital city of the Rocha Department in Uruguay.

The city is located on the intersection of Route 9 with Route 15, about 70 kilometres northeast of San Carlos of Maldonado Department. The stream Arroyo Rocha flows along the west limits of the city. It was founded in 1793 and had acquired the status of "Villa" (town) before the Independence of Uruguay. On 7 July 1880 it was made capital of the Department of Rocha by the Act of Ley Nº 1.474, while its status was elevated to "Ciudad" on 10 January 1894 by the Act of Ley Nº 2.252.

Fairy Pitta

Fairy Pitta (八色鳥)
South Korea (2014)
28th November, 2014. Gwanghwamun

This beautiful pitta qualifies as Vulnerable because its population is suspected to be in rapid decline owing to deforestation in its breeding range, principally for agriculture and timber, locally compounded by trapping for the cagebird trade.

Fairy Pitta breeds in north-east Asia in Japan, South Korea, mainland China and Taiwan, and winters mainly on the island of Borneo, in east Malaysia, Brunei and Kalimantan, Indonesia. It has been recorded on passage in northern Taiwan, North Korea, Vietnam, Hong Kong (China) and, most recently, Thailand. It appears to be localised in its breeding range, but occurs at relatively high densities at some localities. Preliminary estimates based on playback surveys by the Taiwan Endemic Species Research Institute suggest that up to 2,000 individuals may breed in Taiwan. Survey effort in Jiangxi, Guangxi and Hainan Provinces, China, has identified a number of new locations. Overall, its population is unlikely to be more than a few thousand individuals and it is thought to be declining, although the Japanese Ministry of Environment report in 2004 shows that it was recorded in a greater number of survey squares during 1997-2002 distributional surveys of Japanese animals compared with their 1974-1978 figures. The total population is likely to fall between 3,000 and 5,000 individuals.

⭕️White-backed Night-heron

Front : White-backed Night-heron (白背夜鷺)
Back : Lesser Flamingo (小紅鸛)
Kenya (1984)
13th October, 2014. Nairobi

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km² combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size may be moderately small to large, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Front : Superb Starling (栗頭麗椋鳥) ; White-backed Night-heron (白背夜鷺)
Kenya (2014, 1984)
11th November, 2014. Nairobi

50 Years of tourism in Singapore

Little Egret (小白鷺)
Singapore (2014)
31st October, 2014. Toa Payoh

The development of tourism in the last 50 years mirrors the remarkable trajectory that Singapore has taken in these decades. The country has blossomed into a modern cosmopolitan destination with strong local character, one of the truly global hubs in Asia. In the process of doing so, we inspire our guests in both their personal and professional lives and strengthen the pride of residents who call Singapore home.

Parrots of Burundi (II)

L : Fischer's Lovebird (費沙氏情侶鸚鵡) ; R : Congo Grey Parrot (剛果灰鸚鵡)
Burundi (2011)
20th October, 2014. Bujumbura

Fischer's Lovebird has a green back, chest, and wings. Their necks are a golden yellow and as it progresses upward it becomes darker orange. The top of the head is olive green, and the beak is bright red. The upper surface of the tail has some purple or blue feathers. It has a white circle of bare skin (eyering) around its eyes. Young birds are very similar to the adults, except for the fact that they are duller and the base of their mandible has brown markings. They are one of the smaller lovebirds, about 14 cm (5.5 in)[3] in length and 43-58g weight.

While most Fischer's Lovebirds are green, several color variations have been bred. The blue variation is predominant; lacking yellow, it has a bright blue back, tail, and chest, a white neck, a pale grey head and a pale pink beak. This mutation was first bred by R. Horsham in South Africa in 1957, and two years later it was bred by Dr. F. Warford in San Francisco, California. There is a yellow mutation, which first appeared in France. These birds are typically pale yellow with an orange face and a red beak. Lutino (a mutation that is yellow in color), pied, black or dark eyed white, cinnamon, white, and albino mutations have also been bred.

African grey parrot is a medium-sized, predominantly grey, black-billed parrot which weighs 400 g, with a length of 33 cm and an average wingspan of 46–52 cm. The tail and undertail coverts are red, in comparison to the maroon of the smaller Timneh parrot. Both sexes appear similar. The colouration of juveniles similar to that of adults, however the eye is typically dark grey to black, in comparison to the greyish eyes of the adult birds. The undertail coverts are also tinged with grey.

