Birdpex8 PCi stamps released

The Birdpex8 issues have been announced officially by Philatelic Collector Inc. and are available for purchase. More news here.

Birdpex8 PCi stamps reinstated

I have been assured by PCi that these stamps were released to postal counters in early May, and should be available for purchase eventually, so I have reinstated the 5 items in my listing.

PCi Birdpex non-issued stamps removed

The expected Birdpex issues for PCi territories (Tonga, Penrhyn, Aitutaki, Cook Is. and Niuafo'ou) have not appeared to be available. I shall therefore remove them from my listing for later reinstatement if they should be actually issued.

Cambodian Little Bunting

HBW has published news of Little Buntings occurring in Cambodia for the first time, so the stamp issued by Cambodia in 1994 is now relevant to my collection.

Stamperija's series of rare birds issues

Stamperija is publishing details of issues bearing the BirdPex8 logo featuring rare birds of some of its client nations. While I have abandoned listing Stamperija's output, this series is a commendable initiative, and is sure to result in the appearance of species of bird that have never previously appeared on stamps.

I will list here, in no particular order, those that I have found so far. The format is the familiar sheet of 4 stamps and a souvenir sheet.

Djibouti: Image listed as
Dendropicos namaquus; Phoeniculus somaliensis; Caprimulgus stellatus; Trachyphonus darnaudii (Unfortunately, none of these four species is listed as occurring in Djibouti)
and SS Tricholaema melanocephala.

Guinea:(20/6/2017) Image listed as
Megabyas flammulatus; Tchagra minutus; Rhaphidura sabini; Laniarius turatii
and SS Dryoscopus sabini

Sierra Leone:(30/6/2017) Image listed as
Prodotiscus insignis; Gymnobucco peli; Tockus hartlaubi; Telacanthura melanopygia
and SS Himantornis haematopus

Solomon Is.:(21/8/2017) Image listed as
Ptilinopus eugeniae; Columba pallidiceps, Gallicolumba beccarii; Ducula brenchleyi, Ducula brenchleyi; Micropsitta bruijnii. Unfortunately, for this last stamp, the designer has chosen this image of Red-necked Amazon (Amazona arausiaca).
and SS Puffinus heinrothi

Togo:(30/6/2017) Image listed as
Nigrita canicapillus; Estrilda troglodytes; Pytilia phoenicoptera; Nigrita luteifrons
and SS Vidua togoensis

Another photographic error

When selecting a photograph on which to base his design intended to feature a Pygmy Eagle (Hieraaetus weiskei), the designer has chosen this photograph of a Little Eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoides) taken in  Australia. Unhappily, this species does not normally occur in Papua New Guinea.

Another photographic error

I have searched for other photographs that may have been used by the designer of the PNG Rare Birds issue, and found most of them.

I could not find one for the Slaty-backed Goshawk, and the image on the stamp is not like any illustrations I could find of the species. It looks more like a Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), but without finding the source photograph, I will list it as unidentified.

The stamp titled "New Britain Goshawk (Accipiter princeps)" is based on this photograph of Grey Goshawk (Accipiter novaehollandiae).

I have delayed publishing these observations for fear of causing the issue to be cancelled.