Ornithological Philately

Day 98: Issued in 1981, the "State Birds" postage stamps were extremely popular both for mailings and with collectors. Although my maternal grandmother was an avid philatelist, I was too practical to follow in her footsteps but for this one notable exception: I purchased a full sheet of 50 for a mere $10 and tucked them away in my "collectible paper" box, not as an investment but as a sort of philatelic field guide.

Even more than with state flowers, you will find a number of shared species. For example, the Cardinal is jointly claimed by Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. Some states are either indecisive or bold enough to "own" more than one State Bird (alternates were not included in the stamp issue). Washington's State Bird is listed as the "Willow Goldfinch," a distinction from the American Goldfinch which is not recognized in ornithological circles. Carduelis tristis (the same little yellow and black bird) is also the State Bird of Iowa and New Jersey.

If there's a lesson to be learned from this dissertation, it's that politicians ought to keep their fingers out of ornithology. While the concept of State Birds is an enjoyable one, it could have been executed in a more educational manner, depicting birds which were more or less unique to a region.