Bird identifications



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Identifications
30.04.13 The Stone-curlew (Thick-knee) on Palau 2002.01 2$ is Great Stone-curlew Esacus recurvirostris, not Beach Thick-knee Esacus magnirostris as stated on the stamp. Esacus recurvirostris has white forehead. Esacus magnirostris has black forehead. Esacus recurvirostris is new species on stamp. 29.12.12 Chris Gibbins has changed id for the three Reed Warblers in Iraq 2011.03 Ramsar to Clamorous Reed Warbler Acrocephalus stentoreus. I shall do the same. 22.11.12 There was a mix of names in Mozambique 2011.21. The 16m stamp with Aquila rapax was Aquila pomarina on my Mozambique page, and the 66m stamp with Aquila pomarina was Aquila rapax. 18.11.12 Mozambique 2012.09 has a stamp with a bird named Porphyrio coerulescens. This bird, with English name Reunion Gallinule, is known solely from literary sources and as such not included in the IOC list. I shall list this bird as Porphyrio porphyrio. Update: I have changed my mind and shall list it as Porphyrio coerulescens. See my Various page. 23.10.12 I believe the best id for my not identified bird in Centralafrica 2001.12 is Western Marsh Harrier, Circus aeruginosus. 12.10.12 I have changed id for the Paraguay 1985.01 Audubon 25c from Red Tanager Piranga flava to Hepatic Tanager Piranga hepatica. The distribution for Hepatic Tanager is southern North America and Middle America. The two species look very much alike. But the Hepatic Tanager has a more prominent grey cheek patch than Red Tanager. In 1985 the two species were one species and have later been split. Hepatic Tanager is a new species on stamp. 27.09.12 The Tropicbird on Niue 1999.01 is not White-tailed Tropicbird. The depicted bird has a red tail and no black on the upper wings. A better id is Red-tailed Tropicbird. 19.09.12 A stamp in the China (Taiwan) 2012.01 Owls of Taiwan is inscribed Ninox scutulata, but Taiwan is not within the range of Ninox scutulata. The owl on the stamp is probably meant to be Ninox japonica. This was a subspecies of Ninox scutulata and is now a species occuring in Taiwan. 15.09.12 The hummingbird on Nicaragua 2007.01 Environment protection has been identified by me as White-chinned Sapphire. The scientific name on the stamp is Amazilia tzacatl (Rufous-tailed Hummingbird). I believed the blue throat was wrong for Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, but now I have learned that the throat may have a turquoise gleam in certain lights. 06.07.12 A stamp in the new Guyana 'Birds of South America' is inscribed with Jabiru for the bird, but the depicted bird is Black-necked Stork. 13.01.12 The Tit in Vietnam, North 1973.01 is Cinereous Tit Parus cinereus. I have overlooked that when the asian Great Tits where split from Great Tit Parus major, they were split into two new species, Japanese Tit Parus minor and Cinereous Tit Parus cinereus, and that the latter has a southern distribution. The northvietnamese tit is within this southern distribution and outside the Japanese Tit distribution. I got help with this from Nils Boysen. Cinereous Tit is new species on stamp. The Yellow-billed Kite Milvus aegyptius, distribution Africa, is most often considered a subspecies of Black Kite Milvus migrans, but not in IOC which I follow. After a new look at the Kite stamps, I have decided to move these to Yellow-billed Kite: Burundi 2009.01 and 2009.02 Centralafrica 1998.01 Chad 2003.06 and 2003.08 Ghana 1989.01 Guinea 1998.02 Guinea-Bissau 2008.30 and 2009.03 Lesotho 2001.04 Maldive Islands 1994.01 Mali 1999.02 Rwanda 1977.01 Sao Tome and Principe 1993.01 Sierra Leone 1994.04 16.12.11 The two 'Not identified' birds in Cuba 2011 MUSEO, are Puerto Rican Woodpecker and Yellow Oriole. 19.11.11 The inscription on Guinea 2010.02 is Colibri thalassinus, which is an OK id for the depicted hummingbird. The falcon on Kyrgyzstan 2011.01 has been identified by Chris Gibbins and his helpers as Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo. 13.09.11 The inscription on Congo 2007.07 and 2007.08, first stamp, is Ciccaba woodfordii. This is probably meant for the hand fed bird on the stamp. But it is not easy to tell which species this bird is. The two birds in the background, however, are Great Grey Owl Strix nebulosa. 06.06.11 Chris Gibbins reports that Sorin Cosoveanu of Rumania has suggested that the birds on Russian definitives of 1997 look like Siberian Cranes (Grus leucogeranus). I agree with this identification. The length of the beak, the forehead skin-patch, the tail's plumage and the white appearance fits well with Siberian Crane. I have changed the id to Siberian Crane. 15.05.11 I did not want to accept the latest addition to Comoro Is as River Tern, as named on the stamp. The illustration did not look like any River Tern illustration I had available. But the illustration has been taken from a photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/shashankbjain/389534696/ I shall list the bird on the stamp as River Tern Sterna aurantia. This is a new bird species on stamp. 02.04.11 Two birds in Gambia 1999.09 are not what the name on the stamp says. Western Osprey Pandion haliaetus is a better fit for the "GALAPAGOS HAWK". The "GREAT BLUE HERON" is a Yellow-crowned Night Heron Nyctanassa violacea. 22.03.11 I have changed id for the condor on 2005.03 from Grenada from Californian Condor to Andean Condor Vultur gryphus. The condor on the stamp has a white collar which makes it Andean Condor. 