JACKSON, Wyo. — Calling all philatelists! (That’s Latin for “stamp collectors.”)
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has shared the designs for two new Forever stamps that feature key species of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: the American bison and the bald eagle.
“The new design celebrates this steadfast animal, brought back from the brink of extinction thanks to the incredible efforts of Native Americans and conservationists,” the USPS description of the new bison design reads. The stamp combines a photo of a bison grazing in Yellowstone National Park (photographed by Tom Murphy) with “artwork recalling a 1923 stamp issued when the species was rebounding from near extinction,” per the service.
The eagle stamps feature artwork by renowned ornithologist and illustrator David Allen Sibley, marking his first stamp design for the service. Five designs depict the eagles in different life stages, from hatchlings to adults.
The raptor is already a major part of the Postal Service’s visual identity: A bald eagle appears in its logo, and has featured prominently in stamp designs over the centuries.
“Two of the earliest stamps with an illustration of a bald eagle were released in 1869,” the USPS website reads. “Since then, bald eagles have appeared multiple times on stamps at many different rates as well as on stamped envelopes and stamped cards with designs as varied as an art deco illustration and a photograph of a carving from a wall plaque.”
According to the USPS, the five designs feature:
- An adult bald eagle and two hatchlings with predominantly white downy coats. The parent is dropping food into the mouth of the hatchling on the right.
- Two four-week-old eaglets sitting upright and looking into the distance, their downy coats now a grayish-white.
- A one-year-old juvenile, noticeably more adult-like in appearance, facing right. Much of the down is gone, and almost all the feathers are grayish-brown in color.
- A two-year-old bald eagle’s head, turned to the left and now mostly white. The chest and wing feathers are a mottled grayish-white, and the formerly grayish-black beak has changed to a brighter yellowish-gray color.
- An adult with characteristic markings: white head and neck, uniform grayish-brown feathers, and a bright yellow beak.
“While the bald eagle is known to virtually all Americans as our national bird, few people know much about them,” Sibley said in a statement. “Showing the series of life stages in these stamps is a simple and visual way to emphasize that the familiar adult eagle has already lived for at least four years — through a series of transitional plumages, finding food, migrating, and surviving all of life’s challenges. I hope these stamps spark curiosity and a greater appreciation for the lives of eagles.”
Eagle designs will become available on May 14, followed by the bison design on May 25.
