⭕️Giants of the sky

Wandering Albatross (漂泊信天翁)
Pitcairn Islands (2014)
27th February, 2014. Pitcairn Islands

Wandering Albatrosses have the largest wingspan of any living bird, typically ranging from 2.5 to 3.5m and are capable of remaining in the air without flapping their wings for several hours. Spending most of their life in flight, their range is all the southern oceans from 28° to 60°. The length of the body averages 120 cm (with females being slightly smaller) and they weigh between 6.5 and 12kg. Plumage varies with age, with the juveniles starting chocolate brown changing to white bodies with black and white wings as adults. The large bill is pink, as are the feet. They also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe.

They can live for over 50 years and pairs of Wandering Albatrosses mate for life and breed every two years. Breeding takes place on sub-Antarctic islands and one egg is laid usually on an exposed ridge near the sea. During the early stages of the chick's development the parents take turns to sit on the nest while the other searches for food. They are night feeders and feed on cephalopods, small fish and crustaceans and on animal refuse that floats on the sea.

⭕️Birds of prey in China, II

From left to right :
Eastern Imperial Eagle (白肩鵰) ; Eurasian Kestrel (紅隼)
Northern Harrier (白尾鷂) ; Northern Goshawk (蒼鷹)
China (2014)
23rd February, 2014. Nantou, Shenzhen

Though raptors, also known as birds of prey, occupy the top of the food chain, the wild carnivorous birds are now all under the key protection of the state in China. This stamp set shows four diurnal raptors in Falconiformes. Eastern Imperial Eagle is about 75cm long and inhabits mountain forests and places on the edges of forests. It usually stays on trees and preys when opportunities emerge. Northern Harrier is about 50cm long, and lives on open plains, grasslands and farmlands. The greatest natural enemy of other birds and hares in forests, Northern Goshawk is about 56cm long and can fly rapidly and flexibly in forests to get preys. Eurasian Kestrel is only 33cm long. These small raptors can often be seen in open areas. They are famous for their graceful hovering in the air.

⭕️Songbirds of USA

From left to right :

1sr roll : Mountain Bluebird (山藍鳥) ; Western Tanager (黃腹麗唐納雀)
Painted Bunting (麗色彩鵐)
Baltimore Oriole (橙腹擬黃鸝) ; Western Meadowlark (西草地鷚)
2nd roll : Scarlet Tanager (猩紅麗唐納雀) ; Rose-breasted Grosbeak (玫胸白斑翅雀)
American Goldfinch (美洲金翅雀)
White-throated Sparrow (白喉帶鵐) ; Evening Grosbeak (黃昏錫嘴雀)
USA (2014)
15th April, 2014. Redmond

Between 4,000 and 4,500 different types of songbirds can be found around the planet, accounting for nearly half of all bird species. Songbirds are identified by their highly developed vocal organs. Some songbirds, like the crow, have harsh voices, others sing rarely or not at all. All songbirds are classified as perching birds. With three toes pointing forward and one pointing backwards, they can grip branches and grasses with ease.

Why do songbirds make such a glorious sound every morning? In a word, love. Males sing to attract females and to warn rivals to keep out of their territory.

   

   

 

From left to right :
1sr roll : Baltimore Oriole (橙腹擬黃鸝) ; Painted Bunting (麗色彩鵐) 
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (玫胸白斑翅雀)
2nd roll : Western Tanager (黃腹麗唐納雀) ; Scarlet Tanager (猩紅麗唐納雀)
 Western Meadowlark (西草地鷚)
3rd roll : White-throated Sparrow (白喉帶鵐)
American Goldfinch (美洲金翅雀)
USA (2014)
5th April, 2014. Dallas, Taxes

Songbirds of Tunisia

Goldfinch (紅額金翅雀)
Tunisia (1992)
25th March, 2014. Avenue Farhat Hached, Carthage

Finally I got first one example of bird cover from Tunisia, which is a unforgotten place to me. Although it issued on 1992, it looks beautiful and attractive, this Goldfinch is one of 4 in the set, others are European Bee-eater (黃喉蜂虎), Serin (金絲雀) and Greenfinch (金翅雀). The average Goldfinch is 12–13 cm long with a wingspan of 21–25 cm and a weight of 14 to 19 grams. The sexes are broadly similar, with a red face, black and white head, warm brown upperparts, white underparts with buff flanks and breast patches, and black and yellow wings.

On closer inspection male Goldfinches can often be distinguished by a larger, darker red mask that extends just behind the eye. In females, the red face does not reach the eye. The ivory-coloured bill is long and pointed, and the tail is forked. Goldfinches in breeding condition have a white bill, with a greyish or blackish mark at the tip for the rest of the year. Juveniles have a plain head and a greyer back but are unmistakable due to the yellow wing stripe. Birds in central Asia (caniceps group) have a plain grey head behind the red face, lacking the black and white head pattern of European and western Asian birds.

Chinese Dinosaurs

Microraptor gui (顧氏小盜龍)
Hong-Kong (2014)
20th February, 2014. International Mail Centre

Microraptor gui, a carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur in the Early Cretaceousperiod(around 120 million years ago), was the most well-known kind of feathered dinosaur. Its fossils were unearthed in western Liaoning Province. The species was named after the famous palaeontologist Gu Zhiwei. Microraptor gui was about 1 metre long with a massive tail more than half of its body length. It lived mostly in woods, and had the ability to glide between trees. A batch of feathered dinosaur fossils, discovered in Liaoning Province in 2000 by researchers of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, provides evidence to support the theory that birds are descended from dinosaurs.