03.03.11 Two identifications have been made to the Mozambique 2007.07 Owls sheet. 17.12.10 There has been a mix with names in my listing of USA 24.08.10 Hawaiian rain forest. The correct sequence for the last four birds are Akepa, Iivi, Omao and Apapane. 23.11.10 The inscription on Comoros 2009.23 is Otus capnodes. However, Chris Gibbins has found that the illustration is taken from a print of Strix leptogrammica. The id on the Comoro page has been changed. 20.11.10 Indonesia 05.11.1993 Flora and fauna day 300r: Nias Hill Myna Gracula robusta Madagascar 1999 Birds of the world 2000f: Southern Hill Myna Gracula indica Umm Al Qiwain 1972 Birds 1r: Southern Hill Myna Gracula indica 17.09.10 The Bird-of-paradise in St Vincent & Grenadines 1998.06 is Raggiana Bird-of-paradise because the flank plumes are red, not yellow. 02.03.10 The Syrian serin in the new Syria bird stamp issue does not look like a Syrian Serin. I have listed it as 'Not identified'. The illustrations in this set come from photos. After lots of Google image search, I finally found the 'Syrian serin'. It is a Cinereous Bunting Emberiza cineracea copied from the photo on this page: mutla.com 19.01.10 I have changed id for Burkina Faso 2001.01 Birds 25f from Red-headed Weaver Anaplectes melanotis to Red-billed Quelea Quelea quelea. The inscription on the stamp is Anaplectes rubriceps, which is Anaplectes melanotis (Red-headed Weaver) in IOC taxonomy. The illustrated bird has a black mask. One race of the Red-headed Weaver has black mask, but not as deep as shown on the illustrated bird, and because the bird is a bit yellowish, I believe Red-billed Quelea is the best fit. 09.01.10 Some Bird-of-paradise corrections. Papua New Guinea 1952.01, 1957.01 and 1960.01: Raggiana Bird-of-paradise, not Goldie's Bird-of-paradise. Papua New Guinea 2000.01 1k and 2000.02 1k: Raggiana Bird-of-paradise, not Red Bird-of-paradise. St Vincent & Grenadines 1998.06: Raggiana Bird-of-paradise, not Greater Bird-of-paradise. Trinidad & Tobago 1962.01: Greater Bird-of-paradise, not Lesser Bird-of-paradise. My source for these changes is advice from the Australian Bird-of-paradise experts Dawn and Clifford Frith. 01.01.10 On the Bosnia Herzegovina (Sarajevo) 2008.01 0.70m stamp the bird's name is given as "Accipiter gentilis". I chose to give it the id of Accipiter nisus because there is no similarity to any illustration of Accipiter gentilis that I was familiar with. I have however learned that the juvenile female Goshawk Accipiter gentilis looks like the hawk on the stamp. I shall change id to Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis. 13.11.09 I have changed id for the francolin in the Turkmenistan fauna, hologram 2008 issue from Black Francolin to Yellow-necked Spurfowl Pternistis leucoscepus. The yellow bare skin on throat and foreneck is diagnostic. 08.09.09 I have changed id for the penguin in the latest Rumania issue from King Penguin to Emperor Penguin. 02.09.09 I have changed id for the owl on Sao Tome and Principe 2008.08 listed as African Scops Owl (Otus senegalensis) to Collared Scops-Owl (Otus lettia). The photograph on the stamp is on Birding in Taiwan 04.08.09 I agree with Chris Gibbins and have changed my id of the 2008 Zambia oxpecker to Red-billed Oxpecker Buphagus erythrorhynchus. 22.07.09 On the Uganda 1992.02 150s stamp the bird's name is given as "Cossypha heuglini". English name on the stamp is "WHITE-BROWN ROBIN CHAT". It should read BROWED not BROWN. However, the bird illustrated on the stamp is not Cossypha heuglini because it lacks the black hood characteristic for the White-browed Robin-Chat. But in Uganda there is one more Cossypha species: Archer's Ground Robin Cossypha archeri. In my opinion this is the species featured on the Uganda stamp. This will be a new species on stamp. The best photograph I can find online is here: Western Uganda's forests. (Archer's Robin-chat). 20.07.09 The thrush in Kenya 1984.01 has been listed by me as Olive Thrush Turdus olivaceus. Inscription on the stamp is Turdus helleri. In IOC taxonomy this is a species, split from Olive Thrush. Thus, this will be a new species in my listings, Taita Thrush Turdus helleri. 18.07.09 Malagasy's Sacred Ibis has been moved back to African Sacred Ibis. The eye colour fits better for African than Malagasy Sacred Ibis. I have changed id for the 2001.01 Congo (Kinshasa) Bushshrike from Gorgeous Bushshrike Chlorophoneus viridis to Four-colored Bushshrike Chlorophoneus quadricolor because visible underparts are orange (not green). 06.07.09 I have changed id for the sacred ibisis of British Indian Ocean Territory, Madagascar and Malagasy from African Sacred Ibis to Malagasy Sacred Ibis Threskiornis bernieri. 23.05.09 What has formerly been one species, Cape Parrot (Brown-necked Parrot), in my listings, are two species in IOC taxonomy: Brown-necked Parrot Poicephalus fuscicollis and Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus. The Brown-necked Parrot has two subspecies. Poicephalus fuscicollis fuscicollis with range south western Africa. Poicephalus fuscicollis suahelicus, also called Grey-headed Parrot, with range east central south Africa. I have changed id for the Cape Parrots of Guinea-Bissau 2008.23 and Zimbabwe 2000.01 to Brown-necked Parrot Poicephalus fuscicollis. The Brown-necked Parrot is a new species in my listings. 05.05.09 I have changed id for the latest Portugal issue from European Stonechat to Bearded Tachuri Polystictus pectoralis. Source Chris Gibbins.

