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#3225
1998 32c Tropical Birds: Cardinal Honeyeater
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US #3225
1998 Cardinal Honeyeater
- Part of set of 4 picturing birds native to islands belonging to US
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Tropical Birds
Value: 32¢, First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue: July 29, 2998
First Day City: Ponce, Puerto Rico
Quantity Issued: 17,500,000
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Offset, Microprint
Format: Pane of 20
Perforations: 11.2
Why the stamp was issued: This stamp is part of a set of four featuring a popular stamp subject – birds. These species are from tropical areas with strong relationships to the US.
About the stamp design: Artist Robert Giusti was the talent behind the illustrations of tropical birds shown on these stamps. The Cardinal Honeyeater is perched next to an Erythrina blossom. Giusti’s paintings had previously been featured on definitive stamps and the 1992 Wild Animals stamps.
Special design details: Each stamp has a microprinted “USPS” included in the design. On this stamp, it can be found near the base of the blossom.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony took place at the Pontifica Universidad Catolica Amphitheatre in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Two of the bird species are native to this US territory.
About the Tropical Birds set: This four-stamp se-tenant features tropical birds that are native to the islands belonging to the United States. The Antillean Euphonia resides in the thick mountain forests of Puerto Rico. The Green-throated Carib is also found in Puerto Rico, but along the northeast coast. The Crested Honeycreeper is an endangered species from the rain forests of Maui, and the Cardinal Honeyeater lives on the South Pacific island of Samoa. [Quick overview of the set/other stamps included in it, may link to other stamps/the complete set at the end. General story of the set/other stamps included in it, may link to other stamps/the complete set at the end.]
History these stamps represent: A member of about 170 species of birds within the songbird family Meliphagidae, the cardinal honeyeater once made its home in Guam. Now extinct on that island, the bird can be found in American Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean. Other species of the family are found in Australia, New Guinea, Hawaii, and South Africa.
With its long, tube-shaped tongue sporting brush-like edges, the honeyeater is able to extract nectar from flowers. The bird got its name from its habit of drinking nectar from the blossoms of trees and shrubs. It also eats berries, fruits, caterpillars, spiders, and other insects.
Most honeyeaters are greenish or grayish-brown with white or yellow marks on their heads. They range in size from three to 20 inches long. Only a few species of honeyeaters can sing well, with most making harsh, unpleasant sounds.
Honeyeaters have become nearly extinct in the Hawaiian Islands. That is because when American and English people settled there, the animals they brought with them killed the birds. The destruction of forests has also contributed to the low number of honeyeaters there. Of the five species that once lived in Hawaii, only one species, the Kauai oo, has survived.
US #3225
1998 Cardinal Honeyeater
- Part of set of 4 picturing birds native to islands belonging to US
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Tropical Birds
Value: 32¢, First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue: July 29, 2998
First Day City: Ponce, Puerto Rico
Quantity Issued: 17,500,000
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Offset, Microprint
Format: Pane of 20
Perforations: 11.2
Why the stamp was issued: This stamp is part of a set of four featuring a popular stamp subject – birds. These species are from tropical areas with strong relationships to the US.
About the stamp design: Artist Robert Giusti was the talent behind the illustrations of tropical birds shown on these stamps. The Cardinal Honeyeater is perched next to an Erythrina blossom. Giusti’s paintings had previously been featured on definitive stamps and the 1992 Wild Animals stamps.
Special design details: Each stamp has a microprinted “USPS” included in the design. On this stamp, it can be found near the base of the blossom.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony took place at the Pontifica Universidad Catolica Amphitheatre in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Two of the bird species are native to this US territory.
About the Tropical Birds set: This four-stamp se-tenant features tropical birds that are native to the islands belonging to the United States. The Antillean Euphonia resides in the thick mountain forests of Puerto Rico. The Green-throated Carib is also found in Puerto Rico, but along the northeast coast. The Crested Honeycreeper is an endangered species from the rain forests of Maui, and the Cardinal Honeyeater lives on the South Pacific island of Samoa. [Quick overview of the set/other stamps included in it, may link to other stamps/the complete set at the end. General story of the set/other stamps included in it, may link to other stamps/the complete set at the end.]
History these stamps represent: A member of about 170 species of birds within the songbird family Meliphagidae, the cardinal honeyeater once made its home in Guam. Now extinct on that island, the bird can be found in American Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean. Other species of the family are found in Australia, New Guinea, Hawaii, and South Africa.
With its long, tube-shaped tongue sporting brush-like edges, the honeyeater is able to extract nectar from flowers. The bird got its name from its habit of drinking nectar from the blossoms of trees and shrubs. It also eats berries, fruits, caterpillars, spiders, and other insects.
Most honeyeaters are greenish or grayish-brown with white or yellow marks on their heads. They range in size from three to 20 inches long. Only a few species of honeyeaters can sing well, with most making harsh, unpleasant sounds.
Honeyeaters have become nearly extinct in the Hawaiian Islands. That is because when American and English people settled there, the animals they brought with them killed the birds. The destruction of forests has also contributed to the low number of honeyeaters there. Of the five species that once lived in Hawaii, only one species, the Kauai oo, has survived.
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