BR-494254 Parrots

Parrots are found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoidea ("true" parrots), the Cacatuoidea (cockatoos), and the Strigopoidea (New Zealand parrots).  The greatest diversity of parrots is in South America and Australasia.

Characteristic features of parrots include a strong, curved bill, an upright stance, strong legs, and clawed feet. Many parrots are vividly coloured, and some are multi-coloured. Male and female parrots visually look the same.  The most important components of most parrots' diets are seeds, nuts, fruit, buds, and other plant material. A few species sometimes eat animals and carrion, while the lories and lorikeets are specialised for feeding on floral nectar and soft fruits. Almost all parrots nest in tree hollows (or nest boxes in captivity), and lay white eggs from which hatch helpless young.

This postcard of a parrot came from Leandro (Postcrossing, January 2019) of Umuarama, Brazil.

NL-4109683 Wind turbines and Tulip fields of the Netherlands

This postcard from Esther (Postcrossing, 2 July 2018) is entitled "Tulpenvelden"which means tulip fields". 

Tulips as everyone knows, are associated with the Netherlands and they are a well-known Dutch icon on the same level as Gouda cheese, wooden clogs (who wears them these days?), Heneiken beer and windmills.

Windmills mean wind power and the Dutch has a tradition of garnering power from the wind.  These days garnering power from the wind comes in the form of wind turbines in large wind farms.  I like the idea of gathering and using the wind and so I like wind turbines naturally (although windmills are so much more romantic.)

Wind turbines in the Netherlands
Wind power in the Netherlands reached an installed capacity of 3,431 MW by year end 2015, 427 MW of which were based offshore. The 2,174 turbines sited in the Netherlands by the end of 2015 provided the country with 5.6% of its electricity demand during the year, a figure that is growing but somewhat below the average of 11.4% that wind power provides across the whole of the EU’s electricity consumption. 2015 was a record year for new installations in the Netherlands with 586 MW added of which 180 MW were offshore.  Since 2015 there has been a trend towards the deployment and planning for large wind farms, both onshore and offshore, with a view to the approximate tripling wind power capacity from 2015 levels by 2023.

The Alpine Ibex

This beautiful postcard of the wild goat (Alpine Ibex) came from Brigitte (17 August 2017).

The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex), also known as the steinbock or bouquetin, is a species of wild goat that lives in the mountains of the European Alps. It is a sexually dimorphic species with larger males who carry larger, curved horns. The coat colour is typically brownish grey. Alpine ibex tend to live in steep, rough terrain above the snow line. They are also social, although adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate. Four distinct groups exist; adult male groups, female-offspring groups, groups of young individuals, and mixed sex groups.

During the breeding season, males fight for access to females using their long horns. 

The Alpine ibex is classified in the genus Capra (Latin for "goat") with at least seven other species of wild goat.

Compared with other members of its genus, the Alpine ibex has a short, broad head and a duller coat. It has brownish grey hair over most of the body, a pale abdomen and slightly darker markings on the chin and throat and in a stripe along the back. They moult twice a year, firstly in April or May, and then again in September, when they replace the short summer coat with thicker hair and a woolly undercoat.

Males commonly grow to a height of 90 to 101 centimetres (35 to 40 in) at the withers, with a body length of 149 to 171 centimetres (59 to 67 in) and weigh from 67 to 117 kilograms (148 to 258 lb). Females are noticeably smaller, with a shoulder height of 73 to 84 centimetres (29 to 33 in), a body length of 121 to 141 centimetres (48 to 56 in), and a weight of 17 to 32 kilograms (37 to 71 lb). Both male and female Alpine ibexes have large, backwards-curving, horns with numerous ridges along their length. At 69 to 98 centimetres (27 to 39 in), those of the males are substantially larger than those of females, which reach only 18 to 35 centimetres (7.1 to 13.8 in) in length.