Short-toed Eagle

Short-toed Eagle (短趾雕)
Azerbaijan (2011)
3rd April, 2014. Baku

This is an Old World species spread throughout the Mediterranean basin and into Russia and the Middle East, and into parts of Asia, mainly in the Indian Subcontinent and also further east in some Indonesian islands.

Those present on the northern edge of the Mediterranean and other parts of Europe migrate mainly to sub-Saharan Africa north of the equator, leaving in September/ October and returning in April/ May. In the Middle and Far East the populations are resident. In Europe it is most numerous in Spain where it is fairly common but elsewhere it is rare in many parts of its range. A bird on the Isles of Scilly, Britain, in October 1999 was the first confirmed record for that country.

The Short-toed Snake Eagle is found in open cultivated plains, arid stony deciduous scrub areas and foothills and semi-desert areas. It requires trees for nesting.

Common Kingfisher

Common Kingfisher (普通翠鳥)
Estonia (2014)
20th March, 2014. Tallinn

Due to its extraordinary colours the Common Kingfisher is called the Nordic jewel and the pearl of rivers. Both the kingfisher’s plumage, as well as the shape of its body, are unique. It nests on the banks of rivers, brooks and bigger ditches lined with trees and rivers, the banks of which offer opportunities for digging its nest. The kingfisher particularly likes shallow rivers with pure water. It mainly feeds on small fish. We can expect to see the kingfisher round the year, but only a few remain here for the winter. The Estonian Ornithological Society picks the bird of the year since 1995. More information about the Common Kingfisher can be found in the internet, where it has numerous sites.

Common Kingfisher (普通翠鳥)
Estonia (2014)
20th March, 2014. Tallinn

⭕️Ascension Frigatebird

Ascension Frigatebird (阿森松軍艦鳥)
Ascension Island (2013)
24th January, 2014. Ascension Island

The Ascension Frigatebird breeds on the rocky slopes of the tiny Boatswain Bird Island just off Ascension Island in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It formerly bred on the larger island, but was exterminated by introduced cats, Brown Rats, and human persecution; in 2012 it was announced that a breeding pair had been found on Ascension Island following a project to exterminate feral cats.

This species is very similar to the other frigatebirds and is similarly sized to all but Lesser Frigatebird. It has a white axillary spur, and juveniles show a white head, and a distinctly white hind neck with no reddish-brown hue. It has a brown breast band. A frigatebird found moribund in 1953 in Tiree, Scotland was identified at the time as Magnificent Frigatebird but the specimen was re-examined in 2002 and found to be an Ascension Frigatebird. A juvenile was photographed at Bowmore on the island of Islay in July 2013.

⭕️100 years Swiss National Park

Golden Eagle (金雕)
Switzerland (2014)
6th March, 2014. Zernez

100 years ago, the Swiss National Park (SNP) was established by a group of visionaries, laying the foundations for a unique, natural oasis. Today, their original idea – namely leaving natural processes untouched and documenting the many and varied changes – is more relevant than ever. To mark its centenary, the National Park is offering its visitors a varied programme of centenary events.
 

In its centenary year, the SNP is staging a varied programme of events. It has chosen 27 March 2014 for the national launch – 100 years to the day since the Swiss parliament voted to esta- blish the park. On 1 August 2014, Swiss television channel SRF will be broadcasting the main celebration live from Zernez. From 11 July to 16 August, Zernez will also be hosting 16 performances for locals and visitors of the anniversary open-air spectacle “LAINA VIA – the phenomenal story of the Swiss National Park”. LAINA VIVA will bring drama, humour, romance, music and lots of movement to the stage and will be an unmissable spectacle! From March to October, the SNP is going on a nationwide tour to the 16 biggest Coop shopping centres, to present nature where it is least expected. The anniversary exhibition in the National Park Centre is dedicated to special gures from the SNP’s 100-year history. The centenary will also be marked by various publications, including the Atlas of the Swiss National Park.

Golden Eagle (金雕)
Switzerland (2014)
6th March, 2014. Zernez

Floodplain in the Lower Oder Valley

White Stork (白鸛)
Germany (2014)
12th February, 2014. Mühlau

The Lower Oder Valley International Park is a shared German-Polish nature reserve. It comprises the western banks of the Oder river within the Uckermark district in the German state of Brandenburg as well as the steep eastern banks in the Gryfino and Police counties of the Polish West Pomeranian Voivodeship further north.

The German part of the core area is the Nationalpark Unteres Odertal (Lower Oder Valley National Park). There is an information centre at Criewen. The Polish part of the core area is the Park Krajobrazowy Dolina Dolnej Odry (Lower Odra Valley Landscape Park). The area comprises 165 km2 (64 sq mi) (Germany 105 km2 (41 sq mi), Poland 60 km2 (23 sq mi)); together with adjoining nature reserves in Germany and Poland the total area is 1,172 km2 (453 sq mi). By decision of the German-Polish Environmental Council in 1992 the German, Polish and Brandenburg environment ministers as well as the voivode of Szczecin created the Lower Oder Valley International Park.