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Hummingbirds
Date Issued: 1992-06-15
Postage Value: 29 cents

Commemorative issue
Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds

Five varieties of hummingbirds are presented as stamp designs produced in booklet form. Hummingbirds often are referred to as the helicopters of the avian world. They have evolved a unique form of flight. While other birds can hover for a moment or two, the darting, start-stop, up -down, forward-backward flight of "hummers" belongs to them alone. Hummingbirds scull the air rather than stroke it, gaining constant lift from what is more of a forward-and-backward movement than the more usual up-and-down flapping of other birds. When hovering, their bodies assume a nearly vertical position. To power such an extraordinary set of wings, which never have a rest when the bird is in flight, hummingbirds have the largest pectoral muscles for their size of any animal alive. On a cloudy day, hummingbirds are inconspicuous. Given a ray of sunshine, their feathers spring to life in glinting, iridescent colors that have no match in nature.

Topics: Bird (304)  Flower (494)  

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