Alpine ibexes are strictly herbivorous, with over half of their diet consisting of grasses, and the remainder being a mixture of moss, flowers, leaves, and twigs. If leaves and shoots are out of reach, they often stand on their rear legs to reach this food.

The Alpine ibex is a mountain icon. It is represented in many official emblems throughout the Alpine range, from France to Austria like the coat of arms of the Canton of Grisons in Switzerland or logos like Pro Natura. (Wikipedia)

SW EW-448 The Armadillo - an icon of Texas

The armadillo is a small to medium-sized mammal with a leathery armour shell. The word “armadillo” means "little armored one" in Spanish. The armadillo is an icon of Texas but it originated in South America.  In Texas, the specie of Armadillos is the nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus).  This is a medium-sized nocturnal solitary animal. In 1995, Texas designated the nine-banded armadillo as the official state small mammal.

This armour-like skin of the armadillo appears to be the main defence of many armadillos, although most escape predators by fleeing (often into thorny patches, from which their armour protects them) or digging to safety. Armadillos have short legs, but can move quite quickly and they have the ability to remain under water for as long as six minutes. The nine-banded armadillo tends to jump straight in the air when surprised.

This postcard came from maggie249 (2 February 2015) Swap-bot.

CA-494385 The North American Beaver (Castor canadensis)

The beaver is as iconic to Canada as the kangaroo is to Australia.  But unlike the kangaroo, the beaver actually contributed to the development of Canada. In the period around 1600, the beaver trade built Canada’s first cities. Trapping and trading with Europeans meant international business and demand for fur-topped beaver hats and beaver pelts was high. The word “beaver” defined the Hudson’s Bay Company.

The beaver (genus Castor) is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. The North American beaver  is Castor canadensis. Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges (homes). They are the second-largest rodent in the world. Their colonies create one or more dams to provide still, deep water to protect against predators, and to float food and building material. The North American beaver population was once more than 60 million, but as of 1988 was 6–12 million. This population decline is the result of extensive hunting for fur, for glands used as medicine and perfume, and because the beavers' harvesting of trees and flooding of waterways may interfere with other land uses.

This Canadian postcard shows a beaver hard at work getting the material necessary to build a dam.  This postcard came from Sarah (20 January 2015) Postcrossing.

US-3044969 Go Green

This card from the United States Postal Service (USPS) encourages the recipient to put it into a pot and cover with soil.  With water and sunlight the embedded seeds will sprout.  (I am not doing this of course as the postcard is going into my postcard album.)

This postcard came from Cardiffgal (11 November 2014) Postcrossing.

DE-333561 Tulips of The Netherlands

The tulip originally grew wild in the mountains in Kazakhstan, Persia, China and Turkey.  A Dutch scientist took the tulip bulb with him to the Netherlands. There the flower enjoyed the climate and the soil and the inhabitants immediately fell in love with the flower and soon designated it a national symbol.

Note: Though not official symbols of the Netherlands, tulips, windmills and wooden shoes are widely associated with the country.  Perhaps no one item symbolizes the Netherlands more succinctly than the tulip.

The Netherlands produce approximately nine billion flower bulbs annually. That incredible number of bulbs would allow for almost two flower bulbs for every person on the planet.

Admiration for the tulip knows no bounds. Seven million tulips bloom annually in Keukenhof, the world's largest flower park. And during the flower parade, dozens of floats adorned with tulips and other flowers parade through the tulip fields of the Bollenstreek (Bulb Region). Both flower events attract hundreds of thousands of flower lovers to the Netherlands every year.

This postcard came from Heike (29 July 2014) Postcrossing.

SW BA-077 Springtime in the Sutter Buttes

The Sutter Buttes are a small circular complex of eroded volcanic lava domes which rise as buttes above the flat plains of the Central Valley of California.The summit of South Butte, at 2122+ feet (647+ m), is the highest point in the Sutter Buttes. The Buttes are located just outside of Yuba City, California in the Sacramento Valley, the northern part of the Central Valley. The small range form a rough circle (sometimes called a "rosette")  only about 10 miles (16 km) from north to south and east to west.

