Due to heavy reconstruction of this webpage, this blog is temporary suspended to renew in this summer, it will be updated again after late-autumn, thank you for your visits in these 9 years.

29 April 2012

Laughing Kookaburra

Laughing Kookaburra (笑翠鳥)
Australia (2005)
29th April, 2011. Wellington, New South Wales

Laughing Kookaburra is a common endemic kingfisher in east Australia, and then introduced to Tasmania, south-west of Western Australia, and New Zealand. The closed species is Blue-winged Kookaburra (藍翅笑翠鳥), it has been settled some colonies of Laughing Kookaburra in central northern and north-western Australia.

This interesting postcard especially printed for Wellington Caves originally sent from Dickson, Canberra on the day of issue of stamp issued on 1978. The stamp is 'stamp on stamp' features a 1928 Laughing Kookaburra stamp, to commemorate 50 anniversary of NSE.

24 April 2012

Red-billed Tropicbird

Red-billed Tropicbird (紅嘴熱帶鳥)
Ascension Islands (2011)
31st August, 2011. George Town

After a year, most of stamps to celebrate 50th anniversary of WWF have been arrived, perhaps it is the last one, the red-billed topicbird of Ascension Islands. Many thanks of the post office, the cover was sent on the day of issue but oddly couldn't be find in post office system.

18 April 2012

300th anniversary of discovery of Clipperton Island

Austropacific Masked Booby (藍臉鰹鳥/西太平洋亞種)
France (2011)
2nd November, 2011. Igny, Essonne

After Martin de Chassiron and Michel Du Bocage discovered Clipperton Island, where is a coral reef island offshore of south-western Mexico. It becomes possession of France and now under trusteeship by French Polynesia. But course until now, it still an uninhabited island, and it only is a paradise of seabirds and couple species of crab. Few coconut palms are planted during some visitors visited.

The cover shown a stamp issued by La Postes to commemorate 300th anniversary of this discovery. Stamp clearly illustrated the bird's-eye viewed Clipperton Island, palm trees and the seabird. Probably it is sub-species of Masked Booby, a seabird quite commonly to be found in oceans. Other common seabirds can be observed are noddies, terns and bobbies.

13 April 2012

Viti Levu Rail

Viti Levu Rail (維提島秧雞)
Fiji (2006)

4th May, 2011. Suva
10th May, 2011. Registration office, Fiji

Viti Levu Rail, was a late Quaternary prehistoric birds endemic to Viti Levu, a largest island of Fiji. It was flightless similar to Bar-winged Rail (斑翅秧雞), they mostly appear ground-nesting forest and fresh-water swamp. However as the mongooses and cats introduced from outside, and the birds only endemic to this closed area, Bar-winged Rail was probably extinct on 1973 and Viti Levu Rail was probably extinct on 1998, when the last discovery of these two species.

8 April 2012

Definitives of Kenya

From left to right :
5/- : Avocado (鱷梨) ; 7/- : Malachite Kingfisher (冠翠鳥)
10/- : Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater (桂胸蜂虎) ; 100/- : Coffee (咖啡)
Kenya (1993, 2001)

4th May, 2011. Nairobi

In a long time ago, here shown a pen-pal mail form Kenya features bird definitives issued on 1993, it was 7th set definitive set of this country ; and on 2001, the country issued another set definitive set illustrates variety crops. These two sets stamp are printed by Courvoisier while it closed in 2001. Until now, these two definitive sets are still available in post office counters and above mail is an example features the stamps.

Malachite Kingfisher and Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater are beautiful birds in East Africa, they are ordinary to be found in ponds and edge of forests. They are high adaptable to the unstable sub-Sahara environment. Avocado and coffee are popular crops in the world, especially Kenya's coffee is famous to coffeemates.

3 April 2012

The bird of the year 2011

Postmark : Redstart (紅尾鴝)
Germany (2011)
22nd October, 2011. Neubrandenburg

In Europe, some countries glad to choose a species be a bird of the year of the countries, it mostly arranged by national conservation organisation or department. Sometimes, like Belarus, Estonia and Latvia, issue a stamp to let their people know which bird is 'the bird of the year'. In Germany, it also has same activity but post office rarely to issue stamp, mostly there has a special pictorial postmark to commemorate the activity. Above one, used on 2011, is a redstart which was an actor of this year.

Redstart is breeding in Germany and Europe, partly northern Africa. In winter it migrates to sub-African area and back for Europe next year.

Postmark : Redstart (紅尾鴝)
Germany (2011)
6th November, 2011. Gaildorf