The osprey is a large diurnal bird of prey of the Pandionidae family. The species is spread all over the world except for Antarctica and some oceanic islands. The ospreys live near large clear bodies of water plenty of fish. Their food is primarily fish which they hunt on flying high above water. At present the osprey population decreases, and the birds are included in the IUCN Red List. Russia has an agreement with Korea, India and Japan on migrating ospreys and protection measures.
The sparrowhawk is a small falcon in the genius Accipiter. The species is spread from West Europe and North Africa to the Far East and Himalayas. The sparrowhawk can be found on the most part of Russia’s territory, except for unforested deserts, steppes and tundras. They mainly hunt on small birds. Because of pesticide use in the middle of the 20th century the sparrowhawk count reached a historical minimum at some point, however its population has risen ever since.
An illustrated cover has been prepared for the release with two postage stamps issued by the Russian Federation and two postage stamps by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and an FDC with cancellation (Moscow) inside.
Design: О. Shushlebina.
Face value: 15 RUB, 18 RUB.
Size of stamps: 42×30 mm, size of sheet: 98×116 mm.
Form of issue: 2stamps, a sheet with illustrated margins of 6 (2х3) stamps.
Circulation: 150 thousand stamps of each value (50 thousand sheets).
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