Birds of Latvia - 2010

In regularly, Latvia Post commenced the Birds of Latvia series in 2010 by issuing the stamps European Roller and Eagle-owl on June 18,  2010.

European Roller

The European Roller is a stocky bird, the size of a Jackdaw at 29–32 cm in length with a 52–58 cm wingspan; it is mainly blue with an orange-brown back.

The European Roller often perch prominently on trees, posts or overhead wires, like giant shrikes, whilst watching for the large insects, small reptiles, rodents and frogs that they eat.

The European Roller (Coracias garrulus) is the only member of the roller family of birds to breed in Europe. Its overall range extends into the Middle East and Central Asia and Morocco.

The European Roller is striking in its strong direct flight, with the brilliant blue contrasting with black flight feathers. Sexes are similar, but the juvenile is a drabber version of the adult. It nests in an unlined tree or cliff hole, and lays up to six eggs.

The European Roller has a large global population, including an estimated 100,000-220,000 individuals in Europe. In Latvia and Lithuania populations have decreased from several thousand of pairs in the 1970s to under 30 pairs in 2004.

Eagle Owl

The Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo) is a species of eagle owl resident in much of Eurasia. The Eagle Owl is a very large and powerful bird, smaller than the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). 

The great size, bulky, barrel-shaped build, ear tufts and orange eyes make this a distinctive species. The ear tufts of males are more upright than those of females. The Eagle Owl has a wingspan of 160–188 cm with the largest specimens attaining 200 cm.

Eagle Owls are distributed sparsely through rocky areas but can potentially inhabit a wide range of habitats.This eagle owl mainly feeds on small mammals in the 200–2,000 g  weight range, such as voles, rats, mice, rabbits and hares.

The Eagle Owl can live for up to 20 years in the wild. However, like many other bird species in captivity they can live much longer without having to endure difficult natural conditions, and have possibly survived up to 60 years in zoo collections.