Birds Perched, Birds Flying, Birds Aground

What a cover, Nils!!!

Birds, definitive stamps, designed by Colette Thurillet, engraved by Claude Jumelet and issued by Monaco on January 1, 2002.

- Great Tit (Parus major)
- European Crested Tit (Parus cristatus)

Thanks, LaoPhil! I'm of the opinion that the cover is a true first day of issue, and that Scott (as well as Dallay) have the issue date wrong (confusing it with the previous set of birds issued by that country). Far from the first time that's happened.

Here are a couple of different proofs of #C18 from my collection. The blue artist's die proof is dated 1947, but that doesn't mean the stamp couldn't have been issued in 1948.

And here is an artist's die proof of French Guiana #C20, with a close up. Personal note: This was the very first artist's die proof I acquired which led me to a lifetime of proof collecting.

Really great signed die proofs of one of the best French colonies bird stamps. I posted the regular stamps of this set in one of the previous pages of this thread. Thanks

Bicentenary of Zoo Schönbrunn, designed by Ernst Schrom, engraved by Friedrich Teubel and issued by Austria on May 24, 1952. Four kinds of birds on the stamp frame.

Togo #C25 from 1957 featuring a Great Egret (Ardea alba) and the legend "REPUBLIQUE AUTONOME DU TOGO" (it would be reissued in 1959 simply as "REPUBLIQUE DU TOGO" with different coloring). Shown here are the stamp as issued, an imperforate, a signed artist's die proof (by Pierre Gandon) and a single plate proof (trial color in blue).

Note that the artist's die proof may appear to be in the issued color at first glance but is not... the tree and other vegetation are different.

Let's not forget the pigeon! France Scott #818, designed and engraved by Pierre Gandon... shown here is one of the scarce sepia printer's die proofs, a more common deluxe proof, an example of a plate proof (trial color essays) and one of several FDC's produced for the issue.

Trivia... the American Birding Association considers the formal name of this species to be Rock Pigeon, but they always write "Feral Pigeon" in parenthesis after that. Some also call it the Domestic Pigeon. Taxonomic name Columba livia.

Great proof, Nils, of one of the best of Gandon. No wonder this stamp was reissued years later in SS.

Birds in Lake Poyang, issued by PR of China on July 20, 2019.

- Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana)
- Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus)
- Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus)

Thanks, LaoPhil. You've posted quite a few lovely bird stamps (sorry I haven't commented earlier). I especially like the Monaco issues by Claude Jumelet.

Here are a die proof, plate proof (color essay) and FDC for Afars and Issas Scott #C50, a Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax), designed and engraved by Gandon. I think the magenta coloring of the artist's proof is pretty funky... they were certainly just playing around at that point in the process!

This series of birds from 1967 is quite popular and there is some aggressive competition for them at auctions!

P.S., I'm not seeing the crane on the "80" value PRC stamp you illustrated... am I overlooking it?

Nils, well, I think the birds are hiding behind the trees
The Afar and Issas proof and assay are great! Indeed, Gandon is a leading designer and engraver.

Wildlife Conservation, issued by the USA of September 20, 1972.
-Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
- Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)


Issued in this set contains two more animal stamps.

Black-throated Magpie-Jay (Cyanocorax colliei), issued by the USA on December 7, 1963 to commemorate John James Audubon (1785 – 1851), a French-American artist, naturalist, and ornithologist.

Audubon on a stamp of USA from 1940.

I never noticed the bird in the corner of the Audubon stamp before!

Birds, issued by Liberia on February 8, 1999.

- Red Fody (Foudia madagascariensis)
- Nuthatch Vanga (Hypositta corallirostris)


Issued in sheet.

Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), designed and engraved by Georges Bétemps and issued by Iceland on June 8, 1983 to commemorate the Icelandic fishing industry.

Not sure if this stamp was posted before, but here are some die proofs for those that are interested. France Scott #C28, the Alexander III Bridge and Petit Palais in Paris, and featuring a pair of Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica). I posted the stamp as-issued first for comparison, then proofs in sepia and blue, followed by one that has been hand-colored by the artist, Pierre Gandon.