Bird stamp explained

A bird stamp is a postage stamp that illustrates one or more birds. It is a popular theme in topical stamp collecting.

Birds started appearing on stamps by 1875, when Japan issued a series of three stamps bearing stylized illustrations of the three species Motacilla alba, Accipiter gentilis and bean goose.[1] [2] The first United States bird stamp, depicting an eagle with wings outspread, was issued in 1869 on Scott #116 and #121, on stamps that were issued for general mail usage. The UK issued its first in honor of "Nature Week" in 1963.[1] As of 2024, over 40,000 bird stamps have been issued around the world, depicting more than 4,000 species of birds.[3]

A prominent collector is Chris Gibbins whose collection of over twelve thousand stamps portrays about three thousand species. Organisations that cover this field include the American Topical Association and The Bird Stamp Society.[4]

References and sources

Notes
Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Malcolm Ogilvie, "Birds on Stamps", Birds of Britain: The Monthly Web Magazine for Birdwatchers, March 2002.
  2. Web site: 1875 Bird definitive stamps of Japan . colnect.com . 2015-11-18 .
  3. Web site: Scharning . Kjell . Statistics . Theme Birds on Stamps . 15 June 2024.
  4. Web site: The Bird Stamp Society brings bird stamp collectors together . The Bird Stamp Society . 2015 . 2015-11-17 .