Set of 5: 1992 Birds 29c Series

Front:
29 SHINGTON JUN 15 1992 20066 Balke Broad-billed Hummingbird DC 29 JUN 15 1992 20066 Belhe DC Calliope Hummingbird WASH 29- EHINSTORN JUN 15 1992 20066 Belke Costa's Hummingbird DC ,ס ש JUN 15 1992 30066 29 Belke DC Ruby-throated Hummingbird GHINGTON JUN O 15 1992 20066 29 Belke Rufous Hummingbird

Back:
BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD First Day of Issue: June 15, 1992 First Issue Location: Washington, D.C. Deep inside Arizona's Santa Rita Mountains, a tiny bird zips back and forth in a swinging motion that emulates the pendulum of a clock. The display is enchanting, but it is the sound of the little bird's wings that captures the attention, a sound befitting the Wild West location, not unlike the wild screaming of a ricochetting bullet. A male Broad-billed Hummingbird is at it again, attempting to entice a female as his mate. Found along sycamore-lined canyons in west Texas and southeastern Arizona, the Broad-billed Hummingbird is best known for the noisy aerial display and a bright red bill which is present on both male and female. The male is an iridescent gem, with emerald plumage on its belly and back, and a throat patch which is as deep azure as the Southwestern twi- light. The brilliant sunlight of the desert brings these colors out in vivid display; in the shade, the male Broad- billed Hummingbird appears almost black. The female, while less colorful, is nonetheless a beauty too, with subtle hues of green, gray and white. No. 92-46 First Day of Issue Postcard Collection™ ©1992 Fleetwood, Cheyenne, WY 82008-0001 Original painting for the First Day of Issue Postcard by Don Balke Heetwood OFFICIAL FIRST DAY OF ISSUE POSTCARD NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETYⓇ CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD First Day of Issue: June 15, 1992 First Issue Location: Washington, D.C. Scarcely three inches long, the Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest bird in North America. It also holds the distinction of laying the smallest eggs, less than one third of an inch in diameter and one half inch in length in a nest no larger than an American quarter. Size is a quick clue to the bird's identity, but the male Calliope is also the only hummingbird that has a red-and-white barred throat — known as a gorget. The female is easily confused with the female Rufous and Broad-tails, but her short bill and size aids the bird-watcher. In the summer, the Calliope Hum- mingbird may be seen feeding at timberline in the Rockies and Sierra Nevada, daintily sipping, hovering and zipping from plant to plant. The high mountain holds are favorite haunts of the little bird, but it can also be found in the low country, from canyons to grasslands. As with the Rufous Hummingbird, the Calliope's migration route is egg-shaped. In the spring, the little bird will fly up the coast of California and Oregon to summer as far north as British Columbia and Alberta. No. 92-47 First Day of Issue Postcard Collection™ ©1992 Fleetwood, Cheyenne, WY 82008-0001 Original painting for the First Day of Issue Postcard by Don Balke Fleetwood OFFICIAL FIRST DAY OF ISSUE POSTCARD NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETYⓇ COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD First Day of Issue: June 15, 1992 First Issue Location: Washington, D.C. The bright green and violet plumage of the Costa's Hummingbird is the perfect complement to a harshly beautiful landscape of red sandstone and purple sage. Found from California east to New Mexico, the Costa's Hummingbird is known for its fondness of high, dry plateaus. In the winter, the bird migrates a comparatively short distance to Arizona and southern California and into Mexico. But in the summer, the Costa's frequents the canyons and mountains of the American Southwest, as well as California's golden hills. The male is very distinc- tively marked, for no other hummingbird on the continent has a purple cap and throat, plus feathers that stick out like whiskers. As mating season rolls around, the male Costa's performs stunning aerial acrobatics in an attempt to woo a female. Once he has succeeded, the female will lay two tiny eggs in a nest scarcely over an inch in outside diameter. The eggs weigh as much as 20 percent of the mother's body weight, the equivalent of a 135-pound woman giving birth to a 27-pound baby. No. 92-48 First Day of Issue Postcard Collection™ ©1992 Fleetwood®, Cheyenne, WY 82008-0001 Original painting for the First Day of Issue Postcard by Don Balke Fleetwood OFFICIAL FIRST DAY OF ISSUE POSTCARD NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETYⓇ RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD First Day of Issue: June 15, 1992 First Issue Location: Washington, D.C. "Its gorgeous throat in beauty and brilliance baffles all competition. Now it goes to a fiery hue, and again is changed to the deepest velvety black.” Thus wrote the great naturalist, John James Audubon, of the Ruby- throated Hummingbird. Audubon - like many before and since — was entranced by the little flying jewel. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the best known of North America's Hummingbirds, for it is found regularly in eastern North America. Ranging from Panama to Nova Scotia, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird also has one of the most impressive migrations of the hummingbirds, although not quite as great as that of the Rufous Hum- mingbird. However, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird must cross the vast expanse of the Gulf of Mexico in one shot, an astounding accomplishment for such a small bird. Yet, with enough fat reserves, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is able to make the journey without mis- hap. After crossing, it will stop off in the Gulf Coast states to build reserves once again. No. 92-49 First Day of Issue Postcard Collection™ ©1992 Fleetwood, Cheyenne, WY 82008-0001 Original painting for the First Day of Issue Postcard by Don Balke Heetwood OFFICIAL FIRST DAY OF ISSUE POSTCARD NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETYⓇ RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD First Day of Issue: June 15, 1992 First Issue Location: Washington, D.C. Although packed into a pretty, pint-sized package, the Rufous Hummingbird has the heart of a pugnacious fighter. No other North American hummingbird exhibits as much aggressiveness as this rusty little visitor from the Far North. At the feeder, the Rufous Hummingbird takes on all challengers, chasing away the less assertive Broad- tailed Hummingbirds and even the much larger songbirds with a soft spot for sugar water. And not only is the Rufous a fighter, he's a sojourner as well. Of all the hummingbirds on the continent, the Rufous is one of the most well traveled. In the spring, the tiny, fiery bird will zip north up the Pacific Coast as far as Alaska and the Yukon Territory to breed and nest. Late summer finds him heading south through the Rockies and eventually all the way to Mexico. In all, the average Rufous Hummingbird will travel 6,000 miles in a year — a far cry from the migrations of such homebodies as the Costa's Hummingbird. No. 92-50 First Day of Issue Postcard Collection™ ©1992 Fleetwood, Cheyenne, WY 82008-0001 Original painting for the First Day of Issue Postcard by Don Balke Fleetwood OFFICIAL FIRST DAY OF ISSUE POSTCARD NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETYⓇ