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1972 5¢ (Bermuda): An Eastern Bluebird stamp was issued in Bermuda as part of a Wildlife series. The Eastern Bluebird is found in Bermuda. Catalog no. 138 062 000? |
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198220¢(U.S): On April 14, 1982 the U.S. Postal Service issued a State Birds and Flowers “Greetings from America” 20 cent stamp series for all 50 states, with the bluebirds painted by Arthur Singer depicted on stamps for Idaho, Missouri, Nevada and New York. The sheet says 1981. |
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1982 20¢ (U.S.): In 1931, the Mountain Bluebird was adopted as the State bird for Idaho by the legislature. It was selected through a campaign held in 1929. Idaho’s women’s clubs supported the tanager, but more than half of school children favored the Mountain Bluebird. Perched on Syringa. |
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1982 20¢ (U.S.): In 1927, Missouri became the first state to select a bluebird (the Eastern Bluebird) as its State bird. Perched on the State flower, Red Hawthorn. |
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1982 20¢ (U.S): The Nevada State legislature named the Mountain Bluebird as the official State bird in 1967. The bird is perched on the State flower, the sagebrush. |
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1982 20¢(U.S): The Eastern Bluebird was designated the State bird of NY in 1970. One delegate objected, stating “I think this is a bit premature. After all, who has ever seen a bluebird, except perhaps on the cover of a greeting card?” It is interesting to note that NY was also the first U.S. location where house sparrows were released. Perched on the State Flower, a rose. |
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1985 $1.50 (Bermuda): The Eastern Bluebird was featured as part of an Audubon Series issued to commemorate the bicentennial of the Birth of J.J. Audubon. |
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1990 25¢(U.S.): The Mountain Bluebird appears again on an1890-1990 Idaho Centennial stamp. |
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1991 3¢(U.S.): The Postal Service issued a 3 cent bluebird stamp as part of a “Feathered Friends” group. It was designed by Michael Matherly of Cambridge City, IN. 200 million were printed. The 1991 bluebird stamp and the 1¢ American Kestrel stamp were the first multicolor denominated stamps to be printed entirely by offset presses. It is distinguished from the 1996 stamp by the denomination of “03.” Catalog no. 1991.06.22 |
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1996 3¢ (U.S.): The 1991 stamp was reissued in 1996, but with the denomination as “3¢”. The coloration appears to be different from the 1996 version. The bird is perched on a Flowering Crabapple branch. Issued in a pane of 100 on April 3, 1996. Catalog no. 1996.4.13 |
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1997 45¢ (Canada): A Mountain Bluebird painted by Pierre Leduc appeared on one of the 1997 Birds of Canada 45 cent stamps. |
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2005 70¢(Bermuda): A photograph of a Mountain Bluebird is on this Habitats series (Upland Forest.) |
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2006 39¢(U.S.): According to the U.S. Postal Service, this colorful Love stamp, called “True Blue” depicts two birds perched on a branch sharing a devoted gaze. The space between them forms a heart. The design is by illustrator Craig Frazier. It’s not clear whether the birds are supposed to be stylized bluebirds. If so, they would both be female, as only adult females have a white eye ring. The denominated version was issued in March 2006. |
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2014 49¢(U.S.): Songbird series designed by Derry Noyes and featuring illustrations by Robert Giusti. Accurate color and shape (Male Mountain Bluebird.) The stamp booklets of 10 featured the western meadowlark, the mountain bluebird, the western tanager, the painted bunting, the Baltimore oriole, the evening grosbeak, the scarlet tanager, the rose-breasted grosbeak, the American goldfinch, and the white-throated sparrow. Released April 5, 2014.“Songbirds have been singing and delighting humans for thousands of years, so it’s only fitting that today they receive their own postage stamps,” said U.S. Postal Service Southern Area Vice President Jo Ann Feindt, who dedicated the stamps. The Postal Service noted “Henry David Thoreau wrote, “The bluebird carries the sky on his back.” But of the three species of bluebirds — eastern, western and mountain — only the male mountain bluebird is almost completely covered with brilliant, sky-blue feathers. Symbolizing happiness, this bluebird is not elusive, being fairly common in western states. Many people give the three species of bluebirds a helping hand by building nest boxes for them, or creating a route of several boxes known as a “bluebird trail.” |
Note that the colors in scans are variable.
The Western Bluebird has never been featured on a stamp that I know of, although at several points it was submitted to the Stamp Advisory Committee for consideration – by the Audubon Society of Corvallis OR in 1996, and another effort spearheaded by NABS in Spring 2001 (See Sialia, Spring 2001, Vol.23, No.2)
The first U.S. bird stamp came out in 1911. U.S. Postal Service stamps are copyrighted, but use for educational purposes is allowed. © United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
Other countries (e.g., Mongolia, London, Liberia) where bluebirds do not exist have issued stamps, perhaps for collectors, but those are not shown here. Decorative stamps (e.g., issued by The National Wildlife Federation) are also not included. If you know of any I’ve missed, please contact me.
References:
I wondered how bluebirds could possibly survive as a species without human help.
– Andre Dion, The Return of the Bluebird, 1981
