II. Birds on Israeli postage stamps

…catching the worm…

This is the second post about the birdlife of Israel. The first was published in October 2022, and entitled I. Birds on Israel postage stamps. Readers may wish to look at it in conjunction with this visit to the blog.

Israel’s geographical location adjacent to three continents has provided the country with a very varied bird life – birds inhabiting urban, coastal, plain, lake, marshland, desert, and upland terrains – and both wintering birds, and breeding species.

Since 1963 and the issue of a set of airmail stamps between February and October that year, Israeli birdlife has been celebrated on the country’s postage stamps over every succeeding decade.

On 25 April 1963, the airmail series was added to with 5 Agorot, 20 Agorot, and 28 Agorot values, supplementing the stamps issued on 13 February that year – the 55 Agorot, 70 Agorot, and 1 Israeli Pound values featured in the earlier birds blog post (October 2022).

The 5 Agorot stamp (below) was illustrated with the Sinai Rosefinch (Erythrena sinoica) nesting in rocks in the southern Negev. The finch is endemic in Israel and Jordan.

Designed by Miriam Karoly this 5 Agorot airmail stamp issued on 25 April 1963 featured the Sinai Rosefinch

The 20 Agorot value showed the Smyrna Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) resident in northern and central Israel (shown below).

The 20 Agorot value airmail stamp designed by Miriam Karoly

Also issued in April 1963 was the 28 Agorot value (below) which featured the Mourning Wheater , or Oenanthe lugens (of the Chat family), found in the stones and rocks of Judea and the Negev, where it nests in rock-clefts. Chats are closely related to the thrush.

Karoly’s 28 Agorot value featuring the Mourning Wheatear

On 14 October 1975, a set of three stamps (shown below) designed by W. Ferguson were issued to profile Israels protected wild birds – in this case ‘red listed’ wading birds (waders) whose numbers had been drastically reduced and in danger of destruction.

Ferguson’s rendering of the Pratincole (Glareola pratincola) the ‘red listed’ wader featured on the 1.10 Israeli Pounds value issued in October 1975

Another ‘red listed’ wader, the (Hoplopterus spinosus) featured on the 1.70 Israeli Pounds stamp issued in October 1975

The 2.00 Israeli Pounds value in the protected wild birds series was illustrated with the ‘red listed’ Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

Biblical birds were again featured in Israeli stamp issue on 24 February 1987 – as they had been in 1985 – but this time showing Owls (Strigiformes). Designed by A. Glaser, the three stamp set showed the Eagle Owl, Bruce’s Scops Owl, the Barn Owl, and Hume’s Tawny Owl.

The Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) featured on the 0.30 NIS value is the largest of Israel’s Owls. It nests among steep slopes in rocky areas, in the desert regions, and in the north of the country

The 0.40 NIS stamp is illustrated with Bruce’s Stops Owl (Outs brucei) which is the smallest of Israel’s Owls. The population in the country is not precisely known

The Barn Owl (Tito alba) is shown on the 0.50 NIS stamp. The bird lives close to human rural habitation, in attics or deserted cisterns, or among the rafters of cattle-sheds and chicken-coops

The 0.80 NIS value shows Hume’s Tawny Owl (Strix butleri) which is believed to be one of the world’s rarest desert birds. In Israel it is found in the Judean Wilderness and Negev Desert, in almost any steep-sloped ravine where water is available. Bird-watchers assemble at Ein Gedi just west of the Dead Sea (close to Masada and the Qumran caves) to view the Owl at close range

On 24 February 1987 owls featured in the Bible were illustrated on a four stamp souvenir sheet. The designer was A. Glaser

Designed by J. Smith and first issued in 1992 with later printings, a definitive series of stamps featuring songbirds came out. In the blog post of October 2022, the 0.10 NIS, the 0.20 NIS, and 0.30 NIS values were shown. Below, the 0.50 NIS, the 0.85 NIS, and the 0.90 NIS values appear, illustrated with the Palestinian Sunbird, the Sinai Rosefinch, and the Swallow.

The Palestinian Sunbird (Nectarine osea)

Sinai Rosefinch (Carpodacus synoicus)

The Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

In the creation of this second post about Israel’s birdlife on postage stamps, the following resources were utilized: (1) the website of the Israel Philatelic Federation