Identifications

30.04.13

The Stone-curlew (Thick-knee) on Palau 2002.01 2$ is Great Stone-curlew Esacus recurvirostris, not Beach Thick-knee Esacus magnirostris as stated on the stamp. Esacus recurvirostris has white forehead. Esacus magnirostris has black forehead. Esacus recurvirostris is new species on stamp.

29.12.12

Chris Gibbins has changed id for the three Reed Warblers in Iraq 2011.03 Ramsar to Clamorous Reed Warbler Acrocephalus stentoreus. I shall do the same.

22.11.12

There was a mix of names in Mozambique 2011.21. The 16m stamp with Aquila rapax was Aquila pomarina on my Mozambique page, and the 66m stamp with Aquila pomarina was Aquila rapax.

18.11.12

Mozambique 2012.09 has a stamp with a bird named Porphyrio coerulescens. This bird, with English name Reunion Gallinule, is known solely from literary sources and as such not included in the IOC list. I shall list this bird as Porphyrio porphyrio.
Update: I have changed my mind and shall list it as Porphyrio coerulescens. See my Various page.

23.10.12

I believe the best id for my not identified bird in Centralafrica 2001.12 is Western Marsh Harrier, Circus aeruginosus.

12.10.12

I have changed id for the Paraguay 1985.01 Audubon 25c from Red Tanager Piranga flava to Hepatic Tanager Piranga hepatica. The distribution for Hepatic Tanager is southern North America and Middle America. The two species look very much alike. But the Hepatic Tanager has a more prominent grey cheek patch than Red Tanager. In 1985 the two species were one species and have later been split. Hepatic Tanager is a new species on stamp.

27.09.12

The Tropicbird on Niue 1999.01 is not White-tailed Tropicbird. The depicted bird has a red tail and no black on the upper wings. A better id is Red-tailed Tropicbird.

19.09.12

A stamp in the China (Taiwan) 2012.01 Owls of Taiwan is inscribed Ninox scutulata, but Taiwan is not within the range of Ninox scutulata. The owl on the stamp is probably meant to be Ninox japonica. This was a subspecies of Ninox scutulata and is now a species occuring in Taiwan.

15.09.12

The hummingbird on Nicaragua 2007.01 Environment protection has been identified by me as White-chinned Sapphire. The scientific name on the stamp is Amazilia tzacatl (Rufous-tailed Hummingbird). I believed the blue throat was wrong for Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, but now I have learned that the throat may have a turquoise gleam in certain lights.