For millennia the valley was an inland sea, then in recent thousands of years the land was covered in trees, grasses and wildflowers, the rivers teeming with fish and the skies dark with wildfowl. Native peoples such as the Maidu and the Wintun lived along the banks of what became known as the Sacramento and Feather Rivers, but retreated to the ramparts of the Buttes when winter storms flooded the valley.

The Maidus called the mountains Histum Yani, and the Wintuns knew them as Onolai-tol, both names roughly translating to "Middle Mountain." These buttes were very important spiritually to the two tribes in terms of their belief in creation, and at the end of life when they believed that their spirits would go to the Buttes on the way to the spirit world.

The Sutter Buttes are sometimes referred to as the world's smallest mountain range.

This postcard was sent by Sam Shea who lived north of the Sutter Buttes (received 7 May 2014 Swap-bot).

SW Y-039 The Texas Longhorn

The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to 84 in (2.1 m) tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and 36 to 80 in (0.91 to 2.03 m) tip to tip for bulls.   The postcard however claims that the horns, tip to tip can be 120 in (3.04m).  Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist.

Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse colouring. A longhorn can be any colour or mix of colours but dark red and white colour mixes are the most dominant. Due to their innate gentle disposition and intelligence, Texas Longhorns are increasingly being trained as riding steers.
Most breeds of cattle fall into either beef or dairy. The Texas Longhorn is principally a beef animal and is known for its lean beef, which is lower in fat, cholesterol and calories than most beef.

 Definitions:

Steers are castrated males

Tip-to-tip :  a straight line measurement , not the length of the horn.

I received this postcard from Sara Taylor (9 April 2014) Swat-bot.

 

Rambutans - a tropical fruit of Malaysia

The rambutan (taxonomic name: Nephelium lappaceum) is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae. The fruit produced by the tree is also known as rambutan.

It is popularly believed that rambutan is native to Indonesia and Malaysia. The fruit is a round to oval single seeded berry, 3–6 cm (rarely to 8 cm) tall and 3–4 cm broad, borne in a loose pendant cluster of 10–20 together.

The leathery skin is reddish (rarely orange or yellow), and covered with fleshy pliable spines, hence the name rambutan, derived from the Malay word ‘rambut’, which means hairs. The fruit flesh, which is actually the aril, is translucent, whitish or very pale pink, with a sweet, mildly acidic flavor very reminiscent of grapes.
 

Rambutans are a non-climacteric fruit—that is, they ripen only on the tree.



This interesting postcard came from Nor Asma (jarijoget) of Malaysia (24 March 2014) Swap-bot.  The postcard depicts rambutans being carried on the back of a motorcycle.

Cactus garden in Carl Johans Park, Norrköping, Sweden

Norrköping is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County. The city has a population of 87,247 inhabitants in 2010, out of a municipal total of 130,050, making it Sweden's tenth largest city and eighth largest municipality.

Norrköping is further north than Juneau, Alaska and further north than Canada’s Polar Bear Provincial Park.  Yet in Carl Johans Park there is a cactus garden.  According to an official website, there are 25,000 cacti in this garden.  Every summer for nearly 90 years, this cactus garden is available for viewing.  The secret to this is in three items (1) greenhouses (2) replanting and (3) lots of work.

Each year, the cactus garden has a different theme.  In 2011, it was a trade union. In 2012, the theme was the city’s symphony orchestra.  This interesting postcard sent by Henrik (13 March 2014) shows the cactus garden commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the Arts Museum.

Henrik pointed out the interesting orange tram outside.  I can only hope one day I will get a postcard of the trams of Norrköping - that will go nicely into my “Trains and Trams” section.

Carp postcard from Japan

I must  confess that this postcard has puzzled me to some extent.  I can see a carp at the bottom of the card and I understand that in Japan, the carp symbolises a lot of good things among them longevity, fortune, etc.   So what is this card about?  A general “Good Luck” card?  Maybe someone with more information (or someone from Japan) would be able to shed some light on this card.

