CANADA'S NATURAL HISTORY 
     
     IN PHILATELY 
     
    
   
   
    
     Natura1ist may prefer to conduct 
     
     their studies in the fie1d but 
     
     for a sma11 group of phi1ate1ists 
     
     (stamp co11ectors), an interest 
     
    

    
     in natura1 history can be fo11owed 
     
     through their favourite hobby. 
     
     Canada usua11y issues stamps to 
     
     conmemorate peop1e and events, 
     
    

    
     but a considerabTe number of post- 
     
     age stamps are issued to promote 
     
     conservation or wi1d1ife themes. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The first postage stamp iSSued 
     
    

    
     in 1851 bv Canada featured a 
     
     beaver, and whi1e we had to wait 
     
     c10$e to 100 years for the second 
     
     wi1d1ife stamp, many have been 
     
     issued since the second wor1d war 
     
     era. The modern era began with 
     
    

    
     a stamp showing another of Canada's 
     
     symboTs, the Canada goose. It 
     
    

    
     was featured on a 7 cent airmai1 
     
     stamp in 1948, again in 1952 on 
     
    

    
     a regu1ar 7 cent stamp and fina11y 
     
     in 1963 on a 15 cent stamp. ' 
     
    
   
   
    
     The 1952 Canada goose stamp was 
     
     issued to ce1ebrate Nationa1 Wi1d- 
     
     1ife Week. For the next five 
     
     years, unti1 1957, Canada's wi1d- 
     
     1ife was portrayed on one or more 
     
    
   
   
    
     sparrow, and hermit thrush. The 
     
     gray jay stamp caused some contro- 
     
     versy among naturaTists since many 
     
     fe1t it to be a variant of the ' 
     
     Oregon jay and hence more of an 
     
     American bird than Canadian. 
     
     Between these issues and todays 
     
     stamps, most stamps concerned with 
     
     natura1 history featured 
     
    

    
     p1ants, some showing provinciaT 
     
     f1owers, others showing map1es 
     
    

    
     in the various seasons but animaTS 
     
     were repersented by the narwha1e, 
     
     po1ar bear and mountain sheep. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Stamps pub1icizing endangered wi1d- 
     
     1ife in Canada have been issued 
     
     each year since 1977. Cougar, 
     
     peregrin fa1con, spiny soft-she11ed 
     
     turt1e, bowhead whaTe, At1antic 
     
    
   
   
    
     white fish,and prairie chicken have 
     
    
   
   
    
     been featured and it is p1anned 
     
     to issued two such stamps each year 
     
     for.sometime into the fUture. 
     
    
   
   
    
     ’ 
     
     Distribution and migratory patterns 
     
     of birds make it difficuTt to ca11 
     
    
   
   
    
     many 1oca11y occuring birds 
     
     Canadian. As a resu1t NewfoundTand, 
     
     St. Pierre et MiqueTon, GreenTand, 
     
    
   
   
    
     IceTand, Russia, and many Centra1 
     
    
   
   
    
     American and Carrabean countries 
     
     have issued stamps i11ustrating 
     
     10ca1 birds. A150 the U.S. has 
     
     issued many wi1d1ife conservation 
     
     stamps, one of which in 1978 showed 
     
     the IsTand's avian emb1em, the 
     
    

    
     b1ue jay. A ye110w shafted f1icker 
     
     and a ye11ow warbTer were recent1y 
     
     on stamps from the Canary IsTands. 
     
     St. Vincent stamps have shown barn 
     
     ow15 whi1e other ow1s such as 
     
    
   
   
    
     stamps. The 1953 stamps featured 
     
     the poTar bear, moose, and big 
     
     horn sheep. These were in denom- 
     
     nations of 2,3,and 4 cents when 
     
     the regu1ar postage per first 
     
     c1ass was 4 cents. The fo110wing 
     
     year wa1rus, bear and gannets 
     
    

    
     were shown and in 1955 the musk ox 
     
     and whooping crane. The whooping 
     
     crane stamp was particu1ar1y at- 
     
     tractive being done in 1ight b1ue _ 
     
     and showing two cranes f1ying over grear grey, saw-WhEt, barrEd, and 
     
    

    
     a Northern Canada swamp, The great horned ow1s have been on 
     
    

    
     1ast NdeTife Week stamp was of a U-S- Stamps- 
     
    

    
     100n issued in 1957. _ I 
     
    

    
     Bird watching and stamp c011ecting 
     
    

    
     are two of the most popuTar hobbies 
     
    

    
     to issue mu1t1-coiored stamps we have and they can be successfu11y 
     
     rather than using drawings of each C0mb1n9d, espicaiiy 0“ a C01d winter's 
     
     particu1ar bird or animaT. Four daY- 
     
     bird stamps were issued in 1968 
     
    

    
     to 1969 which featured gray jay. 
     
    

    
     white throated sparrow! Ipswich 
     
    
   
   
    
     Ten years Tater Canada Post began 
     
    
   
   
    
     Winston Johnston 
     
     63 New1and Cr. 
     
     Char10ttetown 
     
    
   
   
    
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