MIGRATORY BIRDS OF VENDA 2

Click any photo to see it enlarged.

front

Cachet: The cachet on this cover shows a bee-eater in full flight, wings outstretched against a large map of Africa and southern Europe rendered in soft blue and gold tones. The bird's colouring, from its green wings to its warm orange throat, stands out clearly against the muted map beneath it, visually tying the bird to the migratory route it travels each year. The words "Migratory Birds" curve above the globe in bold black lettering, with the number "404" printed beneath the illustration and a small Venda crest marking the series as "1.19 (7)" in the lower corner. Four stamps run across the top of the cover, each showing a different migratory bird species found in Venda, from the White Stork to the Wood Sandpiper. Two Vuwani postmarks, each featuring a small bird motif, cancel the stamps.

Info card

MIGRATORY BIRDS OF VENDA Second set of the series 11c stamp Ciconia ciconia White Stork The white stork is easily identified by its large size, white plumage with black flight feathers, large red bill, and red legs. It breeds in Europe and Asia, and arrives in Venda in large flocks from about November, remaining until April. It prefers open grassveld, where it feeds on locusts, grasshoppers and caterpillars. The white stork is a valuable ally against insect pests. 20c stamp Terpsiphone viridis Paradise Flycatcher The paradise flycatcher is unmistakable with the head and upper breast metallic greenish black, and the back, wings and tail a burnt reddish-brown colour. The male has long central tail feathers. It is an intra-African that winters as far north as Cameroon and northern Zaire. This migrant arrives in Venda in September, and inhabits riparian woodland and forest edges. It feeds by catching prey, especially small flies, on the wing. It builds a neat cup nest, usually in the fork of a tree. 25c stamp Milvus migrans parasitus Yellow-billed Kite The yellow-billed kite is a medium-sized brown raptor with a yellow bill and yellow legs. It is easily identified in flight by the way it steers with its deeply-forked tail. It is an intra-African migrant occurring in the south during the summer months, often in large numbers. It is largely adapted to life with man, and mainly scavenges for food such as scraps of meat, maize porridge and other morsels found around villages. It is also known to take food out of baskets carried by women on their heads. 30c stamp Tringa glareola Wood Sandpiper The wood sandpiper is distinguished from similar species by the longish bill, light eye-stripe, and spotted back. The white rump and barred tail help to identify it in flight. T. glareola breeds in northern Europe and Asia, returning in about August for the austral summer. Usually single birds inhabit streams, pools and marshes, but occasionally flocks of up to 50 birds occur. The wood sandpiper feeds on small insects and crustaceans off the surface of the water. (Text compiled with the kind co-operation of Dr. D.M. Skead.)

Additional information

This cover is postmarked on 26 April 1984 in Vuwani. It carries the second set in Venda's migratory birds series, each stamp depicting a species that travels between Europe, Asia or elsewhere in Africa and the region each year. The yellow-billed kite featured on the 25c stamp has adapted closely to life alongside people, and is known to snatch food directly from baskets carried on women's heads around villages.

You might also like

South African Birds

1990-08-02

Tourism: Kwazulu Natal

1995-04-28

Selakant 1939 PFSA

1989-02-09