Brasilian Birds 2009.

Red-crested Cardinal (Paroaria coronata)- is a bird species in the tanager family (Thraupidae). It was formerly placed in the Emberizidae and is not very closely related to the cardinals proper (Cardinalidae).

It is found in northern Argentina, Bolivia, southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Among others, it is found in southern regions of the Pantanal. It has also been introduced to Hawaii and Puerto Rico. In Brazil, it has been introduced to various places outside its historical range, as in the Tietê Ecological Park in São Paulo, alongside with its close relative, the Red-cowled Cardinal[1]. The Yellow-billed Cardinal could be easily confused with the Red-crested Cardinal. The Yellow-billed Cardinal does not have a crest.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and heavily degraded former forest.


Guianan Cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola rupicola)- is a South American passerine about 30 cm (12 in) in length. The bright orange male has an extraordinary half-moon crest, which is used is competitive displays in lek gatherings to attract a female.
As suggested by its name, the Guianan Cock-of-the-rock is found in the Guianan Shield, occurring in French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, southern Venezuela, eastern Colombia and northern Amazonian Brazil. The preferred habitat is humid forest near rocky outcrops. The diet consists mainly of fruits.It also eats invertebrates,frogs, and small reptiles.
The smaller of the two cocks-of-the-rock, the male takes the lesser part in breeding, is polygamous, and has nothing to do with nesting once mating is done. The male's energy instead is devoted to very elaborate display rituals that show off its magnificent plumage. These displays take place in communal leks, where 40 or more males may gather to challenge rivals and beckon the females.

The displaying male shows its crest and plumage so much that the bill and tail become obscured, almost making it difficult to recognize as a bird. Within the lek, each bird has its own perch on a low branch, with a "court" on the ground below that is cleared of dead leaves by the draughts of each male taking off and landing. They also have a variety of calls and movements, showing off the crest and elongated filaments on the rump and secondaries, and snapping their bills. Males display on branches about 2.5 m (10 ft) from the ground until a female approaches, when the males display and call from individual plots on the ground. The female chooses a male by landing on the ground behind a male and pecking him on the rump, the male turns round, and mating takes place almost immediately.
The female lays 1-2 eggs in the nest of mud and plant material, which is attached by saliva to a vertical rock. The male does not participate in the building of the nest or the incubation of the eggs.


Blue-naped Chlorophonia (Chlorophonia cyanea)- is a colourful South American species of bird in the family Fringillidae; it was formerly placed in the Thraupidae. It is generally fairly common.

Its distribution is highly disjunct, with population associated with the Atlantic Forest in south-eastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay and north-eastern Argentina, the Andes from Bolivia in south to Venezuela in north, the Perijá and Santa Marta Mountains, the Venezuelan Coastal Range, and the Tepuis. All populations are associated with humid forest, but locally it also occurs in nearby gardens and parks (especially in the Atlantic Forest region). Most populations are found in subtropical highlands, but it occurs down to near sea level in the Atlantic Forest region.

A small, plump, mainly green bird. The underparts are yellow, and the mantle/lower nape, rump and eye-ring are blue. Some subspecies have a yellow frontlet. Females are duller than the males, with underparts more greenish-yellow and less blue to the mantle/lower nape.


Blue Finch (Porphyrospiza caerulescens)- is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family. Sometimes classified in the bunting and American sparrow family Emberizidae, a recent study[citation needed] has shown it to belong in the Thraupidae. It in the monotypic genus Porphyrospiza.

It is found in Bolivia and Brazil. Its natural habitat is dry savanna. It is becoming rare due to habitat loss.


Red-necked Tanager (Tangara cyanocephala) - is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.
It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest.


Scarlet-headed Blackbird (Amblyramphus holosericeus) - is an icterid bird of southern South American wetlands.

This species is about 24 cm long. The bill is oddly shaped: long, slender, and very sharp, looking almost upturned. Adults of both sexes are described by their name. Juveniles have entirely black plumage; orange-red feathers first appear on their breast and throat, later spreading to the neck, head, and thighs. The song is given as "loud, clear, and melodic, a ringing 'cleer-cleer-clur, clulululu'." Calls are simpler but have a similar quality.

Scarlet-headed Blackbirds occur in pairs in large reed beds in southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina; Bolivia has an isolated population at altitudes up to about 600 m. They often perch conspicuously on top of stems. They are uncommon, particularly away from the coast.

They eat mainly fruit, supplementing it with seeds and invertebrates, especially insects. They use their bill as a hammer to open food items.