06.07.12

A stamp in the new Guyana 'Birds of South America' is inscribed with Jabiru for the bird, but the depicted bird is Black-necked Stork.

13.01.12

The Tit in Vietnam, North 1973.01 is Cinereous Tit Parus cinereus. I have overlooked that when the asian Great Tits where split from Great Tit Parus major, they were split into two new species, Japanese Tit Parus minor and Cinereous Tit Parus cinereus, and that the latter has a southern distribution. The northvietnamese tit is within this southern distribution and outside the Japanese Tit distribution. I got help with this from Nils Boysen. Cinereous Tit is new species on stamp.
The Yellow-billed Kite Milvus aegyptius, distribution Africa, is most often considered a subspecies of Black Kite Milvus migrans, but not in IOC which I follow. After a new look at the Kite stamps, I have decided to move these to Yellow-billed Kite:
Burundi 2009.01 and 2009.02
Centralafrica 1998.01
Chad 2003.06 and 2003.08
Ghana 1989.01
Guinea 1998.02
Guinea-Bissau 2008.30 and 2009.03
Lesotho 2001.04
Maldive Islands 1994.01
Mali 1999.02
Rwanda 1977.01
Sao Tome and Principe 1993.01
Sierra Leone 1994.04

16.12.11

The two 'Not identified' birds in Cuba 2011 MUSEO, are Puerto Rican Woodpecker and Yellow Oriole.

19.11.11

The inscription on Guinea 2010.02 is Colibri thalassinus, which is an OK id for the depicted hummingbird.
The falcon on Kyrgyzstan 2011.01 has been identified by Chris Gibbins and his helpers as Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo.

13.09.11

The inscription on Congo 2007.07 and 2007.08, first stamp, is Ciccaba woodfordii. This is probably meant for the hand fed bird on the stamp. But it is not easy to tell which species this bird is. The two birds in the background, however, are Great Grey Owl Strix nebulosa.

06.06.11

Chris Gibbins reports that Sorin Cosoveanu of Rumania has suggested that the birds on Russian definitives of 1997 look like Siberian Cranes (Grus leucogeranus). I agree with this identification. The length of the beak, the forehead skin-patch, the tail's plumage and the white appearance fits well with Siberian Crane. I have changed the id to Siberian Crane.

15.05.11

I did not want to accept the latest addition to Comoro Is as River Tern, as named on the stamp. The illustration did not look like any River Tern illustration I had available. But the illustration has been taken from a photo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shashankbjain/389534696/
I shall list the bird on the stamp as River Tern Sterna aurantia. This is a new bird species on stamp.

02.04.11

Two birds in Gambia 1999.09 are not what the name on the stamp says. Western Osprey Pandion haliaetus is a better fit for the "GALAPAGOS HAWK". The "GREAT BLUE HERON" is a Yellow-crowned Night Heron Nyctanassa violacea.

22.03.11

I have changed id for the condor on 2005.03 from Grenada from Californian Condor to Andean Condor Vultur gryphus. The condor on the stamp has a white collar which makes it Andean Condor.

03.03.11

Two identifications have been made to the Mozambique 2007.07 Owls sheet.

17.12.10

There has been a mix with names in my listing of USA 24.08.10 Hawaiian rain forest. The correct sequence for the last four birds are Akepa, Iivi, Omao and Apapane.

23.11.10

The inscription on Comoros 2009.23 is Otus capnodes. However, Chris Gibbins has found that the illustration is taken from a print of Strix leptogrammica. The id on the Comoro page has been changed.

20.11.10

Indonesia 05.11.1993 Flora and fauna day 300r: Nias Hill Myna Gracula robusta
Madagascar 1999 Birds of the world 2000f: Southern Hill Myna Gracula indica
Umm Al Qiwain 1972 Birds 1r: Southern Hill Myna Gracula indica

17.09.10

The Bird-of-paradise in St Vincent & Grenadines 1998.06 is Raggiana Bird-of-paradise because the flank plumes are red, not yellow.

02.03.10

The Syrian serin in the new Syria bird stamp issue does not look like a Syrian Serin. I have listed it as 'Not identified'. The illustrations in this set come from photos. After lots of Google image search, I finally found the 'Syrian serin'. It is a Cinereous Bunting Emberiza cineracea copied from the photo on this page: mutla.com

19.01.10

I have changed id for Burkina Faso 2001.01 Birds 25f from Red-headed Weaver Anaplectes melanotis to Red-billed Quelea Quelea quelea. The inscription on the stamp is Anaplectes rubriceps, which is Anaplectes melanotis (Red-headed Weaver) in IOC taxonomy. The illustrated bird has a black mask. One race of the Red-headed Weaver has black mask, but not as deep as shown on the illustrated bird, and because the bird is a bit yellowish, I believe Red-billed Quelea is the best fit.

