| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Date of Issue | April 5, 2014 |
| Year | 2014 |
| Quantity | 40,000,000 |
| Denomination |
First-Class Mail Forever
|
| Denomination Value | $0.49 |
| Perforation or Dimension | 0.98 x 1.56 in./24.90 x 39.62 mm |
| Series | Songbirds |
| Series Time Span | 2014 |
| Issue Location | Dallas, TX 75260 |
| Postal Administration | United States |
The Baltimore oriole was named for George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, a founder of the colony of Maryland, because the bird’s colors resemble those on Calvert’s coat of arms. Today, the oriole is Maryland’s state bird, as well as the namesake of Baltimore’s professional baseball team. A summer resident of the central and eastern United States, Baltimore orioles often nest in parks and backyards, where they are easily observed in tall, leafy trees.
On April 5, 2014, in Dallas Texas, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue Songbirds First-Class Mail® stamps (Forever® priced at 49 cents), in ten designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) booklet of 20 stamps. The stamps will go on sale nationwide April 5, 2014.
The U.S. Postal Service® celebrates ten melodic voices with the Songbirds stamps: the Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), the Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides), the Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana), the Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris), the Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula), the Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus), the Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea), the Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus), the American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) and the White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis).
Each colorful bird is shown perching on a fence post or branch embellished with vines, pinecones, leaves, or flowers. The artwork appears against a plain, white background.
Why do songbirds make such a glorious racket every morning? In a word, love. Males sing to attract females, and to warn rivals to keep out of their territory. Between 4,000 and 4,500 different types of songbirds can be found around the planet, accounting for nearly half of all bird species. Songbirds are identified by their highly developed vocal organs, although some, like the crow, have harsh voices, and others sing rarely, or not at all. All songbirds are classified as perching birds. With three toes that point forward and one that points backward, they can grip branches, grasses, or telephone wires with ease.
Illustrator Robert Giusti painted the portraits, based on photographs. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps.
Songbirds will be issued as Forever® stamps in booklets of 20. These Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce rate.