2687) The Ancient Dodo (Fauna), Republic of Kyrgyzstan: Kyrgyzstan KP (or Kyrgyz Pochtasy - Kyrgyzstan Post) has issued a set of three Postage Stamps featuring this extinct bird: Date of Stamp set issue: 13.02.2023:
About Kyrgyzstan KP:
The postal a set of three stamps history of Kyrgyzstan began when the nation declared independence in August 1991. Under the Soviet Union, the Kyrgyz SSR postal service was an integral part of the Soviet system.
The Republic was periodically recognised in sets of stamps depicting the different parts of the USSR.
Kyrgyzstan is a member state of the Universal Postal Union since 1993 with its two designated postal operators - Kyrgyz Pochtasy KP (started 1992) and Kyrgyz Express Post KEP (started 2014) both of which offer their stamps and philatelic items.
It is the only member country of the UPU to have two official postal administrations issuing official stamps for the country.
Kyrgyzstan KP issued its first postage stamp on 04.02.1992, a single design depicting the Sary-Chelek Nature Preserve in Jalal-Abad Province. The country's name was given in both Cyrillic and Latin letters; many Kyrgyz stamps have since done likewise, although the practice is not consistent, with some stamps only inscribed in Cyrillic and others only in Latin.
In April and June 1993, several types of Russian stamps were surcharged in ruble values, followed in August by the first stamps denominated in tyiyn.
The dodo:
The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is East of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.
The dodo's closest genetic relative was the also-extinct Rodrigues solitaire.
The two formed the subfamily Raphinae, (a clade of extinct flightless birds that were a part of the family which includes pigeons and doves).
The closest living relative of the dodo is the Nicobar pigeon.
A white dodo was once believed to have existed on the nearby island of Réunion, but it is now believed that this assumption was merely based on the also-extinct Réunion ibis and paintings of white dodos.
Subfossil remains show that the dodo was about 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) tall and may have weighed 10.6–17.5 kg (23–39 lb) in the wild.
The dodo's appearance in life is evidenced only by drawings, paintings, and written accounts from the 17th Century.
Since these portraits vary considerably, and since only some of the illustrations are known to have been drawn from live specimens, the dodos' exact appearance in life remains unresolved, and little is known about its behaviour.
It has been depicted with brownish-grey plumage, yellow feet, a tuft of tail feathers, a grey, naked head, and a black, yellow, and green beak.
It used gizzard stones to help digest its food, which is thought to have included fruits, and its main habitat is believed to have been the woods in the drier coastal areas of Mauritius.
One account states its clutch consisted of a single egg. It is presumed that the dodo became flightless because of the ready availability of abundant food sources and a relative absence of predators on Mauritius.
Though the dodo has historically been portrayed as being fat and clumsy, it is now thought to have been well-adapted for its ecosystem.
The first recorded mention of the dodo was by Dutch sailors in 1598.
In the following years, the bird was hunted by sailors and invasive species, while its habitat was being destroyed.
The last widely accepted sighting of a dodo was in 1662.
Its extinction was not immediately noticed, and some considered it to be a myth.
In the 19th century, research was conducted on a small quantity of remains of four specimens that had been brought to Europe in the early 17th century.
Among these is a dried head, the only soft tissue of the dodo that remains today.
Since then, a large amount of subfossil material has been collected in Mauritius, mostly from the Mare aux Songes swamp.
The extinction of the dodo within less than a century of its discovery called attention to the previously unrecognised problem of human involvement in the disappearance of entire species.
The dodo achieved widespread recognition from its role in the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and it has since become a fixture in popular culture, often as a symbol of extinction and obsolescence.
The Postage Stamp:
Three Stamps depicting an artist's concept of the dodo.
No comments:
Post a Comment