Since the advent of manned flight, postal services have used birds as a common illustration for air mail stamps.[1]1875 stamp of Japan featuring illustration of a wagtail.2024 Colombia stamp depicting the Long-tailed Sylph.
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.[3][4] 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.[3] As of 2024, over 40,000 bird stamps have been issued around the world, depicting more than 4,000 species of birds.[5]
A prominent collector is Chris Gibbins whose collection of over twelve thousand stamps portrays about three thousand species.[2] Organisations that cover this field include the American Topical Association and The Bird Stamp Society.[6]
The Bird Stamp Society publishes Flight four times a year.
References and sources
Notes
^Esten, Sidney (1941), "Birds on Stamps", Stamps, 35: 20
