June 2019 Vol.33 No.4 Europa Birds Update Folklore of Bird Names ….. The Blackbird Insight The Into the Bird of Capercaillie Paradise Story PLUS ……. All your regular features, The Rare and Unusual ChiffChaff Chat; New Listings; Philatelic Updates, Puzzles and more ………. Hoatzin The Bird Stamp Society (www.birdstampsociety.org) Founded August 1986 The Bird Stamp Society was formed to cater for the large number of collectors who specialise in bird stamps and relevant material CHAIRMAN Ashlyn’s Lodge, Chesham Road, Berkhampstead, Herts, HP4 2ST Tel. No: 01442 876995 Tony Statham [email protected] VICE CHAIR 10 Bradsole House, Abbey Park, Park Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 1PN Tel. No: 020 8650 8016 Doug Blake [email protected] GENERAL 31 Springwood Rise, Kelso, Scottish Borders, SECRETARY TD5 8BE Tel. No: 01573 226770 Mel West [email protected] TREASURER 23a East Main Street, Blackburn, West Lothian, EH47 7QR Tel. No: 01506 651029 Graham Horsman [email protected] MEMBERSHIP Details as above SECRETARY Graham Horsman AUCTION Vacant SECRETARY PACKET 51, Ketelbey Drive, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG22 4PE SECREATRY Tel. No: 01256 415699 [email protected] Philip Cant FLIGHT EDITOR 6, Hawthorne Close, Grateley, Hampshire, SP11 8JL Tel. No: 01264 889735 [email protected] Gilly Christmas FLIGHT Details as above DISTRIBUTOR Gilly Christmas NEW ISSUES & WEBSITE 5, North Street, Cambuskenneth, Stirling, FK9 5NB Tel. No: 01786 471161 Roger Chapman [email protected] March 2019 Vol. 33 No. 4 Flight 2 Contents Regulars 11 Chiffchaff Chat The Editor gives an update on the Europa Birds Features 14 Puzzling Page 5 Cover Story Folklore of Provincial Birdnames No prizes this time round, it’s just for fun!! A further offering from John Graham, this time on the Blackbird 16 Committee Reports Important news from your dedicated Committee 6 Cover Story The Western Capercaillie Graham U’ren invites us to have a look at his 18 Buzin Watch Postal collection to tell the story of this iconic bird Mel West on the latest edition to the Belgium Buzins 10 Cover Story Unusual Birds Rarely Seen 19 Recent New Birds in the Philatelic Aviary On Stamps Roger Chapman’s excellent detailed updates on new Tony Statham fills us in on the Hoatzin birds gracing our hobby 12 Cover Story A Special BoP 21 New Listings The ecology and history of the fabulous Bird of Comprehensive and detailed updates in a new format, Paradise, beautifully explained by Carol Mitchell for all new listings, compiled by Roger Chapman 15 More Extinct Birds 31 Subscription Renewal Reminder Gilly Christmas looks at the Cuban Extinct Birds set March 2019 Vol. 33 No. 4 Flight 3 Welcome VOLUME 33; NO 4 MARCH 2019 Gilly Christmas - Editor of Flight Contributors in this Edition: Swallows About - Must Be Summer ! Tony Statham; Mel West; Graham Horsman; t last some warmth and sunshine in bigger amounts! I’m a warm temperature John Graham; A Graham U’Ren person and so I can’t wait for summer to arrive each year. Late spring and in to Roger Chapman summer, watching the Blackbird, Starling, Rook, Sparrow and Robin chicks bouncing Carol Mitchell around the garden … a delightful sight. Sadly, for one reason or another, I have not been bouncing around my stamp collection … I had intended great things during the Flight is the quarterly magazine winter and spring months, a big sort out, re-design of storage, little sketches to of the Bird Stamp Society, accompany my listings …. Nope, none of it got done! And so I was very jealous to read published in March, June, Graham U’ren’s article on the Capercaillie, and discover how he has sorted his collection September and December. Material should be sent to the of postal items to tell the story of this iconic bird … a fascinating read on page 6. editor by the middle of the month preceding publication - at It seems we have an individual ‘birdy’ theme for this edition! Our Chairman has the very latest. Members are contributed a piece on the very unusual Hoatzin on page 10 , whilst Carol Mitchell’s invited to consult the editor in regular piece for the magazine zones in on the Bird of Paradise for this edition on page advance regarding submission 12. and format of material. Thank you (do I say this too many times?!) to all the members for sending me Back numbers of “Flight” are contributions … it really does (with a big sigh …) make my life so much easier when it available from the Secretary @ comes to ‘Flight time’ each quarter! free of charge plus P&P. John Graham educates us in the folklore tales of the common Blackbird, on page 5, Annual Subscriptions there is an update on the Europa bird stamps being issued