Large Ground-Finch (大嘴地雀)
Portugal (2009)
12th February, 2009. Praça dos Restauradores, Lisbon
(featuring first day special postmark)
February 12 is the day of birth of Charles Darwin (1809-1882), and this year is bicentenary of birth of him, some postal admissions issued stamps to commemorate his birthday. Today I received two of them, Portugal and Great Britain. Thanks for Paula in Lisbon and Yoram in London, to send me covers. Especially Yoram as he got cold during the big snow weather.
The species on the stamps of these two countries nearly same, which found by Darwin. They are endemism of Galapagos Islands, a group of islands in the Equator, outside Pacific Ocean of Ecuador. The souvenir sheet issued by Great Britain copied a map which surveyed by Robert FitzRoy and the officers of HMS Begales, 1835, illustrated Galapagos Giant Tortoise (加拉帕哥斯象龜) and Marine Iguana (鬣蜥蜴) and three birds listed as below.
Top - 1st : Flightless Cormorant (加拉帕哥斯短翼鸕鷀) and
1st : Common Cactus-Finch (仙人掌地雀)
Bottom - 81p : Floreana Mockingbird (三斑嘲鶇)
Great Britain (2009)
12th February, 2009. Trafalgar Square, London