Scarlet-headed Blackbirds are monogamous, and territories are grouped together. The nest is an open cup placed in the crotch of a shrub or woven into vegetation, in which they lay two eggs.

Federal Duck Stamp

The federal duck stamp was created through a wetlands conservation program. President Herbert Hoover signed the Migratory Bird Conservation Act in 1929 to authorize the acquisition and preservation of wetlands as waterfowl habitat.

The law, however, did not provide a permanent source of money to buy and preserve the wetlands. On March 16, 1934, Congress passed, and President Roosevelt signed, the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act. [1]Popularly known as the Duck Stamp Act, the bill's whole purpose was to generate revenue designated for only one use: acquiring wetlands for what is now known as the National Wildlife Refuge System. It has been proven that sales of duck stamps increase when the public has been informed of how the revenue generated through stamp sales are used.

Jay N. "Ding" Darling, a conservationist and Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist, was appointed the head of the Duck Stamp Program. Darling's pencil sketch of mallards alighting was used on the first duck stamp. The same design was reproduced on Scott 2092, a 20¢ commemorative postage stamp marking the 50th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act. In reality, a "duck stamp" is a permit to hunt, basically a receipt for payment of fees collected. Funds generated are used for the preservation and conservation of wetlands.

The term duck stamp is a shortened term for the message "Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp," which appears on the face of the federal duck stamp.

In fact, use of the word "duck" is inaccurate, since all waterfowl, including geese, swans, brant, and more are intended to benefit from the sale of duck stamps.

Duck stamps are now issued by the United States government and all state governments. Many foreign countries, including Canada, Australia, Mexico, Russia and the United Kingdom have also issued duck stamps.

The issuing authorities within the various governments that release duck stamps are usually conservation and wildlife departments. These programs must be created by some form of legislation for the resulting stamps to be accepted as a valid governmental issue. Labels featuring ducks also are issued by various special interest groups, such as Ducks Unlimited and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Their issues are referred to as "society stamps." These items technically are not duck stamps because the fee structure and disposition of funds are not legislated. However, society stamps are very collectible and often appreciated. Funds raised by these organizations are also used for waterfowl and conservation efforts. Valid organizations and societies of this type perform a major service to conservation by their donations and efforts, and they merit public support.

Duck stamps are issued once a year. In most states, hunters are required to purchase both a federal and state stamp before hunting waterfowl. Waterfowl hunting seasons vary, but most begin in September or October, so naturally, stamps are needed prior to opening day of the hunting season. Currently, the federal stamp and more than half of the state stamps are issued by July. Many are issued on the first day of the new year, and a few at the last minute in September or early October.

The annual federal duck stamp had a face value of $1 in 1934, jumped to $2 in 1949, and to $3 in 1959. In 1972 the price increased to $5, then up to $7.50 in 1979, $10 in 1987, $12.50 in 1989 and to $15 in 1991. For every $15 stamp sold, the federal government retains $14.70 for wetlands acquisition and conservation, so very little gets lost in the system for overhead. Most state conservation stamps have a face value of $5. New Hampshire has the lowest price at $4, Louisiana non-resident is the highest at $25. Funds generated from state stamps are designated for wetlands restoration and preservation, much like the federal funds, but with a more localized purpose. Most state agencies sell their stamps at face value. However, some also charge a premium to collectors buying single stamps, to help cover overhead costs. Some states also produce special limited editions for collectors.

The federal stamp is presently issued in panes of 20 stamps. Originally, the stamps were issued in panes of 28, but because of a change in the printing method (and to make stamps easier to count) a 30 stamp format was adopted in 1959. In 2000, the format was again changed to the present sheet of 20. Beginning in 1998, a single self-adhesive stamp was issued. This stamp and surrounding backing is approximately the size of a dollar bill. Most states and foreign governments follow the federal format. Many states issue a 10 stamp pane for ease of handling and mailing to field offices.

Currently, about 10 states issue two types of stamps, one for collectors and another for hunter use. Collector stamps are usually in panes of 10 or 30 without tabs. Hunter type stamps are usually issued in panes of five or 10, many with tabs attached. Hunters use the tabs to list their name, address, age and other data. Some states use only serial numbers to designate their hunter type stamp. State stamps are therefore referred to as either collector stamps or hunter type stamps. Most dealers will distinguish between these types on their price lists. Separate albums exist for both types and are available from most dealers.

