#181 Netherlands...Thanks Paul!

This miniature sheet was issued in 1994 depicting three birds:Barnacle Goose,Bluethroat and Garganey.

The Barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) belongs to the genus Branta of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey Anser species. Despite its superficial similarity to the Brent Goose, genetic analysis has shown it is an eastern derivative of the Cackling Goose lineage.

The Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It, and similar small European species, are often called chats.

It is a migratory insectivorous species breeding in wet birch wood or bushy swamp in Europe and Asia with a foothold in western Alaska. It nests in tussocks or low in dense bushes. It winters in north Africa and India.

The Bluethroat is similar in size to the European Robin at 13-14 cm. It is plain brown above except for the distinctive black tail with red side patches. It has a strong white supercilium. The male has a blue bib edged below with successive black, white and rust coloured borders. Some races, such as L. svecica svecica (Red-spotted Bluethroat) of northern Eurasia, have a red spot in the centre of the blue bib.

Others, such as L. svecica cyanecula (White-spotted Bluethroat) of southern and central Europe, have a white spot in the centre of the blue bib. L. svecica magna in Turkey has no central spot.
Females of all races usually have just a blackish crescent on an otherwise cream throat and breast.

The male has a loud, varied, and sometimes imitative song reminiscent of its relative, the Nightingale. Its call is a typical chat “chack” noise.

The Garganey (Anas querquedula) is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and western Asia, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa and Australasia in winter, where large flocks can occur. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 under its current scientific name.Like other small ducks such as the Common Teal, this species rises easily from the water with a fast twisting wader-like flight.