FDC of the day - Belize: Birds

Some of the most beautiful, most colorful birds in all Central America - indeed, all the world - live in the tropical forests of Belize.  Among these are the Blue Crowned Motmot, as shown on the 25c issue, and the Ocellated Turkey, on the 45c issue.  The Motmot nests in the ground rather than in trees.  It digs its nesting holes between August and October, the rainy months while the ground is soft; and then returns in March or April, the breeding season, to inhabit the nest.  Another forest dweller is the magnificently colored Ocellated Turkey.  It boasts a rainbow like plumage of green, blue, gold and copper-bronze, and nothing is quite so grand as this bird in its proud posture of courtship, with its feathers outstretched.  Like the Motmot, the turkey builds its nest in well hidden places in the ground.  Both of these birds are considered among the most attractive birds in the New World.

 

FDC of the day - BAT: Whale Conservation

Released Jan. 4, 1977, at Halley Bay, a British scientific station in Antarctica, these four stamps illustrate endangered whales.  On the 2p stamp is a Sperm, unusual in that it has no whalebone with which to catch its food, but is a toothed whale with teeth in the lower jaw only - forty in all, each about 8 inches long.  On the 8p stamp is a Fin.  Often called the Ocean Greyhound, its is gracefully streamlined, very fast and reaches 80 feet in length.  On the 11p stamp is the Humpback which reaches a length of 50 feet.  On the 25p stamp is a Blue.  The Blue can reach a length of 100 feet, but, due to intensive whaling, is rarely seen in the lengths over 80 feet.  Whales are mammals.  Dissection of a whale's flipper reveals the same (though modified) skeleton as the fore limb of a terrestrial ancestor.

 

 

FDC of the day - Sweden: Rococo

1979 Sweden - Rococo Movment

At the beginning of the 18th century, Sweden entered an age of social freedom that is most beautifully reflected in the arts.  The stamps in this issue were designed to honor this flowering of a  new Swedish culture.  And what better way to begin than with an elegant pot-pourri pot which one held fragrant petals and herbs?  Next the portrait by Johan Henrick Scheffel presents the serenity of an ageless woman in a style so life like, you almost expect her to move or speak.  A swirled coffee pot reflects the fast moving times which introduced a brand new drink called coffee.  And finally, the bust of Carl Johan Cronstedt, designer of the first Swedish tiled stove, show not a traditional hot but a beret like cap similar to those once worn during sauna baths.

FDC of the day - Australia: Regional Wildlife

1983 Australia - Regional Wildlife

The comical Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, the stately Macquarie Island Shag, the elegant Royal Penguin, the graceful Antarctic Prion, and the massive Elephant Seal, are all natural wildlife that can be found on the remote Macquarie Island - a lonely stepping stone in the Southern Ocean, about half way between Australia and Antarctica.  Macquarie island, which is actually part of Tasmania, is considered by many naturalists to be one of the world's most remarkable wildlife sanctuaries.  In fact, since 1971, it has been a national park under the control of the Tasmanian National Parks and Wildlife Service.

FDC of the day - Botswana: Traditional Artifacts

１９８３　Botswana - Traditional Artifacts
Botswana is a landlocked African nation wedged between Rhodesia and the Republic of South Africa.  The Kalahari sands drift across the country's great plateau and are cut only by tow large rivers, the Okavango and Kuando which branch to form a mighty inland delta.  This FDC features four stamps from Botswana honoring the traditional artifacts of the tribal peoples.

The 7t stamp depicts beautifully decorated spoons whose designs are burnt into the wood.

Small segments of dried reeds are drilled and then strung on fibers to make the perosnal ornaments pictured on the 15t stamp.

The 35t stamp depicts an ox-hide milk bag known as a lekuka.  This article is still made and used today by the tribal cultures.

Decorated knives are shown on the 50t stamp.  The tribal men hung these ornate knives from a cord around their necks or from their waist.