Plate blocks or control number blocks are designations given to a block of stamps, usually four, with a plate or control number present on the selvage. Such a block is usually located in one or all four corners of a pane. Federal stamps prior to 1959 plus the 1964 issue are collected in blocks of six and must have the selvage on two sides. The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Program is a non-profit program sponsored by the Federal Government and designed to promote interest in conservation and wetlands preservation among students in grades K-12. The program includes a conservation and education curriculum that helps students of all ages. It focuses on wildlife conservation and management, wildlife art and philately. All proceeds from sales support conservation education.

Governor's Editions have been issued by several state agencies as a means of raising additional income. These stamps are printed in small quantities, most fewer than 1,000. They have a face value of approximately $50, and are imprinted with the name of the state governor. Governors also hand-sign a limited number of stamps. These are usually available at a premium, generally twice the price of normal singles. Hand-signed or autographed stamps are issued in very small quantities and are scarce to rare. Governor's Editions are valid for hunting by all issuing states thus far. Obviously, none would be used for the purpose, however, as it would destroy the mint condition and lower the value of the stamp.

Artist signed stamps are mint examples of duck stamps autographed by the artist responsible for the artwork on the stamp. Such stamps are rapidly gaining popularity with collectors, and most can be purchased for a small premium over mint examples. Early federal stamps are particularly valuable and difficult to acquire. Signed stamps by artists now deceased also command a substantial premium. Remarqued stamps are quickly gaining in popularity with a worldwide audience. Original art on the actual stamp is adding a spectacular flair to collections, making each stamp unique. These are very special, one-of-kind stamps on which an artist has personally drawn or painted a dog, decoy, lighthouse and/or duck.

The artwork is obtained by commissioning the artist for their work, and generally the stamps take time to complete. All are either signed or initialed by the artist. Through the efforts of Jeanette C. Rudy, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Postal Museum has received a complete remarqued set for display to the public. Stamps of deceased artists will bear a remarque by a living federal artist, as a "tribute" to the artist and their work. The artist doing the remarque will initial the stamp; for example some have been completed by Ken Michaelsen, artist of RW46.

Printed text stamps are another popular collectible. Generally, these preceded the later pictorial issues. The term is applied to stamps required for duck hunting that contain only writing but no waterfowl illustration. Certain American Indian reservations and tribes also issue waterfowl hunting stamps. The stamps of these sovereign Indian nations allow holders to hunt on that reservation when a federal stamp is also purchased. Reservation stamps are becoming increasingly popular with collectors as more people discover their existence.

With the printing of such a large number of stamps year after year by many different states and printing agencies, errors do occur, but are seldom found. A few federal stamps are known to exist with major errors, but only a few, namely on the 1934, 1986, 1990, 1991 1993, and 2003 issues.

Stamps without perforations, with missing or incorrect color, missing or inverted writing on the reverse are all major errors. Smaller flaws, such as color shifts, misplaced perforations, hickeys (or donuts) and other such anomalies are termed freaks, rather than errors. These, too, are collectible and have value, but they do not command the same attention as major errors. Major errors are extremely rare and exist in small numbers. All errors and freaks on duck stamps are very desirable and add a great deal of interest and value to a collection.

Most collectors prefer to collect mint condition duck stamps. Many others prefer collecting stamps on license, autographed stamps, plate blocks, stamps signed by hunters, art prints, souvenir cards, first day covers, or a combination.

Quality is a very important factor in a stamp collection. This applies not only to duck stamps, but all types. Preserving the mint condition of a stamp is crucial for determining value. A perfectly centered stamp will usually sell for a substantial premium over one with normal centering. Very fine (VF) is the norm in stamp collecting, and is the condition priced by Scott Catalogues.

Care should be taken not to damage a stamp, including the gum. The mint state of a stamp includes the freshness and original gum, so stamp mounts should be utilized when placing a stamp in an album. When a stamp has never been hinged, the abbreviation "NH" is used by dealers.

Bob Dumaine is a recognized expert in duck stamps, founder of the National Duck Stamp Collectors Society (www.NDSCS.org), a past judge in the Federal Duck Stamp Contest and serves on the expertizing committee of Professional Stamp Experts. Dumaine is the owner of Sam Houston Duck Company, a firm that specializes in duck stamps and related material.

Note: The federal duck stamp has the distinction of being the longest running U.S. stamp set on a single theme.

