PARROTS ROMANIA 2011

Romfilatelia introduces into circulation the postage stamps issue "Parrots" representing the following species: the Illiger’s Macaw, the Scarlet Macaw, the Yellow-collared Macaw, the Eastern Rosella, the Budgerigar and the Cockatiel.

Parrots are birds making part from the Psittaciformes Order and they belong to the Psittacidae Family. We recognize them after their curved beak. They are found in the entire Southern hemisphere of the Earth, from Australia to India, from Southeastern Asia up to Western Africa, but also in Southern and Central America.
Many parrots’ species can imitate the human conversation and different sounds.

The Illiger’s Macaw (Ara illiger) is illustrated on the stamp with the face value of 1.60 lei. It may be encountered in the Central and Eastern part of South America. The length of its head and tail reaches 46 cm. It has a big head, a strong beak and a long tail. The body plumage is green, the head plumage is blue and the abdomen is pink-reddish. Its face is white, the beak is black and its iris is orange. The feathers on the wings edges are bluish-blackish. It is extremely intelligent and easily tamed. It is not very noisy, but it is very sociable and talkative. It is a rare species.

The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is illustrated on the stamp with the face value of 2.10 lei. It may be found in Southern Mexico, up to Brazil and Peru. The body length is 85-95 cm, of which half is tail’s length; it weighs about 1 kg. It has a strong beak. Its plumage is mostly scarlet and the sides of its back and its tail are blue. The upper sides of the wings are yellow, with blue flight feathers, as well as the tail. The undersides of the wings and tail are blue with metallic gold iridescence. Some individuals also have green feathers.

The Yellow-collared Macaw (Primolius auricollis) is illustrated on the stamp with the face value of 2.40 lei. It is found in Northern Argentina, in Brazil up to Eastern Bolivia.

Its length is up to 40 cm, of which the tail represents 59%. It has a green plumage with a yellow collar that is wider on the back part of the neck. The head color is blackish-brown. The feathers on the wings edges are blue and those from the tail are red at their basis, green in the middle and blue at the extremity. The ventral part of the tail is green-yellowish. Its legs are pink and its iris is reddish-yellowish. It has got a black beak sometimes with a grey end. It is an affectionate, clever and ingenious parrot.

The Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius) is illustrated on the stamp with the face value of 4.70 lei. Native to Southeastern Australia, it lives both in the wooded pre-mountainous areas and in savannas. The wings, as well the body, are 16 cm long. Its fan-like feathers are blue and the ones on its back are black with a yellow-greenish contour.

The Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) is illustrated on the stamp with the face value of 5.00 lei. This parrot is native to Australia and it was brought on the old continent several hundred years later than any other parrot species. Their “song” goes from the slow chirp to the high-pitched alarm shout that may be heard from more than 500 m.

The Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) is illustrated on the stamp of the souvenir sheet with the face value of 9.10 lei. It is native to Australia. After 1850, the Europeans started to colonize Australia and immediately afterwards these parrots were brought to Europe. It measures about 40 cm. They are some of Australia’s fastest birds.

Title: PARROTS
Date of Issue: 24 February 2011
Country: Romania
Denominations: 1L60, 2L10, 2L40, 4L70, 5L and 9L10
Source: http://www.romfilatelia.ro

Price: set of 5 stamps + MS = 8,30 euro

PAINTINGS - NATIONAL BANK ROMANIA 2011

The keeper of an important part of the Romanian treasure - ingots, coins and gold objects - the National Bank of Romania also possesses masterpieces of the Romanian painting.  This set of stamps “Art reproductions - Paintings belonging to the National Bank of Romania Treasure” represent four paintings belonging to Nicolae Grigorescu, Eugeniu Voinescu and George Demetrescu Mirea, exhibited in the Council Chamber of the Bank. 

Nicolae Grigorescu (1838-1907) is considered to be the great master of the Romanian painting who illustrated in his works the symbiosis between the Realism of the Barbizon School, the Impressionism and the Symbolism.

