Issuing Birds of a Feather

In the midst of winter, when leaves have fallen from the trees and snow covers the ground in many areas, the lively sights and sounds of resident birds can be a welcome treat. The U.S. Postal Service celebrates these beautiful creatures with Birds in Winter Forever stamps.
 
A First-Day-Of-Issue dedication ceremony for the stamps will be held today at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Quechee, VT.

The stamps feature four of winter’s winged beauties – the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), the blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) and the red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus). The stamp art features four striking designs that highlight these resident birds. The somber feeling of winter, evoked by the stark white backgrounds, is enlivened by the bold colors of the birds’ plumage in the simplified shapes of the digital rendering.

The Birds in Winter stamps are being issued as Forever stamps in booklets of 20. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price.