The first Federal Duck Stamp, designed by Jay "Ding" Darling in 1934 at President Franklin D. Roosevelt's request, depicts two mallards about to land on a marsh pond. In subsequent years, other noted wildlife artists were asked to submit designs. The first contest in 1949 was open to any U.S. artist who wished to enter. Sixty-five artists submitted 88 design entries that first year. The number of entries rose to 2,099 in 1981. This is the only art competition of its kind sponsored by the U.S. Government.

A panel of noted art, waterfowl, and philatelic authorities is appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to judge each competition. Winners receive no compensation for their work, other than a pane of stamps carrying their design. Winning artists may sell prints of their designs, which are sought after by hunters, conservationists, and art collectors.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service mails contest regulations to interested artists each spring. Artists may choose their own medium and designs may be in black-and-white or full color, and must measure 10 inches wide by 7 inches high.

In 1989, with a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), Dr. Joan Allemand developed the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program, a dynamic arts curriculum that teaches wetlands and waterfowl conservation to students from kindergarten through high school. The program incorporates scientific and wildlife management principles into a visual arts curriculum. Participants complete a JDS design as their visual "term papers," thus using visual arts, rather than verbal communication, to articulate what they have learned. Through this program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service introduces the Federal Duck Stamp program and the National Wildlife Refuge System to participants and educates new generations of citizens about the importance of waterfowl and wetlands conservation.

The JDS curriculum made its debut as part of a pilot program in California. In 1990, three thousand students in public and private schools were the first to participate in the JDS Program curriculum and art contest. Florida and Illinois were added in 1991 with Arkansas, Kansas and Vermont entering the program in 1992. At that time, a state stamp sheet was developed using the Best of Show winners from each participating state from 1991 and 1992. This $10 stamp sheet included nine state JDS designs. Due to printing costs for the Best of Show stamp sheet it was determined that a national competition, using the Best of Show winning designs from each state, would be held to select a design for a Federal Junior Duck Stamp.

Maryland and South Dakota entered the program in 1993. With eight states competing, the first National competition was held to select one stamp to become the first Federal Junior Duck Stamp. That year, during the First Day of Sale Ceremony for the Federal Duck Stamp, judges selected the first, second, and third place national winning designs. The first Federal Junior Duck Stamp design winner was Jason Parsons from Canton, Illinois. His design, titled ‘Ruffling Redhead’, was used to create the junior stamps which sold for $5.00 each.

Seventeen new states joined the program in 1994. At that time, stamps were purchased by an individual as a contribution to the NFWF’s Junior Duck Stamp Challenge Grant. Proceeds from the sale of the stamps were used as matching funds to support the program. With the grant term expiring, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sponsored legislation to gain Congressional authorization for the Federal Junior Duck Stamp and to direct the proceeds from sales to support conservation education in the form of awards and scholarships for the participants.

The Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Act of 1994 was enacted on October 6, 1994. The Act directed the Secretary of the Interior to create a JDS and to license and market the JDS and the stamp design. The proceeds from these efforts are used to support conservation education awards and scholarships. In 2000, Congress preauthorized the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Act for another five years, and expanded the conservation education program throughout the U.S. and its territories. Since that time, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have joined the program.

Today more than 27,000 students throughout the United States, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands submit entries to a state or territory JDS Contest. The program’s success is due to partnerships with Federal and State government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, private businesses, and volunteers who have helped to recognize and honor thousands of teachers and students throughout the United States for their participation in conservation related activities.

The Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program is a dynamic, art and science program designed to teach wetlands habitat and waterfowl conservation to students in kindergarten through high school and help reconnect youth with the outdoors. The program guides students, using scientific and wildlife observation principles, to communicate visually what they have learned through an entry into the Junior Duck Stamp art contest. This non-traditional pairing of subjects brings new interest to both the sciences and the arts. It crosses cultural, ethnic, social, and geographic boundaries to teach greater awareness of our nation's natural resources.

The JDS has increased in popularity significantly since its inception in 1989 and moreover since the implementation of a national art contest and stamp in 1993. The program was first recognized by Congress in 1994 when the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Act was enacted. In 2000, Congress reauthorized the program and expanded it from seventeen states to include student participantsin all fifty states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories. Participation in the program nationwide has remained steady since 2000 with nearly 27,000 students entering a state art contest each year. While the program’s data collection methods do not account for students who participate in curriculum activities without submitting artwork, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of students have been educated on the importance of waterfowl and wetlands conservation since the enactment of the 1994 legislation. Revenue from the sales of the JDS reached $172,000 in Fiscal Year 2004 and goes to support awards and environmental education for students who participate in the program as well as efforts to market the JDS .