On the postage stamp with the face value of RON 3.00 is illustrated the master’s painting entitled Rodica. Painted in 1894, the composition presents a hot summer season landscape when people harvest the wheat. The main female character, who may be seen in the foreground of the painting, is a woman carrying a water vessel.

On the postage stamp with the face value of RON 2.10 is illustrated the painting called Marine made by Eugeniu Voinescu (1842-1909). The painter studied literature and law in Cairo and Paris where he made friends with the Russian painter I.K. Aivazovski, a master of the marine landscape. As a painter of marine themes, Voinescu was the most famous Romanian painter of his time.

We must mention that Grigorescu’s Rodica and Voinescu’s Marine are the most remarkable examples of monumental painting in Bucharest besides the mural paintings of the Romanian Athenaeum.

On the postage stamps with the face value of RON 1.40  and RON 7.60 are illustrated the allegoric compositions Mercury and Prometheus made by George Demetrescu Mirea (1852-1934). The painter studied at the Belle Arte School in Bucharest with Theodor Aman. Among the important works of the painter G.D. Mirea we can mention the mural decorations from the National Bank of Romania and the Writers’ House in Bucharest, as well as those from the University of Iasi.

Title: PAINTINGS - NATIONAL BANK ROMANIA
Date of Issue: 28 January 2011
Country: Romania
Denominations: 1L40, 2L10, 3L, 7L60
Source: http://www.romfilatelia.ro

Price: 4,5 euro

REPTILES ROMANIA 2011

Joining the UN and UNESCO Programs and Projects and also many global organisations from which the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) stands out, Romfilatelia continues its mission to foster love and care for the environment.

The first postage stamps issue which Romfilatelia introduced into circulation in 2011, “Reptiles of Romania”, is related to the environmental protection and to the biodiversity preservation. 

The stamps illustrate the following reptile species belonging to the Romanian fauna: the Aesculapian snake, the Balkan wall lizard, the horned viper and the Moldavian meadow viper.

The Aesculapian snake (Zamenis longissimus) illustrated on the postage stamp with the face value of RON 0.60, has a slender body, with a small and narrow head. The tail is long and thin and the length of this snake is 1.50-2 m.  It can be found in the Southern and Central Europe, in Asia Minor and in Northern Iran.

The Balkan wall lizard (Podarcis taurica) is illustrated on the postage stamp with the face value of RON 2.40. It is small, the head, together with the body has a length of the 77 mm (male) or 66 mm (female). Its body is slightly flattened, has a small head and the tail is 1.5 times longer than the body and is very thin towards the end. The colour is dark brown, sometimes olive brown or greenish on the back side and white, with reddish reflexes on the abdomen. It lives in sandy areas, on sand dunes and in rocky places. It feeds on larvae and adult insects, spiders and other arthropods. It can be found in the Southern Crimea, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, in the North-East of Greece and in the European part of Turkey.

The horned viper (Vipera ammodytes ammodytes) shown on the postage stamp with the face value of RON 3.00, lengths range between 80 and 95 cm. One main feature of this species is the horn on the top of the snout, consisting of 2-4 scales and the dark zigzag on the back. The venom is very toxic. It prefers the sunny areas, with scarce vegetation. It feeds on small rodents and lizards. Usually, it can be found in Eastern Europe where, like in Romania, it has been a protected species since 2001.

The Moldavian meadow viper (Vipera ursinii moldavica) illustrated on the postage stamp with the face value of RON 9.10, has an approximate length of 65 cm and is less poisonous. Generally, its colour is grey and the zigzag pattern on the back is dark brown. It can be found in Delta area, in sandy and arid places and also in the Iasi County. The viper from this area is considered a distinct subspecies. It is protected throughout the European Union.

Title: REPTILES
Date of Issue: 19 January 2011
Country: Romania
Denominations: 60 Bani, 2L40, 3L, 9L10
Source: http://www.romfilatelia.ro

Price: 4,60 euro