Birds, Japan

OK, one more card for today....

My knowledge about the birds living in Japan (or birds in general), is rather terrible - but I really like this card showing different birds living all over Japan - some of these names sound familiar, some don't - but it is a good way to learn!
Now, I won't be posting about each and every one of these individually - that would be way too much...and at first I wanted to share with you a video regarding birds living in Japan....then few days ago I came across another cool video about the history of Japan and I thought of sharing that one...until just today I came across this one, regarding the school-snack time the students have in this Japanese school....Japan really really NEVER ceases to amaze me...NEVER...I mean just look at how they treat the lunch time and how they respect food (and note down the nutritional values of it as well) and how they teach children to some values...I admire it, I really admire it!! Sooo many countries should take this as an example!!  It is actually embarrassing to even think about the school lunches over here...Japan or Jamie Oliver would have way too much work to do to fix things here...

well, just spare some 9 minutes of your precious time and watch this...I promise you, you won't regret it :)




impressions? thoughts?

well of course, lets not forget the stamps...they are as beautiful as well :)
the flag stamp was issued in 1975 in a set of two, commemorating the American Tour by Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako (the other stamp in the set of course, shows the US flag :))

the train stamp (showing the Hikari (Light) Express Train ) was issued in 1964 for the Inauguration of Tokyo–Osaka Shinkansen Railway Line.

the last one was issued in 1974 in a set of 3, representing Japanese Folktales (in this case, the Kaguya Hime tale, where this stamp in particular shows Kaguya Hime as Young Woman)


so, that would be all folks for now...thank you for reading....and hope to bring you something nice again soon!

enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, Tristan da Cunha

after a tiring day (or if we are to be more precise, after tiring several weeks), one of the coziest ways to rest is write cards....in real and post some here...plus, today, was a big day for me, coz I managed to survive a press conference...and I survived it pretty well...I dread the media...esp. when the majority of participants will rely on what YOU tell them (or in other words depend on your interpretation)...plus, it was the National Translators' Day today...so it really fit in well....and due to that, ive decided to give myself a treat here, and show you my second (out of the four) Tristan da Cunha cards i received last year...In case you want to recall the first one, here it is

Im really honoured to have such a rarity of cards..and such beautiful ones indeed! If the previous one showed Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, this one shows a lovely Yellow-nosed Albatross....or as the back of the card says: "known on Tristan as "Molly", this albatross is endemic to the Tristan group. Isnt he adorable????

The IUCN list this species as Endangered, with an occurrence range of 16,800,000 km2, and a breeding range of 80 km2. Efforts to help conserve this bird are underway. The largest threat is from longline fishing, as harvesting of chicks and adults has been outlawed. The Tristan da Cunha population is being remotely tracked and counted, and the South East Atlantic Fisheries Commission has passed a resolution that all fishing vessels use a tori line and drop lines at night

I truly hope the efforts will be efficient and this wont become one of the many extinct species in the world.

two lovely stamps on the card....with two great cancellations! The right one is from a set of four folklore stamps issued in 2009, while the other one is from a set of 12 birds issued in 2005, and it represents the Antarctic Tern.

Happy Translators' Day to everyone concerned by it!!! :)

Ethiopia

What a gloomy, coldish Saturday morning....where did all the lovely sunshine go? Well, I must confess here that for this weekend I wish the weather to be like this, since I have so much work to do, that at least it would be easier to do that compared to having to work when the weather is beautiful outside, and the air has this perfect scent, and the birds are singing....plus it is a perfect day to make an update too, no? :)
And speaking of birds, here is one...

One of the surprise cards Sean sent me during his last-year's trip to Ethiopia.....and just for the record, Sean is in Ethiopia again *wink wink*
The card says to show endemic birds of Ethiopia, but due to my great knowledge of the Ethiopian alphabet, I cant really understand which bird is exactly in question. Well, after some googling, I came up with some results, and my best wild guess after comparing the images, is that this is "Prince Ruspoli's Turcao". What a name for a bird!
It is said that this bird was first introduced to science when Prince Ruspoli collected it in either 1892 or 1893. Since Prince Ruspoli, an Italian explorer, was killed in an "encounter with an elephant" in the Lake Abaya area and unfortunately did not leave any notes about his travels, the locality and date of collection of the first specimen of this turaco remain unknown. This turaco is considered to be an endangered species and is included in the "Red Book" of endangered animals of the world. However, some sightings in juniper forests and especially in dry water courses which include figs, the rubiaceous tree, Adina, and undergrowth of acacia and Teclea shrubs, suggest that the species may be more common than thought.

There are no breeding records nor any recorded observations on the nesting activities of Prince Ruspoli's Turaco, its nest and eggs are unknown. It has been reported to feed on fruits of Tecle and Aditicl. Its call has been described as a low "chirr-clia" and short "te".

the stamps come from a set of 23 definitives issued in 2000, representing animals.

Thank you so much again Sean!!! 

Newfoundland, Canada

Glenn sent me this very cute card few months ago.

These are called puffins (or Fratercula Arctica) and are inhabitants of Newfoundland. They have very interesting colourful beaks, and this happens during the breeding season.
All puffin species have predominantly black or black and white plumage, a stocky build, and large beaks. They shed the colourful outer parts of their bills after the breeding season, leaving a smaller and duller beak. Their short wings are adapted for swimming with a flying technique under water. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly (up to 400 times per minute) in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean's surface.
They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil..
They are just too cute!!! :)

Apart from the already included pre-paid stamp, Glenn used another one, commemorating the Canadian Navi from 1910 till 2010. Dont know the name of the guy on the stamp but he's quite handsome ;)
Btw...the cancellation is rather interesting too...

Thank you so much Glenn!!

Panama

Man....i feel so blank...its scary....i dont know if coffee, my best friend is gonna be any helpful...ive done loads of work...and still have some left to do...im beginning to wonder if thats coz i really have loads of work to do, or is it coz im so inefficient and there is always something left...i have a feeling that this fella on the picture is giving me some ridiculing look...or pitiful...i dont know...

He is really pretty....i love his vibrant colours. His name is Guacamaya.....his nicknames are Macaw and Ara..call him whichever suits you best..i think that he also might be a Scarlet Macaw...but you know how it goes with birds and animals...each species has its sub-species which slightly can differ from the original guy....

His eyes seem like a piece of glass or crystal glued over his skin....unnatural but beautiful.
They are exotic birds, said to be living in the wilds of Central and South America...


Scarlet macaws prefer undisturbed rainforest. They eat fruits, nuts, flowers and nectar, and they often eat unripe fruit and nuts that other animals avoid. These macaws also eat clay from river banks. No one is sure why they do this, but the clay seems to be important to them. One hypothesis is that the clay helps the parrots to digest poisonous chemicals found in the unripe fruit they eat.
A pair of scarlet macaws raises one or two young each season in a tree cavity nest. The young birds often stay with their parents for up to two years. The adult parrots will not rear another clutch until the young leave the nest. As a result, the number of macaws increases slowly.
Deforestation has had a big impact on the scarlet macaws. Without their natural habitat, they stop building nests and producing young, and can have difficulty finding enough to eat. Unfortunately, deforestation can be hard to stop because people need land to grow food. A lot of scarlet macaws have been taken from the wild to be sold as pets.

well, as for a pet...it is nice to have him at home...he surely is beautiful...but im much happier to see these birds in their natural habitats, where they belong in the first place.