Preparation for the Junior Duck Stamp contest and involvement in the program requires students to think about and understand at least the fundamental principles of anatomy and environmental science and can be a valid barometer of a student’s grasp of these topics. The program also provides an opportunity for students to learn science and express their knowledge of the beauty, diversity, and interdependence of wildlife artistically. In fact, preparation for the program often includes a visit to a National Wildlife Refuge- a prime location for not only observation of our nation’s wildlife, but also for experimentation and hands on experiences in hundreds of visitor centers located within the refuges.

The Junior Duck Stamp contest begins each spring when students submit their artwork to a state or territory contest. Students at the state level are judged in four groups according to grade level: Group I: K-3, Group II: 4-6, Group III: 7-9, and Group IV 10-12. Three first, second and third place entries are selected for each group. A “Best of Show” is selected by the judges from the twelve first-place winners regardless of their grade group. Each state or territory Best of Show is then submitted to the Duck Stamp Office and entered into the national Junior Duck Stamp Contest. To further the interdisciplinary underpinnings of the program, students are now encouraged, but not required, to include a conservation message on their entry form with their art design. The conservation message is judged in some states and at the national level for Best of Show winners. The message should explain something the student has learned about wetlands habitat, conservation or waterfowl. It may also be a statement used to encourage others to participate in conservation.

The first place design from the national contest is used to create a Junior Duck Stamp for the following year. Junior Duck Stamps are sold by the U.S. Postal Service and Amplex Corporation consignees for $5 per stamp. Proceeds from the sale of Junior Duck Stamp support conservation education, and provide awards and scholarships for the students, teachers, and schools that participate in the program.





























http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps/ - Federal Duck Stamp Office

The Dodo (Raphus cucullatus).

The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) was a flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Related to pigeons and doves, it stood about a meter tall, weighing about 20 kilograms (44 lb), living on fruit and nesting on the ground.

The dodo has been extinct since the mid-to-late 17th century.[1] It is commonly used as the archetype of an extinct species because its extinction occurred during recorded human history, and was directly attributable to human activity.

The phrase "dead as a dodo" means undoubtedly and unquestionably dead, whilst the phrase "to go the way of the dodo" means to become extinct or obsolete, to fall out of common usage or practice, or to become a thing of the past.

The first known descriptions of the bird were made by the Dutch. They called the Mauritius bird the walghvogel ("wallow bird" or "loathsome bird") in reference to its taste. Although many later writings say that the meat tasted bad, the early journals only say that the meat was tough but good, though not as good as the abundantly available pigeons.[2] The name walgvogel was used for the first time in the journal of vice-admiral Wybrand van Warwijck who visited the island in 1598 and named it Mauritius.

The etymology of the word dodo is not clear. Some ascribe it to the Dutch word dodoor for "sluggard", but it probably is related to dodaars ("knot-arse"), referring to the knot of feathers on the hind end. The first recording of the word dodaerse is in captain Willem van Westsanen's journal in 1602. Thomas Herbert used the word dodo in 1627 but it is unclear whether he was the first one, for the Portuguese had already visited the island in 1507, but as far as is known did not mention the bird. Nevertheless, according to Encarta Dictionary and Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, "dodo" derives from Portuguese doudo (currently doido) meaning "fool" or "crazy". However, the present Portuguese name for the bird, dodô, is taken from the internationally used word dodo.

David Quammen considered the idea that dodo was an onomatopoeic approximation of the bird's own call, a two-note pigeony sound like "doo-doo". In 1606 Cornelis Matelief de Jonge wrote an important description of the dodo, some other birds, plants and animals on the island.

The dodo was a close relative of modern pigeons and doves. mtDNA cytochrome b and 12S rRNA sequences analysis suggests that the dodo's ancestors diverged from those of its closest known relative, the Rodrigues Solitaire (which is also extinct), around the Paleogene-Neogene boundary. As the Mascarenes are of volcanic origin and less than 10 million years old, both birds' ancestors remained most likely capable of flight for considerable time after their lineages' separation. The same study has been interpreted to show that the Southeast Asian Nicobar Pigeon is the closest living relative of the dodo and the Réunion Solitaire.

