Birds of Latvia - 2012

 

Following to the previous issues of Birds of Latvia series, Latvia Post issued two stamps with pictures of traditional Latvian birds:  the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) and the Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis).

The denomination of Barn Swallow is LVL 0.35 and  the denomination of Goldfinch is LVL 0.98. The stamps have been designed by artist Ģirts Grīva.

 

The Barn Swallow is the most widespread species of swallow. It is a bird of open country and builds nests in closed, man-made structures protected from precipitation and wind. 

The Barn Swallow is renowned for its skill of catching insects in flight. To many nations, the Barn Swallow is a symbol of hope, luck, and the coming of spring; Latvian beliefs about swallows relate to the weather, money and happiness.

 

The release of the stamps is accompanied by two first-day covers and two special cancellations. The covers are adorned by pictures of the barn swallow and the goldfinch in their natural environment, while the cancellation depicts each bird in graphical form.

The Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Birds in Winter

The Isle of Man Post is pleased to present a set of six stamps feature the birds found in their islands during winter season on the 28th September 2011. The featured birds are depicts by artist Jeremy Paul, the Isle of Man artist. The issue stamps also encompassed the 2011 Europa theme forest (68p stamp) and the SEPAC theme of Scenery (58p stamp).

Robin

The Robin is a plump bird with bright orange-red breast, face, throat and cheeks edged with grey, a white belly and olive-brown upper parts. The sexes are very similar.They have a brown bill and legs.This bird is almost synonymous with winter appearing on countless Christmas cards.

The Robin's diet is principally insects and worms, which it will normally catch by swooping, that is to say, snatching its prey on the ground after watching for movement from a perch above. They will also often follow a gardener that is digging the soil over for any easy pickings

In the winter, resident birds are joined by immigrants from continental Europe, mostly from Scandinavia. The immigrants are also generally less tame because they skulk in woodlands, only British Robins are a tame garden bird.