Parrots of Burundi (I)

L : Red-fronted Parrot (黑翅賈丁氏鸚鵡) ; R : Cape Parrot (海角鸚鵡)
Burundi (2011)
20th October, 2014. Bujumbura

Red-fronted Parrot also known as the Jardine's parrot, is a medium-sized mainly green parrot endemic across wide areas of Africa. It has three subspecies. The extent and shade of the red or orange plumage on its head, thighs, and bend of wings vary depending on the subspecies. They are popular as pets, partly because of their ability to mimic speech and copy sounds. Trapping of wild birds for the pet trade is a potential threat to wild populations; however, they are protected by CITES (appendix II) making the trade, import and export of all wild-caught parrots illegal.

Cape Parrot is a short-tailed moderately large bird with a very large beak used to crack all sorts of hard nuts and fruit kernels, especially those of African yellowwood trees Podocarpus spp.. This contrasts with the closely related Savanna species (Poicephalus fuscicollis) which feeds on and a wide variety of tropical woodland trees such as Marula, Commiphora spp. and Terminalia spp.. These species are sexually dimorphic, with females typically sporting an orange frontal patch on the forehead. Juveniles also show a larger orange - pink patch on the forehead but lack the red on shoulders and legs of adults. These plumage characteristics vary among individuals and among the three recognized forms.

The Indian issue of 'International Year of Biodiversity'

Left : Indian Eagle-owl (印度雕鴞) ; 
Right : Ruddy Shelduck (赤麻鴨) and Brahminy Kite (栗鳶)
Postmark : Pale-capped Pigeon (紫林鴿)
India (2012)
24th August, 2014. Bhubaneswar
18th October, 2014. Hong-Kong

The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity. It is a celebration of life on earth and of the value of biodiversity for our lives. The world is invited to take action in 2010 to safeguard the variety of life on earth: biodiversity.The International Year of Biodiversity is a unique opportunity to increase understanding of the vital role that biodiversity plays in sustaining life on Earth.

⭕️Endangered Seabirds

Antipodean Albatross (安島信天翁)
New Zealand (2014)
25th September, 2014. Whanganui

New Zealand’s unique marine environment is home to a diverse range of seabirds, giving New Zealand the title of ‘seabird capital of the world’. Five of our most endangered seabirds are featured on this unique stamp issue that uses thermochromic ink to reflect the disappearing nature of these precious birds.

Antipodean Albatross is a large albatross that breeds almost exclusively on the Auckland and Antipodes Islands. They are masters of low-energy flying and forage over the contintental shelf edge and deep water areas.

Restricted to the Chatham Islands as their name suggests, this large black and white shag, is a conspicuous bird along the rocky coastlines. Colonies and roost sites are located on rocky headlands and islets and there is one colony in the Te Whanga Lagoon.

Black-billed Gulls are strongly colonial and breed predominantly on braided rivers from the coast to the headwaters. The species is found throughout New Zealand but is most common east of the southern divide in the South Island and in Southland.

Chatham Island Shag (查島鸕鶿)
New Zealand (2014)
25th September, 2014. Whanganui

Black-billed Gull (黑嘴鷗)
New Zealand (2014)

25th September, 2014. Whanganui

Black-faced Spoonbill

Black-faced Spoonbill (黑面琵鷺)
Taiwan (2004)
20th September, 2014. Chigo

The black-faced Spoonbill has the most restricted distribution of all spoonbills, and it is the only one regarded as endangered. Spoonbills are large water birds with dorso-ventrally flattened, spatulate bills. These birds use a tactile method of feeding, wading in the water and sweeping their beaks from side-to-side to detect prey. Confined to the coastal areas of eastern Asia, it seems that it was once common throughout its area of distribution. It has a niche existence on only a few small rocky islands off the west coast of North Korea, with four wintering sites at Macao, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam, as well as other places where they have been observed in migration. Wintering also occurs in Cheju, South Korea, Kyushu and Okinawa, Japan, and Red River, Delta Vietnam. More recently, sightings of Black-faced Spoonbill birds were noted in Thailand, the Philippines, mainland China, and Macao They were classified as an endangered species through IUCN in 2005. Declines in their population are predicted in the future, mainly due to the amount of deforestation, pollution, and other man-made industries.