However, the proposed phylogeny is rather questionable regarding the relationships of other taxa and must therefore be considered hypothetical pending further research; considering biogeographical data, it is very likely to be erroneous. All that can be presently said with any certainty is that the ancestors of the didine birds were pigeons from Southeast Asia or the Wallacea, which agrees with the origin of most of the Mascarenes' birds. Whether the dodo and Rodrigues Solitaire were actually closest to the Nicobar Pigeon among the living birds, or whether they are closer to other groups of the same radiation such as Ducula, Treron, or Goura pigeons is not clear at the moment.

For a long time, the dodo and the Rodrigues Solitaire (collectively termed "didines") were placed in a family of their own, the Raphidae. This was because their relationships to other groups of birds (such as rails) had yet to be resolved. As of recently, it appears more warranted to include the didines as a subfamily Raphinae in the Columbidae.

Painting of an albino dodo, previously mislabeled as "Raphus solitarius".

The supposed "White Dodo" is now thought to be based on misinterpreted reports of the Réunion Sacred Ibis and paintings of apparently albinistic dodos; a higher frequency of albinos is known to occur occasionally in island species (see also Lord Howe Swamphen).

In October 2005, part of the Mare aux Songes, the most important site of dodo remains, was excavated by an international team of researchers. Many remains were found, including bones from birds of various stages of maturity, and several bones obviously belonging to the skeleton of one individual bird and preserved in natural position. These findings were made public in December 2005 in the Naturalis in Leiden. Before this, few associated dodo specimens were known, most of the material consisting of isolated and scattered bones. Dublin's Natural History Museum and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, among others, have a specimen assembled from these disassociated remains. A Dodo egg is on display at the East London museum in South Africa.

Manchester Museum's bones.

Until recently, the most intact remains, currently on display at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, were one individual's partly skeletal foot and head which contain the only known soft tissue remains of the species.

The remains of the last known stuffed dodo had been kept in Oxford's Ashmolean Museum, but in the mid-18th century, the specimen – save the pieces remaining now – had entirely decayed and was ordered to be discarded by the museum's curator or director in or around 1755.

In June 2007, adventurers exploring a cave in Mauritius discovered the most complete and well-preserved dodo skeleton ever.

According to artists renditions, the Dodo had greyish plumage, a 23-centimeter (9-inch) bill with a hooked point, very small wings, stout yellow legs, and a tuft of curly feathers high on its rear end. Dodos were very large birds, weighing about 23 kg (50 pounds). The sternum was insufficient to support flight; these ground-bound birds evolved to take advantage of an island ecosystem with no predators.

The traditional image of the dodo is of a fat, clumsy bird, hence the synonym Didus ineptus, but this view has been challenged in recent times. The general opinion of scientists today is that the old drawings showed overfed captive specimens. As Mauritius has marked dry and wet seasons, the dodo probably fattened itself on ripe fruits at the end of the wet season to live through the dry season when food was scarce; contemporary reports speak of the birds "greedy" appetite. In captivity, with food readily available, the birds became overfed very easily.

The dodo rampant appears on the coat of arms of Mauritius.

The tambalacoque, also known as the "dodo tree", was hypothesized by Stanley Temple to have been eaten from by Dodos, and only by passing through the digestive tract of the dodo could the seeds germinate; he claimed that the tambalacocque was now nearly extinct due to the dodo's disappearance. He force-fed seventeen tambalacoque fruits to Wild Turkeys and three germinated. Temple did not try to germinate any seeds from control fruits not fed to turkeys so the effect of feeding fruits to turkeys was unclear. Temple also overlooked reports on tambalacoque seed germination by A. W. Hill in 1941 and H. C. King in 1946, who found the seeds germinated, albeit very rarely, without abrading.

As with many animals that have evolved in isolation from significant predators, the dodo was entirely fearless of people, and this, in combination with its flightlessness, made it easy prey for humans.[21] However, journals are full of reports regarding the bad taste and tough meat of the dodo, while other local species such as the Red Rail were praised for their taste. However, when humans first arrived on Mauritius, they also brought with them other animals that had not existed on the island before, including dogs, pigs, cats, rats, and Crab-eating Macaques, which plundered the dodo nests, while humans destroyed the forests where the birds made their homes; currently, the impact these animals – especially the pigs and macaques – had on the dodo population is considered to have been more severe than that of hunting. The 2005 expedition's finds are apparently of animals killed by a flash flood; such mass mortalities would have further jeopardized an already extinction-prone species.

Although there are scattered reports of mass killings of dodos for provisioning of ships, archaeological investigations have hitherto found scant evidence of human predation on these birds. Some bones of at least two dodos were found in caves at Baie du Cap which were used as shelters by fugitive slaves and convicts in the 17th century, but due to their isolation in high, broken terrain, were not easily accessible to dodos naturally.