TW-1365999 TW-1074980 TW-1268259, TW-1500549 & TW-15555326 阿里山森林鐵路 The Alishan Forest Railway

The Alishan Forest Railway ( 阿里山森林鐵路) is an 86 km network of 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow-gauge railways running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort of Alishan in Chiayi County (嘉義縣), Taiwan (台灣). The railway, originally constructed for logging, is itself a tourist attraction with unique Z-shaped switchbacks, 50 tunnels, and over 77 wooden bridges.

TW-1268259 from Lillian and TW-15555326 from Brad

TW-1365999 (23 September 2014) from Emily Feng



TW-1074980 Lima Shay #26

This is one of my all-time favourite postcards.  It shows the Alishan Forest Railway train passing cherry blossom trees.  I sat on this train (pulled by a diesel not a steam loco) when I was inTaiwan some years ago.

TW-1500549 (10 February 2015) from Nibb

The narrow-gauge lines were originally constructed by the Japanese Colonial Government in 1912 to facilitate the logging of cypress and Taiwania wood, however today the line caters mostly to tourists. Passenger carriages were first added to the trains in 1918. The first motive power was a Shay locomotive purchased second hand from the Kiso Forest Railway in Japan. Eventually the railway acquired 20 Shay locomotives.

 
Eventually, diesel railcars supplemented the steam engines on the passenger services. In the 1980s, 10 Hitachi-built diesel-hydraulic locomotives were delivered and replaced the railcars and remaining steam engines.

The railway system was closed due to damage from rains associated with 2009 Typhoon Morakot.  After 4 years of restoration, it was reported that the line was now partially operational (Jan 2014).  By 2015, the Alishan Forest Railway would be fully re-opened.
 

The Black Swan - an icon of Western Australia

I like this postcard because the Black Swan is an icon of Western Australia.  The Black Swan is featured on the flag, and is both the state and bird emblem, of Western Australia. It also appears in the Coat of Arms and other iconography of the state's institutions.

The Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic conditions. Black Swans are large birds with mostly black plumage and red bills. They are monogamous breeders that share incubation duties and cygnet rearing between the sexes. Black Swans can be found singly, or in loose companies numbering into the hundreds or even thousands.

Birds, birds, birds

Birds, birds, birds
I do not indicate on my Postcrossing profile whether I like or dislike postcards of birds.  I actually do not mind them as they are attractive in their natural habitat.  When I get postcards with birds on them, I take the trouble to find out a little bit more about them.  To date, I have received 2 postcards - one from the USA and the other from the Netherlands.
 The White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) is a small songbird of the nuthatch family which breeds in old-growth woodland across much of temperate North America. It is a stocky bird, with a large head, short tail, powerful bill and strong feet. The upperparts are pale blue-gray, and the face and underparts are white. It has a black cap and a chestnut lower belly.

Like other nuthatches, the White-breasted Nuthatch forages for insects on trunks and branches, and is able to move head-first down trees. Seeds form a substantial part of its winter diet, as do acorns and hickory nuts that were stored by the bird in the fall. The nest is in a hole in a tree, and the breeding pair may smear insects around the entrance as a deterrent to squirrels. Adults and young may be killed by hawks, owls and snakes, and forest clearance may lead to local habitat loss, but this is a common species with no major conservation concerns over most of its range.
 
Kustvogels  In Dutch, this word means “Shore birds” and this postcard shows 28 birds that grace Dutch shores.

Is this an elk or a moose?

The animal bearing the scientific name Alces Alces is the “elk” in British English but is the “moose” in American English.  The elk’s distinguishing feature is the palmate antlers of the males; othe members of the deer family have antlers with a dedritic (’tiwg-like’) configuration.  The elk can be said to be an icon of Sweden.
 
This postcard came from Henrik Lundgren of Götenberg, Sweden in Nov 2013.