Philatelist and numismatist, Sushilkumar Agarwal, celebrates the National Bird Day (January 5) with his tribute to the endangered bird species — parrots. His latest book, Endangered Parrots of the World — On Stamps, Coins and Banknotes, talks about how the parrot species exists across the world, its varied species and its use on stamps and currency in those countries, including India.
He points out that India has more than 11 parrot species out of which one is critically endangered, one endangered and one vulnerable. Having said that, we have 19 stamps featuring parrots and most of them have been released in this century. Strangely enough, we do not have any coins or notes that feature any variety of parrots.
Sushilkumar’s study of parrots has been endorsed by Director of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Kishor Rithe, and India representative of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, Yash Veer Bhatnagar. Bhatnagar says that the book is a ‘creative and exceptional approach to raising awareness about parrot conservation taking cues from IUCN Red List of threatened and endangered parrots.’ (sic)
Rithe talks about varied agencies in India that are working towards conservation of parrots and other bird species in his foreword. He goes on to say that, ‘the book, though produced out of hobbies like philately and numismatics, will certainly help these agencies by providing more information on various parrot species.’ (sic)
Pic: Endangered Parrots Of The World
It is interesting to note that while 91 countries have stamps featuring parrot species, only 13 have them on coins and 11 have them on their banknotes. Indonesia, Bahamas, Fiji, Seychelles, New Zealand are the countries which have stamps, coins and banknotes with parrots on them.
This book, as Bhatnagar says, is an effort that will be appreciated by bird lovers, philatelists, numismatists and conservationists alike.