There is some controversy surrounding the extinction date of the dodo. Roberts & Solow state that "the extinction of the Dodo is commonly dated to the last confirmed sighting in 1662, reported by shipwrecked mariner Volkert Evertsz" (Evertszoon), but many other sources suggest the more conjectural date of 1681. Roberts & Solow point out that because the sighting prior to 1662 was in 1638, the dodo was likely already very rare by the 1660s, and thus a disputed report from 1674 cannot be dismissed out-of-hand.[25] Statistical analysis of the hunting records of Isaac Johannes Lamotius give a new estimated extinction date of 1693, with a 95% confidence interval of 1688 to 1715. Considering more circumstantial evidence such as travelers' reports and the lack of good reports after 1689, it is likely that the dodo became extinct before 1700; the last Dodo died a little more than a century after the species' discovery in 1581.

Few took particular notice of the extinct bird. By the early 19th century it seemed altogether too strange a creature, and was believed by many to be a myth. With the discovery of the first batch of dodo bones in the Mauritian swamp, the Mare aux Songes, and the reports written about them by George Clarke, government schoolmaster at Mahébourg, from 1865 on, interest in the bird was rekindled. In the same year in which Clarke started to publish his reports, the newly vindicated bird was featured as a character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. With the popularity of the book, the dodo became a well-known and easily recognizable icon of extinction.

The dodo is used by many environmental organizations that promote the protection of endangered species, such as the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Jersey Zoological Park, founded by Gerald Durrell.

The dodo's significance as one of the best-known extinct animals and its singular appearance has led to its use in literature and popular culture to symbolize a concept or object that will or has become out of date, as in the expression "dead as a dodo" or "gone the way of the dodo".

Great Curassow (Crax rubra).

The Great Curassow (Crax rubra) is a large, black pheasant-like bird with a yellow knob on its bill, curly black feather crests, and white below. Together with a few other curassows, it is among the largest members of the family Cracidae,at 78–92 cm (30–34 in) and a weight of up to 4.8 kg (10.5 lbs). There are three morphs of female Great Curassows: Barred morph females with barred neck, mantle, wings and tail, rufous morph with an overall reddish brown plumage and a barred tail, and dark morph female with a blackish neck, mantle and tail (the tail often faintly vermiculated), and some barring to the wings. In most regions only one or two morphs occur, and females showing a level of intermediacy between these morphs are known (e.g. resembling rufous morph, but with black neck and faint vermiculations to wings).

A monogamous species, the Great Curassow is distributed in rainforest from eastern Mexico throughout Central America, to western Colombia and northwest Ecuador. Its diet consists mainly of fruits, figs and arthropods.


The Great Curassow is the most northernly Crax species. It is part of a clade that inhabited the north of South America since about 9 mya (Tortonian, Late Miocene). As the Colombian Andes were uplifted around 6 mya, this species' ancestors were cut off from the population to their southeast. The latter would in time evolve into the Blue-billed Curassow. The ancestral Great Curassows then spread along the Pacific side of the Andes, and into Central America during the Pliocene and Pleistocene (Pereira & Baker 2004) as part of the Great American Interchange.

Due to ongoing habitat loss and overhunting in some areas, the Great Curassow is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and it has recently been suggested it should be uplisted to Vulnerable (BirdLife International, 2008). It is listed on Appendix III of CITES in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colombia and Honduras. Of the smaller subspecies griscomi of Cozumel Island, only a few hundred remain. Its population seems either to have been slowly increasing since the 1980s, or to be fluctuating at a low level; it is vulnerable to hurricanes (del Hoyo 1994, BirdLife International 2004, see also Cozumel Thrasher).

This species has proven to produce fertile hybrids with its closest living relative the Blue-billed Curassow, and also with the much more distantly related Black Curassow (del Hoyo 1994)

Flightless bird of Tristan Da Cunha Island.

The Inaccessible Island Rail, (Atlantisia rogersi), is a small bird of the rail family, Rallidae. It is found only on Inaccessible Island in the Tristan Archipelago, and is notable for being the smallest extant flightless bird in the world. Unlike many other islands, Inaccessible Island has remained free from introduced predators, allowing this species to flourish while many other flightless birds, including the even smaller Stephens Island Wren, have perished.

