Joint Issue Croatia – Kyrgyzstan -Woodpeckers 2021.
About Croatia – Kyrgyzstan Joint Issue – Protected Bird Species
Motifs: the middle-spotted woodpecker (Dendrocoptes medius), the white-winged woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucopterus). The stamps were issued in a common 8-stamp sheetlet and Croatian Post has also issued a First Day Cover (FDC).
Ten species of woodpeckers (Piciformes, Aves) live in Croatia. These are all European species of woodpeckers. Only one species – the Eurasian wryneck, differs significantly from the other nine species: in appearance, nesting method, migratory habits, etc. The other nine species with their appearance, life habits and anatomy form a fairly uniform group of birds.
Middle-spotted woodpecker (Dendrocoptes medius)
The middle-spotted woodpecker is widespread in Europe and in the westernmost parts of Asia. In this area, woodpeckers inhabit almost exclusively the deciduous forests of warm continental areas, and its distribution is associated with the presence of oak or other deciduous trees with rough bark. It is extremely dependent on old forest stands that are gradually disappearing. It is similar to the Great Spotted Woodpecker, but slightly (10%) smaller.
White-winged woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucopterus)
The white-winged woodpecker is a relatively little-known species of Central Asian woodpecker. It extends from the western shores of the Aral Sea to the east along northern Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan to western China, south to the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. It is one of the relatively numerous species of woodpeckers, predominantly black and white. It is closely related to the widespread great spotted woodpecker, which is the most common woodpecker in Croatia and Europe and to which it physically resembles. It comes into contact with the great spotted woodpecker only on the eastern edge of the distribution where hybridization of these two species occasionally occurs. Characteristic of the white-winged woodpecker is the large white winged surface by which it is most easily distinguished from related species. The white-winged woodpecker is a resident forest bird, like most other woodpeckers, so it mostly lives in the same habitat, where it guards and defends its own territory from other individuals. It marks the territory by the characteristic drumming – rapidly pecking on a tree trunk that can be heard far away.
Two stamps of 3.30 HRK were issued on 22 Sep 2021
Stamp Digest 