The theme of postage stamps with the EUROPA logo, issued by all members of PostEuropa in 2019, is 'National birds'. Hrvatska pošta (Croatian Post) Mostar presents two birds on its stamps - a Great tit and a Eurasian blue tit.
The Great tit(Parus major) is one of the most beloved songbirds. It is about 14 cm long, has a black glossy crown and white cheeks, and is easily recognizable by the long black stripe on the underside of the body. In the Eurasian blue tit (Paruscoreuleus), which is smaller, that stripe is yellow. The Eurasian blue tit has a glossy blue crown encircled with white, and blue wings and tail.
The tits are mainly found in gardens and groves. They are not good fliers due to their short wings, which makes them easy prey for predatory birds. Constantly chirping, they skillfully move along branches, pecking at the tree bark and looking for food. Both the Great tit and Eurasian blue tit build their nests in nature mostly in the abandoned woodpeckers' nest holes that they cover with moss and animal hairs. They lay 5-12 eggs, and fairly soon upon hatching, the young chicks leave the nest.
The specificity of this edition of EUROPA 2019 is a blend of philately and modern technology. The CeeApp application makes it possible to scan the stamps and hear the birds singing, and the click on the link to order stamps for your collection. (Željka Šaravanja)
