April 2007

Correos issues two new booklets of self-adhesive stamps within the series “flora and fauna” dedicated to the ‘violet’ and the ‘canary’, two very popular species of flower and bird in Spain.

"Violeta"

"Cubierta y 2ª de Cubierta"

‘Violets’ belong to a genus of herbaceous plants in the family Violaceae and magnoliopsida class. They have creeping stems, radical wavy-edged leaves with long, rough, heart-shaped petioles. Its little flowers consist of five petals, ranging from intense blue and light violet to white or yellow, which can flourish throughout the year when suitable temperature conditions are met. In fact, they can be found in all temperate regions from America, Europe and Asia. With more than 500 species known so far, violets are used as ornamental plants in gardens or flowerpots. The stamp depicts a blue violet with reddish shades.

"Canario"

"Cubierta y 2ª de Cubierta"

The Serinus canaria or ‘canary’ is a small songbird in the fringillidae family. The bird was named after its place of origin, the Canary Islands, although it was also native to Madeira. The ‘wild canary’, of a similar song as the goldfinch’s, is usually yellow-green, with brownish streaking on its back and a wide range of plumage colours. Most of them are bright yellow, white, pale cream or orange. The canary has been traditionally kept as a cage bird or in captivity and used from ancient times to the last century in coal mines as a warning system against toxic gas emissions. In spite of being widely known as cage bird, its habitat has traditionally been that of semi-open areas, and trees and shrubs their choice for nest building. The stamp depicts a yellow canary.