This rail has an average weight of 30 grams and a length of 17 centimeters. It is dark rusty-brown above and dark grey below, with a short black bill and a red eye.

This rail is found throughout Inaccessible Island, but prefers grassland and open fern-bush. Its diet includes earthworms, moths, berries, and seeds.

A clutch of two eggs is laid between October and January; chicks are vulnerable to predation by the Tristan Thrush.

The Ascension Flightless Rail (Mundia elpenor) which disappeared some time before 1700 but was briefly mentioned and described by traveller and hobby naturalist Peter Mundy in 1656 and Aphanocrex podarces, the St Helena Swamphen which disappeared before 1600 and has never been encountered by scientists were once considered congeners of A. rogersi. As they are considered to have evolved independently (with A. podarces probably not even being closely related), they have each been moved to a separate genus. Both species became extinct due to predation by introduced species, mainly cats and rats.

Birds of Uzbekistan.2009.

Date of issue: 8th April 2009
Designers: Z. Gan, E. Kartsevich
Paper: chalky
Printing process: offset
Perforation: comb 13 3/4 : 14
Size of a stamp: 42 x 30 mm.
Size of the se-tenant strip: 168 x 30 mm.
Sheet composition: 9 (1 x 9) se-tenant strips.
Printing run: 20.000
Michel catalogue numbers: 807-810Zd.

310 (S). multicoloured. Rufibrenta ruficollis.
350 (S). multicoloured. Cygnus cygnus.
620 (S). multicoloured. Aythya nyroca.
750 (S). multicoloured. Anser Erythropus.

Fiji 2009. Pigeons.

The Many-coloured Fruit-dove (Ptilinopus perousii) is a species of bird in the Columbidae family. It occurs on islands in the south-west Pacific Ocean where it is found in Fiji, the Samoan Islands, and Tonga. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It usually feeds high in the canopy on fruit and berries, especially figs. The nest is a small platform of twigs where one white egg is laid.

It is a small dove, 23 cm in length. The male is mostly pale yellow-white with a red crown and red bar across the back. The female is mostly green, darker on the back and greyer on the head and breast. Her crown is red while the undertail-coverts are red in Samoan birds and yellow in birds from Fiji and Tonga.

The Purple-capped Fruit-dove (Ptilinopus porphyraceus), also known as the Crimson-crowned Fruit-dove (leading to easy confusion with the Beautiful Fruit-dove, alternatively known as the Crimson-capped Fruit-dove), is a species of bird in the Columbidae family. It is found in American Samoa, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.

The Whistling Dove, (Ptilinopus layardi) is a small fruit dove from Fiji. The species is endemic to the islands of Kadavu and Ono in the Kadavu Group in the south of Fiji. It is the most primitive of the "golden doves" a small subgroup of the genus Ptilinopus which includes two other small Fijian fruit doves, the Golden Dove and the Orange Dove. The group was once split into its own genus, Chrysoenas. The species has two other common names, the Velvet Dove and the Yellow-headed Dove.

The Whistling Dove is a small dove (20 cm) that is sexually dimorphic in its velvety plumage. The plumage of the male is dark green with a yellow head and undertail coverts, the female lacks the yellow plumage. They are difficult to see in the forest canopy, but can be found due to their distinctive whistling call, a clear rising whistle followed by a falling 'tinkle' (Pratt et al. 1987). The species feeds on fruits in the canopy.

The breeding of this species has not been studied much, a nest described in 1982 was a 'loose thin platform' constructed with twig-like vines 3m above the ground (Beckon 1982). When breeding only the female takes care of the young, an unusual adaption within the pigeon family. This difference in the levels of parental care has been suggested as an explnation of the sexual dimorphism in the golden doves. A single nestling was described.

The Orange Dove (Ptilinopus victor), also known as Flame Dove, is a small, approximately 20 cm (8 in) long, short-tailed fruit-dove in the family Columbidae. One of the most colorful doves, the male has a golden olive head and elongated bright orange "hair-like" body feathers. The golden-olive remiges are typically covered by the long orange wing coverts when perched. The legs, bill and orbital skin are bluish-green and the iris is whitish. The female is a dark green bird with blackish tail and orange-yellow undertail coverts. The young resembles female.

The Orange Dove is distributed and endemic to forests of Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Rabi, Kioa, Qamea and Laucala islands of Fiji. The diet consists mainly of various small fruits, berries, caterpillars and insects. The female usually lays one white egg.

The Orange Dove is closely related to the allopatric Whistling Dove and Golden Dove.