Sunday, 4 October 2026

Island Birds

 

1975: Jersey Island Birds (Designer - Jennifer Toombs)
Riding the waves of Jersey - the graceful Tern; a Storm Petrel just clear of the water 'pattering' with lowered feet; Brent Geese who winter on Jersey's milder coast ; Shag, perched on a rock with wings outstretched to dry after prolonged diving for fish.
1970: Birds Definites 
The ½c stamp identifies a House Wren but time has passed and it is now reclassified as a subspecies and recognised as the St Vincent Wren (Troglodytes musicus) endemic to the island.  4c The forest dwelling Rufous-throated Solitaire which I believe has a haunting melodic song and is "the dominant forest sound at dusk".

5c Scaly-naped Pigeon, widespread throughout the Caribbean 10c Mangrove Cuckoo, one can tell by the name where to find this bird $2.50  a flycatcher, the Yellow Bellied Elaenia.  South of St Vincent

1976: Flora and Fauna (Designer - Gordon Drummond)
is the southernmost of the Windward Islands - Grenada. Here we find the Bananaquit, named for its bright yellow underside and yes they also like eating ripe bananas. A 'quit' is a West Indian word used to describe tiny chirping birds.
1978: Birds of Grenada (Deign - Gordon Drummond)

I started with sea birds so I'll finish with one. The stamp identifies this as a Black Headed Gull, a bird of the Palearctic region. The knowledgeable  Birds on Stamps site identifies it as a Laughing Gull, which is indeed very similar, especially in summer plumage. The Laughing Gull is a subspecies and permanent resident of the West Indies and Caribbean islands.

An entry to Sunday Stamps theme of - Birds - See It On A Postcard

 

1 comment:

viridian said...

I always like the birds on Stamps theme. You have many nice stamps today.