09.01.10

Some Bird-of-paradise corrections.
Papua New Guinea 1952.01, 1957.01 and 1960.01:
Raggiana Bird-of-paradise, not Goldie's Bird-of-paradise.
Papua New Guinea 2000.01 1k and 2000.02 1k:
Raggiana Bird-of-paradise, not Red Bird-of-paradise.
St Vincent & Grenadines 1998.06:
Raggiana Bird-of-paradise, not Greater Bird-of-paradise.
Trinidad & Tobago 1962.01:
Greater Bird-of-paradise, not Lesser Bird-of-paradise.
My source for these changes is advice from the Australian Bird-of-paradise experts Dawn and Clifford Frith.

01.01.10

On the Bosnia Herzegovina (Sarajevo) 2008.01 0.70m stamp the bird's name is given as "Accipiter gentilis". I chose to give it the id of Accipiter nisus because there is no similarity to any illustration of Accipiter gentilis that I was familiar with. I have however learned that the juvenile female Goshawk Accipiter gentilis looks like the hawk on the stamp. I shall change id to Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis.

13.11.09

I have changed id for the francolin in the Turkmenistan fauna, hologram 2008 issue from Black Francolin to Yellow-necked Spurfowl Pternistis leucoscepus. The yellow bare skin on throat and foreneck is diagnostic.

08.09.09

I have changed id for the penguin in the latest Rumania issue from King Penguin to Emperor Penguin.

02.09.09

I have changed id for the owl on Sao Tome and Principe 2008.08 listed as African Scops Owl (Otus senegalensis) to Collared Scops-Owl (Otus lettia). The photograph on the stamp is on Birding in Taiwan

04.08.09

I agree with Chris Gibbins and have changed my id of the 2008 Zambia oxpecker to Red-billed Oxpecker Buphagus erythrorhynchus.

22.07.09

On the Uganda 1992.02 150s stamp the bird's name is given as "Cossypha heuglini". English name on the stamp is "WHITE-BROWN ROBIN CHAT". It should read BROWED not BROWN. However, the bird illustrated on the stamp is not Cossypha heuglini because it lacks the black hood characteristic for the White-browed Robin-Chat. But in Uganda there is one more Cossypha species: Archer's Ground Robin Cossypha archeri. In my opinion this is the species featured on the Uganda stamp. This will be a new species on stamp. The best photograph I can find online is here: Western Uganda's forests. (Archer's Robin-chat).

20.07.09

The thrush in Kenya 1984.01 has been listed by me as Olive Thrush Turdus olivaceus. Inscription on the stamp is Turdus helleri. In IOC taxonomy this is a species, split from Olive Thrush. Thus, this will be a new species in my listings, Taita Thrush Turdus helleri.

18.07.09

Malagasy's Sacred Ibis has been moved back to African Sacred Ibis. The eye colour fits better for African than Malagasy Sacred Ibis.
I have changed id for the 2001.01 Congo (Kinshasa) Bushshrike from Gorgeous Bushshrike Chlorophoneus viridis to Four-colored Bushshrike Chlorophoneus quadricolor because visible underparts are orange (not green).

06.07.09

I have changed id for the sacred ibisis of British Indian Ocean Territory, Madagascar and Malagasy from African Sacred Ibis to Malagasy Sacred Ibis Threskiornis bernieri.

23.05.09

What has formerly been one species, Cape Parrot (Brown-necked Parrot), in my listings, are two species in IOC taxonomy: Brown-necked Parrot Poicephalus fuscicollis and Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus. The Brown-necked Parrot has two subspecies. Poicephalus fuscicollis fuscicollis with range south western Africa. Poicephalus fuscicollis suahelicus, also called Grey-headed Parrot, with range east central south Africa. I have changed id for the Cape Parrots of Guinea-Bissau 2008.23 and Zimbabwe 2000.01 to Brown-necked Parrot Poicephalus fuscicollis. The Brown-necked Parrot is a new species in my listings.

05.05.09

I have changed id for the latest Portugal issue from European Stonechat to Bearded Tachuri Polystictus pectoralis. Source Chris Gibbins.

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	Theme Birds on Stamps by Kjell Scharning
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