on page 11, as well as all the (Renewable 31st July) regulars for you to enjoy. UK Members: £15.00; European members: £22.00 (or Euro Please do read the Committee reports, and in particular, the Membership report from equivalent); Overseas members: Graham, which outlines a decision we have just taken on the distribution of non hard £27.00 (add £5 bank charges if copy Flight. Hopefully, this decision will be acceptable for those members that did not paid in foreign rate / cheque). respond to Graham’s email. With today’s technology, the emailing of 4mb of magazine Email Subscribers/members: will not be a problem for mailboxes, but if you do have an issue with the receipt of £5.00 (UK / Worldwide for BOTH Flight via email, then please do let me know asap. I’m old school … still much prefer to Flight & Auction). read a magazine in print. I spend enough time looking at a computer screen to not want to also read Flight online, and the quality of print from an email is not a patch on ALL stamps dotted about the commercial print. And before anyone says please send me the commercial print via place in this edition of ‘Flight’ are email, the answer is an apologetic but firm ‘No’ …… 25mb to 54 email boxes is not from the year 1995. There are funny, so the 4mb minimum print pdf copy will have to suffice! some exceptions, usually within members articles, and these have been labelled accordingly. Whilst on the subject of communication ….. If you have any queries or requests in relation to Flight, then please do get in touch with me, and send a copy to Graham (if corresponding via email). Please do not forget that it is subscription renewal time, and a form is duly enclosed with this edition of Flight. I hope you enjoy the read! March 2019 Vol. 33 No. 4 Flight 4 Folklore of Provincial Birdnames - Part Two John Graham continues his insight in to the folklore of some of our common bird names …… this time around he delves in to the wonders of the Blackbird. European Blackbird him now that he had been seen, explained Turdus merula to the blackbird that he must seek out the Prince of Riches in his palace, hidden in the bowels of the earth, and offer the Prince his services, who will then allow him to carry off as much treasure as he could carry in his beak. The magpie also told the blackbird that he would pass through many caverns, each containing great stores of wealth, but that he must not touch any single piece until he had actually seen the Prince himself. The blackbird ventured into the underground passages until he reached the first cavern, the walls of which were bright with silver. He carried on further until he came to another cavern, this time shining with pure gold, which all proved too much for him, so he plunged his beak into the glittering gold dust, which was From its colour, the Blackbird receives strewn across the cavern floor. the names of Black Uzzle i.e. ouzel Immediately, a terrible demon (Craven), where this seems to refer to appeared, vomiting fire and smoke, who being a “black sheep”. It also is called a then rushed upon the bird with great Blackie in the North Riding and in parts speed. The blackbird managed to escape of Scotland, as well as an Ousel or Ousel though from this demon, but however, the Cock (see Midsummer Nights Dream), a black smoke was that thick that it forever Garden Ousel, a Woofell, and a Merle, changed the colour of his feathers from this last again in parts of Scotland also white to black, and that this would forever in Ireland, which derives from the Latin be his colouring, with the exception, merula. however, of his beak, which still preserves “When the blackbird sings before the colour of the gold that he was trying to Christmas, she will cry before carry off. And this is why, even today, Candlemas” was a rhyme common in when surprised, he utters a piercing cry of County Meath. Also in Ireland it was terror, as if he fears being attacked again believed that “when the blackbird by another monster.” sings loud and shrill, rain is sure to follow” and this also is commonly heard even today across much of the UK. In the neighbourhood of Brescia, Italy, the last two days of January and the first two days of February are called “the blackbird's days”, and the story is that this bird, whose original colour was white, became black one year because these three days were so cold that it had to take refuge in a chimney. In parts of Germany the blackbird is Another French folktale tells that called a “Guttling”, or “little god”, and is “One day, while lurking in a thicket, the supposed to be a protection against blackbird, whose colour in those times lightning, if kept caged in the house.