The answers are below. Performances might have depended on
how much time you wanted to spend, although Damien said one lunch-time was
enough. Thanks to all who had a go.
Points:
Leo (v rushed) - 6
Alison - 8
Yarden - 11
Noel - 12
Damien – a perfect 14, well done
1.
Australia Unnamed [Yellow-tufted Honeyeater. The ‘Helmeted
Honeyeater’, a subspecies, is the bird emblem of Victoria. This 1984 stamp
marked Victoria’s 150th anniversary.]
2.
Ghana “PENNANT WINGED NIGHTJAR” [Pennant-winged
Nightjar. A fragment of the Ghanaian flag is shown in the upper left corner.]
3.
Solomon Islands Unnamed [Sanford’s Sea Eagle. This
set of stamps illustrated the life cycle of the species, a Solomons endemic.]
4.
Cuba “ ZUN-ZUN” [Cuban Emerald. On a first look, I
had taken this, from the given name, to be a Bee Hummingbird, famous as the
world’s smallest bird. “Zunzun” is cited in some sources as the local Cuban
name for the Bee Hummingbird. Indeed a line of commercial “Zunzun” products,
including tee-shirts, showing this very stamp, is on offer, trading expressly
on the fame of the Bee Hummingbird. However, further research reveals that
Spanish for the Cuban Emerald is ‘Esmeralda Zunzũn’ and a Bee Hummingbird is
‘Colibri zunzuncito’. You have grounds for taking back that tee-shirt if you
want. Anyway a closer look shows this is definitely not a Bee Hummingbird. If
you really want to see a Bee Hummingbird on a stamp, Cuba has issued no less
than 12 different stamps that display the species.
5.
USA Unnamed [Black-throated Magpie-Jay. This is a
famous stamp. In 1963 the US Postal Service issued a commemorative Audubon
stamp, choosing this engraving as the subject. Audubon had been given the
specimen, and called it the ‘Columbia Jay’ believing it was from the Columbia
River area. In fact it is a Mexican species. The US Postal Service is said to
have taken the position that it knew it was a Mexican species but chose it from
Audubon’s 435 bird engravings because it was the one that made the best postage
stamp.]
6.
United Nations Unnamed [Red-footed Falcon. I might
send a further posting on this later, a high point in wild-life postage stamps
in my view.]
7.
Papua New Guinea “ Clytomyias insignis” [Orange-crowned
Fairywren. One of a small number of fairy-wrens that does not occur in
Australia.]
