Common birds from INDIA 2010

This is one of the MS from Som that I like most. It illustrate common birds, but in a special way. They first arrived on cover :) and traveled about a month, that´s why they look so exhausted.

Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general speaking the terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably. In ornithological practice, there is a tendency for "dove" to be used for smaller species and "pigeon" for larger ones, but this is in no way consistently applied, and historically the common names for these birds involve a great deal of variation between the terms "dove" and "pigeon." This family occurs worldwide, but the greatest variety is in the Indomalaya and Australasia ecozones. Young doves and pigeons are called "squabs".

The Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), or Rock Dove, illustrated on top right, is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons).In common usage, this bird is often simply referred to as the "pigeon". The species includes the domestic pigeon (including the fancy pigeon), and escaped domestic pigeons have given rise to feral populations around the world.

The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) illustrated in the lower right corner, is a species of passerine bird of thesparrow family Passeridae. It occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia. It has also been intentionally or accidentally introduced to many parts of the world, making it the most widely distributed wild bird. It is strongly associated with human habitations, but it is not the only sparrow species found near houses. It is a small bird, with feathers mostly different shades of brown and grey.

The maxicards and FDC are also lovely:

Read more about these birds at All about birds.org :
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rock_Pigeon/id
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/house_sparrow/id

Title: COMMON BIRDS
Date of Issue: 9 July 2010
Country: India
Denominations: 2 x 5r
Source: http://www.stampsofindia.com

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

INDIA - MEXICO 2010

After over a month travel, finally received a letter from Som with nice MS and stamps. Thank you very much. They are all lovely. Here is one of them.
India Post released a set of 2 stamp and a Miniature sheet on 15th December 2010 to commemorate 60 years of India - Mexico diplomatic relations. The stamps  depicts the Kalbelia dance of Rajasthan, India and Jarabe Tapatio, the national dance of Mexico.

India 2010 (have this)

Mexico 2010 (want this)

Kalbelia Dance of Rajasthan is a famous dance in Rajasthan, India. 
Kalbelia dance is of the kalbelia tribe of Rajasthan, the snake charmers. Kalbelia community’s occupation being catching snakes and trading snake venom in Rajasthan. Dancers dress traditional black swirling skirts during this dance. Women and girls dance on the rajasthani folk music during this dance.  This is a unique dance of kalbelias. Two or three women sing traditional rajasthani songs and others play musical instruments.

Here is a kind of documentary movie about this dance.

Jarabe Tapatio, The National Dance of Mexico

The Jarabe Tapatío, known in English as the Mexican Hat Dance, is the title of the musical piece and the dance that accompanies known as the “national dance of Mexico”. The musical piece, a medley of Mexican folk music, was composed in the 19th century by a professor of music in Guadalajara, Jesús González Rubio.

It serves as a symbol of the national pride and honor of the Mexican people. I did not find yet a good quality video for it, but it´s nice: 

The dance tells the story of love and courtship. It can be performed either by a couple or a group of couples. A charro, dressed in the traditional charro suit, a three-piece suit composed of a vest, jacket, and pants bearing silver buttons down the seam, makes initial courtship gestures to la china (wearing the traditional China Poblana outfit). They flirt throughout the beginning of the dance, during which time the man attempts to woo the woman with his zapateado (stamping and tapping) and his machismo.

Just as he has impressed the woman, he becomes drunk with glory, and is shooed away as a borracho (an inebriate), but ultimately, he succeeds in conquering the china, throwing his hat to the ground and kicking his leg over his partner’s head as she bends down to pick it up. The two do a triumphant march to a military tune called a diana, and the dance ends with a romantic turn or the couple hiding their faces behind the man’s sombrero in a feigned kiss.

Title: INDIA-MEXICO: JOINT ISSUE 2010
Date of Issue: 15 December 2010
Country: India
Denominations: 2000p, 500p

Source: http://www.stampsofindia.com

Country: Mexico
Denominations: $ 7.00 x 2

CYPRUS RAILWAY 2010

Thanks to Nasia I now have a nice MS from Cyprus, on cover. 

Cyprus issued on 4th June 2010 two stamps and a MS that portray a narrow gauge railway, that originally ran from Nicosia to Famagusta and was eventually extended to Kalo Chorio and Morphou, 1905-1951.

The Cyprus Government Railway was a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge railway network that operated in Cyprus from October 1905 to December 1951. With a total length of 76 miles (122 km), there were 39 stations, stops and halts, the most prominent of which served Famagusta, Prastio Mesaoria, Angastina, Trachoni, Nicosia,Kokkinotrimithia, Morphou, Kalo Chorio and Evrychou. The CGR was closed down due to financial reasons. An extension of the railway which was built to serve the Cyprus Mines Corporationoperated until 1974.

The Cyprus Government Railway was used in a number of ways and served both the colonial authorities and the local population. Principle operations were as follows:

• It served the port of Famagusta, as a freight transfer system.
• It transferred timber from the Troodos Mountains to towns and cities across Cyprus.
• It carried freight, ore and minerals on behalf of the Cyprus Mines Corporation.
• The local railway stations functioned as a place of exchange of goods and services, while some also operated as telephone centres, telegram offices and/or postal offices.
• CGR trains carried mail, which arrived in Famagusta via the Khedivial Mail Line (1912–1939).

There were 12 locomotives operating on this line: 1x 0-6-0T Class Hunslet Engine Company 2x 4-4-0 Class Nasmyth Wilson and Company 3x 2-6-0 Class Nasmyth Wilson and Company2x 2-6-2T Class Nasmyth Wilson and Company 4x 4-8-4T Class Kitson and Company and 9 rail-car units: 6x D Wickham & Co 3xDrewry Car Co

The existence of a railway in Cyprus brought many benefits to the population of Cyprus. However, during the first years of its operation, many viewed the Railway more like a spectacle, instead of a means of transportation, which is why they crowded under the bridges to admire it. Overall, the CGR carried 3,199,934 tons of commercial goods and freight and 7,348,643 passengers.


Images from the last operating Cypriot Railway here.

Title: CYPRUS RAILWAY 2010
Date of Issue: 4 June 2010
Country: Cyprus
Denominations: 2 X 0,43 and 0,85 euro

Source: http://www.mcw.gov.cy