Hyacinth Macaw, and other species in Amazon forest

Hyacinth Macaw (紫藍金剛鸚鵡)
Great Britain (2011)
22nd March, 2011. Trafalgar Square, London

Hyacinth Macaw is the largest species of Psittaciformes (鸚形目), which has unique body, charmed jewelery blued feather are attracted to pet feeder. The macaw is endemic to Amazon tropical palm forests or swamps of southern Brazil, east of Bolivia and north of Paraguay. As it is a popular pet of people, the macaw has big demand in pet market and caused wild macaws are being illegal bird trading. Moreover according to the over development of forest area, their inhabit area are damaged or lost. In 80's year over 10,000 birds be caught and most of them traded to black-market of Brazil, now only 3,000 wild macaws to be found in this area.

The stamp as above comes from souvenir sheet of Great Britain, which commemorated 50th anniversary of Worldwide Fund of Nature. Whole set products include 10 stamps with worldwide endangered mammals and souvenir sheet as below features 4 species to be found in Amazon forest. But disappointingly none of them related to Great Britain.

Today is a big day as it was a foundation day of Worldwide Fund for Nature in 50 years ago. The orginasation registered at Morges, Switzerland on 11th September by Sir Julian Huxley who is a British biologist.

Clockwise from top :
1st class : Red-faced Spider Monkey (朱顏蜘蛛猴) ; 60p : Hyacinth Macaw (紫藍金剛鸚鵡)
88p : Brazilian Cobalt Dart Frog (巴西鈷藍箭毒蛙) ; 97p : Jaguar (美洲豹)
Great Britain (2011)
22nd March, 2011. Trafalgar Square, London

Massena's Lorikeet

Massena's Lorikeet (馬仙納氏吸蜜鸚鵡)
Vanuatu (2011)
23th August, 2011. Port Vila

After a year, Vanuatu Post issues again WWF series to commemorate 50th anniversary of the organisation, which found in 1951. This time features beautiful and attractive Massena's Lorikeet in strip of 4 format. The species not new to Vanuatu stamps but in first time to use illustration style to produce stamps.

Massena's Lorikeet is a sub-species of Rainbow Lorikeet (彩虹吸蜜鸚鵡), this complicate species has 21 sub-species which have different features and inhabit area. For Massena's Lorikeet, it endemic to Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, and some of them rarely to Vanuatu, further south of its traditional inhabit area.

As above introduction, Massena's Lorikeet is not the first time shown on the stamps. Below aerogramme, issued couple of years features three Vanuatu domestic birds, one on the left side is Massena's Lorikeet, the imprinted postage is Eastern Reef Heron and also on the backside is Vanuatu Kingfisher, which is endemic bird of Vanuatu.

Imprinted stamp : Eastern Reef Heron (太平洋岩鷺)
Illustration : Massena's Lorikeet (馬仙納氏吸蜜鸚鵡) and
Vanuatu Kingfisher (和栗腹翡翠)
Vanuatu (2007)
23th August, 2011. Port Vila

Calabar Angwantibo

Calabar Angwantibo (金熊猴)
Congo, Republic of (1996)
15th October, 2010. Brazzaville

In the main page there has introduced those four local owls. As the postage, the envelope also affixed a set of Calabar Angwantibo stamps. The species actually not endanger to sub-Sahara area, but endemic to be found in Nigeria, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Only small amount are habiting in Congo. Calabar is a city in Nigeria, located in south-east of this country. The name of city to be named this gold and small monkey.

As the monkeys always appear on the farmlands, it be caught or killed illegally. Also more rainforest to be used for agricultural, the habitat for Calabar Angwantibo being less.

Kuhl's Lorikeet

Kuhl's Lorikeet (孔氏吸蜜鸚鵡)
Cook Islands (2010)
26th April, 2011. Rarotonga

Kuhl's Lorikeet mainly appears at tropical rainforests, edge of forests ; sometimes nearby human activity areas like backyards, coconut plantations. It has beautiful red, green and purple feathers. It endemic to south-west Pacific islands, from Cook Islands, Kiribati to French Polynesia. As it only endemic to such small areas, it now listed as endangered species as IUCN list. In recent years, the lorikeet was re-introduced to Teraina, Tabueran, Kiritimati of Cook Islands.

Above cover sent from Cook Islands through New Zealand, while understand that from the labels on the cover, but as the relationship of Cook Islands and New Zealand, it didn't need biosecurity by custom of New Zealand.

Pygmy Cormorant

Pygmy Cormorant (侏鸕鶿)
Serbia (2011)
24th May, 2011. Kanjiža

It is the third set of WWF series in 2011 I collected. Not much special but seem nice enough, it features Pygmy Cormorant. This species breeds in southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, and it partially migrate to further south for winter. Due to the drainage, inhabit lose, pollution and illegal hunting, the population of Pygmy Cormorant is decreasing and now be listed as near threatened in IUCN list.

Christmas Frigatebird

Christmas Frigatebird (白腹軍艦鳥)
Christmas Island (2010)
17th August, 2010. Christmas Island, West Australia
4th January, 2011. Christmas Island, West Australia

Christmas Frigatebird, as known as Christmas Island Frigatebird, is one frigatebird only breeding in Christmas Island, however it also widely visible in South China Sea, most of coast of south-east Asian countries, eastern Indian Ocean and west of South Pacific. As it mainly breeds in Christmas Islands, it can say the frigatebird is endemic to this small island in north-west of Australia. During 1988, the frigatebird listed as threatened in IUCN list while became vulnerable species in 1994. Since 2000, the frigatebird listed as critically endangered species due to the inhabit area colonised by huge of Crazy Ants (細足捷蟻), and also damaged by wildfires or cyclones.

As well as other frigatebirds, their diet mostly rob other birds caught, but they also catch fish near water surface or shallows. Male bird is in black colour except small part in white on the belly, and brownish areas on the wings. As they are frigatebird, male also has a large red and inflateable throat sac during courtship.

Same as before, mail from Christmas Island will be postmarked by attractive pictorial postmark illustrates Christmas Red Crab (聖誕島紅蟹).

50 years on, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

Clockwise from top-left :
Barnacle Goose (白頰黑雁) ; Black Scoter (黑海番鴨)
Gadwall (赤膀鴨)
Iceland (2011)
27th January, 2011. Reykjavik (first day special postmark)

In 1960, Sir Julian Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975), a British biologist wrote a couple of articles related to his observation for newspaper after his East African trip. Huxley received number of feedback on his concerned, one of feedback from Victor Stolan suggested him found an organisation for further conservation. Huxley accepted his suggestion but Stolan did not join the occurrence. Later on, Huxley together with Max Nicholson and Peter Scott produced a document Morges Manifesto, a foundation document of World Wildlife Fund for Nature and signed on 29 April of 1961. It was a beginning of WWF and its organisation registered at Morges, Switzerland on 11th September, 1961. 50 years on, WWF founding and controlling variety conservation areas and supporting different environment events over the world. Today, is a day to celebrate 50th anniversary of the foundation of WWF.

More than 20 countries to be issued stamps to commemorate this event. Guinea-Bissau and Iceland two of the firsts two issued on January, Iceland one features four waterbirds commonly to be found in Europe. Nevertheless, those four species are endangered in Iceland, they are wholly be protected in this island country.

Maxicard
White-fronted Goose (白額雁)
Iceland (2011)
27th January, 2011. Reykjavik (first day special postmark)