2005) Flamingos, Romania: A set of four stamps issued by Romfilatelia (Romanian Post) on the theme titled "Flamingos" featuring the Andean, Chilean, Lesser and Pink Flamingos: Date of Stamp set issue: 25.08.2021:
About Flamingos:
Romfilatelia (Romanian Post) has brought out for bird lovers and collectors a special postage stamps issue on the theme - Flamingo, on 25.08.2021.
Flamingo birds (flamingos) represent a family of six species of aquatic birds - four of these live in America, and two – in Asia, Europe and Africa.
Their unusual behaviors – the way they stand for hours on one leg or their spectacular nuptial dances – and their special appearance have drawn people’s attention for a long time.
Flamingos’ long and thin legs with membranes between toes represent adaptations to their life environment – shallow waters with slimy grounds near shores.
Their big and crooked beak of special shape, with the lower jaw much more developed than the upper jaw, has filaments inside it by means of which birds filter the water while retaining small aquatic creatures (cyanobacteria, algae, mollusks, insects, shellfish etc.) they feed on.
Pink and red colours predominate in their plumage in contrast to the black feathers edging their wings and which are highly visible during their flight.
What is interesting is that the plumage hues are not permanent - they are influenced by the food flamingos eat. The flamingo chicks have a white-grey plumage, and it turns to red or pink as they grow older, but only if they are “well fed”, since the carotenoid pigments from their food accumulate in the feathers giving them the red and pink colours.
These substances are dangerous for many animals, but flamingos have a special metabolism, due to which they can process and assimilate them.
The captive flamingos must be fed on special animals containing the respective pigments; otherwise, birds get discolored, and their plumage turns to white.
Colour has an important role in reproduction - the success in finding one partner depends on the colour intensity. Flamingos nest in pairs and build their cone-like shaped nests on the ground, in which they lay one egg.
They are social birds living in colonies that may number thousands of birds.
The Stamps:
The four stamps of the issue present four out of the six species of flamingo, which are distinguished by an incredible elegance, slender constitution, and colorful plumage.
The Andean flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus), illustrated on the postage stamp with the face value of Lei 1.40, lives near the mountainous lakes from the Andes, in Peru, Argentina and Chile, often in mixed colonies made up of more South American species of flamingos.
This is a vulnerable species threatened by the mining works conducted in the area (leading to water pollution), tourism and infrastructure development (disturbing the colonies) and the collecting of eggs by the locals.
The Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis), depicted on the postage stamp with the face value of Lei 1.70, nests in South America, in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina and eastern Brazil.
It lives in lagoons and salty or alkali lakes. There are currently conservation programmes meant to protect this species threatened by the loss of habitats and water pollution.
The Lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor), represented on the postage stamp with the face value of Lei 7, lives in Sub-Saharan Africa and in the North-west of India. It is the smallest of all flamingo species (80-90 cm tall).
Although it has the most numerous populations of all species of flamingos, it is however a near threatened species (according to the classification of International Union for Conservation of Nature), with populations declining mainly due to water pollution.
The Pink flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus), illustrated on the postage stamp with the face value of Lei 19.50, is the largest of all flamingo species (110–150 cm tall) and it has the widest spread; it lives in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and southern Europe.
It may be seen sporadically in Romania as well, halting during migration for a short period of time in the Danube Delta, on the Black Sea coast or on the lakes in the south-eastern part of the country.
The First Day Cover (FDC) shows four flamingos at left - three feeding in the water and one in flight, about to land.
The four stamps issued in the set are affixed at top right. The Special Cancellation Handstamp/Postmark shows a flamingo in the centre.
The Cancellation is of Bucharest Post Office and the cancellation is dated - "25.08.2021".
Four Stamp Sheets of 5 Stamps and a label.
Full Sheets (FS) of 28 Stamps each and Tete-Beche.
Tete Beche:
In philately, tête-bêche (French for "head-to-tail", lit. "head-to-head") is a joined pair of stamps in which one is upside-down in relation to the other, produced intentionally or accidentally. Like any pair of stamps, a pair of tête-bêches can be a vertical or a horizontal pair. In the case of a pair of triangular stamps, they cannot help but be linked "head-to-tail".
Mechanical errors during the process of production can result in tête-bêches. During the printing of stamps for booklets, the pages of stamps are usually printed in multiples from a larger printing plate. This can result in tête-bêche pairs.
Most booklet stamps are printed in sheets, each containing 4 booklets. Looking at such a sheet 2 booklets, one above the other, come in from the left with the other 2 sheets coming from the right which appear to be upside down.
Where the columns of stamps from each side meet there is therefore a row of tete-beche pars. It is unusual for these pairs to find their way into the postal system, as the sheets are cut into individual booklet pages before binding into the distributed booklet.
Gutter:
In philately, a gutter is the space left between postage stamps which allows them to be separated or perforated. When stamps are printed on large sheets of paper that will be guillotined into smaller sheets along the gutter it will not exist on the finished sheet of stamps.
Some sheets are specifically designed where two panes of stamps are separated by a gutter still in the finished sheet and gutters may, or may not, have some printing in the gutter. Since perforation of a particular width of stamps is normal, the gutter between the stamps is often the same size as the postage stamp.
Several derivative terms exist:
Gutter pairs are two stamps separated by a gutter.
Gutter block is a block of at least four stamps where either the vertical or horizontal pairs, or both, are separated by a gutter.
Gutter margin is a margin dividing a sheet of stamps into separate panes.
Stamp Booklet
Technical details:
Issue Date: 25.08.2021
Designer: Răzvan Popescu
Process: Offset
Colours: 4 colours
Size:36 x 36 mm
Values: 1.40 L, 1.70 L, 7.00 L, 19.50 L
Sheets x 5 Stamps + 1 Label
Sheet Of 28 Stamps + Tete Beche
17) Institute of Speleology (Study of Caves) "Emil Racovita", Romania: A Century of Research (1920-2020): A set of four stamps issued by Romfilatelia (Romanian Post) featuring representative images of Caves of Romania which are of great importance for Speleological Research & Activity: Date of Stamp set issue: 18.06.2020
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