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Issued on: 30 Sep, 2006
Drscription: Rare and valuable species- Blue-winged Pitta (Pitta brachyura, Pitta nympha)
The fairy pitta (Pitta nympha), a member of the order passeriformes in the family pittidae, is known in Chinese as the "eight-color bird" for its eye-catching plumage of eight different colors: black, white, yellow, red, blue, dark green, chestnut and bright blue. Taiwan currently provides the largest fairy pitta habitat and breeding range of any place in the world, yet the population of fairy pittas declines rapidly as a result of habitat loss. To let our citizens put more emphasize on ecological conservation, Chunghwa Post has asked Mr. Lin Ruey-Shing of the Endemic Species Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, to plan a set of four stamps and a souvenir sheet on the 「Conservation of Birds Postage Stamps - Fairy Pitta」. The designs of the stamps follow:
1. Perching High (NT$5.00): Fairy pittas are active on the ground of the forest. To attract mates, the males often perch on high branches and sing their hearts out.
2. Flying (NT$5.00): Although they are excellent flyers, fairy pittas spend most of their time on the ground. When they make short-distance dashes in the woods, their bright blue wing coverts and upper tail coverts, as well as the snowy white spots in their wings, shimmer. It is a dazzling sight.
3. Rearing the Young (NT$10.00): Fairy pittas like to build their nests on the grounds of steep slopes, in the forks of low shrubs or at the base of bamboo bushes in low-altitude broad-leaved forests where the tree crowns are dense. The males and females share the responsibility for hatching eggs and rearing the young.
4. Foraging (NT$10.00): Fairy pittas are shy birds. Their sharp senses help them to find food. Earthworms are the primary food source for baby birds. Their diverse diet also includes caterpillars, beetles, ants, centipedes, snails and cicadas.
Their colorful feathers are so attractive!!!
八色鳥屬雀形目八色鳥科，身著「黑、白、黃、紅、青、暗綠、茶褐、寶藍」八色羽衣，在鳥族之中十分醒目耀眼。根據學者研究調查發現，臺灣是目前已知全世界八色鳥的最大棲息與繁殖地，然而八色鳥在臺灣仍面臨棲息地消失的嚴重生存壓力。為加深國人重視生態保育觀念，特委請行政院農業委員會特有生物研究保育中心 鳥類研究員林瑞興先生規劃「保育鳥類郵票－八色鳥」1組4枚及小全張1張。茲將本組郵票圖案簡介如下：
1、高踞（面值5元）：八色鳥主要活動於森林底層，雄鳥為了求偶，經常停踞在領域範圍內高處突出樹枝上，大聲鳴唱。
2、飛行（面值5元）：八色鳥雖有傲人的飛行能力，但多在地面活動不常飛行，一旦展翅即在林間短距離快速直線飛行，閃爍在雙肩與尾上覆羽的琉璃藍色光澤，及雙翼中的雪白斑塊，非常亮眼奪目。
3、育雛（面值10元）：八色鳥喜將其鳥巢築於低海拔闊葉林中樹冠層鬱閉的陡坡地面上、低矮喬木樹幹分岔處或竹叢根部，雌雄八色鳥共同負擔孵卵及餵養雛鳥的工作。
4、覓食（面值10元）：八色鳥生性羞怯，靠著敏銳的知覺尋找獵物，蚯蚓是育雛主要的食物，其他如毛蟲、甲蟲、螞蟻、蜈蚣、蝸牛與蟬等都在八色鳥菜單之列，可見八色鳥覓食的多樣性。
References:
Chunghwa Post Co.
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