Mandarin duck...

The Riverside ...on a sunny afternoon.

Moorhen young one...

The young ones...

A goose with its young ones..near Caversham

Humboldt Penguin - Photos & Stamp.

The Humboldt Penguin also termed Peruvian Penguin is a South American penguin, that breeds in coastal Peru and Chile. 

They have a black head with a white border that runs from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, and joins at the throat. Juveniles have dark heads and no breast-band. 

A real treat to watch these lovely birds - they eat fish hence good at sinking. These birds don't fly!!

The colors of Humboldt Penguins are well chosen by nature to blend into their environment (the Ocean)- that is if there was a predator swimming above a Humboldt Penguin it would see its black back , that would blend with the deep ocean, thus  difficult to pick. If the Humboldt Penguin  was swimming above a predator it would see its white belly - making it look like a part of the sky or clouds .

The penguin is named after the cold water current it swims in, which is itself named after Alexander Von Humboldt, an explorer. Humboldt Penguins are medium-sized penguins, growing to 56–70 cm (22–28 in) long and a weight of 3.6-5.9 kg.

Humboldt Penguin @ London Zoo.

I finally found a stamp that shows the Humboldt Penguin quiet clear - a 1985 stamp from Peru.

Peru 1985

This penguin is  a cute bird to watch and specially when they are nesting ; I saw them picking up sticks and arrange their nest and they seemed busy as if they were arranging / re-arranging their furniture in their homes - so as to prepare for the arrival of new members.

Juvenile Penguin

Sunbird - Stamps & Photos.

A bright and sunny morning welcomed us at the London Zoo and entering it made me as joyful as my 2 year old daughter who wanted to see her favorite animals. 

The Blackburn Pavilion is a beauty and exhibits a host of tropical birds flying freely inside a restored Victorian bird house; full of tropical plants, pools and even an indoor waterfall surrounded by the sounds of bird song in the air making us nostalgic and some of us literally had Goosebumps.

The bird that caught my eye was this quick bird -the Sunbird , flying about and was difficult to photograph but after a while it did settle down and perched on a branch.

Splendid Sunbird - named because of its spectacular iridescent colors the splendid sunbird is known to perch conspicuously on top of bushes and trees.

It’s from: West and central tropical Africa

Eats : Nectar, insects

Habitat : Woods, grasslands

Features : Long, thin downward curving bill. Purple and blue head.

Trivia: The male appears to constantly change color in the sunlight because of their highly iridescent plumage.

Splendid Sunbird

Nigeria 1&1/2d stamp

Scarlet Chested Sunbird - named because of its spectacular scarlet chest.

It’s from: West and central tropical Africa

Eats : Nectar, insects

Habitat : Woods, grasslands

Features : Long, thin downward curving bill. Scarlet chest.

Scarlet Chested Sunbird

The Venda set of Sunbirds  1981 is a lovely collectible set.

25 cents Scarlet Sunbird from the Venda birds set 1981

Scarlet Chested Sunbird 2&1/2 cents -  a beautiful set from 1961.

Malawi 1D stamp from the  1968 birds set.