Tawny Owl (Strix Nebulosa) as Belarus Bird 2005

On March 31, 2005 Belarus Post issued the stamp “Tawny owl” from the series “A bird of the year”.The stamps are issued with the assistance of the organization “Protection of Belarus Birds”.

The Belarus public organization “Protection of Belarus Birds” declared the tawny owl a bird of the year 2005. It is listed in the Red Book of Belarus.The Tawny owl is rarely encountered in the European territory. In Belarus almost the whole population of the Tawny owl builds their aeries in Brest region. One can see this bird mostly in swamps and marshlands. The Tawny owl as stated and represented on the stamp is Strix nebulosa .

Strix nebulosa   is a very large owl, distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. They breed in North America from as far east as Quebec to the Pacific coast and Alaska, and from Finland and Estonia across northern Asia. They are permanent residents, but may move south and southeast when food is scarce. Strix nebulosa rely almost fully upon small rodents, with voles being their most important food source.

Their breeding habitat is the dense coniferous forests of the taiga, near open areas, such as meadows or bogs. Strix nebulosa do not build nests, so typically use nests previously used by a large bird, such as a raptor. They will also nest in broken-topped trees and cavities in large trees. Nesting may occur from March to May. Four eggs are the usual clutch size.

The call of the adult is a series of very deep, rhythmic whoos, which is usually given in correlation to their territories or in interactions with their offspring.

There are logos of the International organization of birds protection “Bird Life International” and of Belarus organization “Protection of Belarus Birds ”  on the stamps.

Special cancellation: a special cancellation on FDC have carried out at the Main Post Office of Minsk on the stamp issuing day.Special postmark and FDC designed by A. Mityanin.