Malaysia 1988 The Protected Passerine Birds

Malaysia has a very rich bird fauna of which more than 500 species are protected by law. The Passerine or perching birds form about half the species. Most of them are birds of the forest and many are good singers.

The 4 species illustrated on this issue depict 4 families of Passerine Birds. They demonstrate the richness, variety, beauty and the complex ecology of our various wild life heritage. The first 20c stamp is Black-naped Monarch, 2nd 20c stamp is Scarlet-backed Flower-pecker. The third 50c and last 50c are Crimson Sunbird and Black-and-Red Broad-bill. 

The Black-naped Monarch is the smallest of the monarch flycatchers found in this country. This species is characterized by its lightly build body, slender legs, longish tail and broad flattened bill. Its principle habitat is lowland forest but it may also be found in well grown secondary woods. 

The Scarlet-backed Flower-pecker is a tiny bird, only 10cm in the length, found most commonly in scrub, secondary growth and gardens, even in town.

The Crimson Sunbird is a small bird with a fine, curved bill and protusible tongue rolled into a sucking tube, enabling it to feed on the nectar of flowers. It's body length not more than 13cm and mostly found in forest, secondary growth, garden, cultivated land and near the coast.

The blacked-and-Red Broad-bill is characterized  by its wide and deep bill and thick-set body. It is about 23cm long. This species can be found at edge of forest and nearby with a stream or river. They feed on small animals of various kinds, captured both on trees and from the ground.

Malaysia 2001 Ayam Katik (Malaysian Bantams)

Malaysian bantams are highly valued for their beauty and basically there are two locally bred varieties are the most popular which are Serama Batam and Kapan Bantam. Furthermore, the roosters have very high-pitched and shrill crows which are generally pleasing to the ear.

The left 30sen and the right RM1 stamps both are Serama Bantam. This bantam is the latest craze to local bantam enthusiasts; its popularity is due to its uplifted and over-sized breast, short legs and long tail, which is often held upright and it comes in variety of colors. 

The middle 50sen stamp is Kapan Bantam. It looks similar to the Serama Bantam, but is generally more robust, bigger and heavier built. It has large breast, generally held high. The legs are also short and it swaggers while walking with the wings usually drooped. It also comes in many variety of colors.

The above miniature sheet is an imperf-orate sheet, the beautiful rooster is Red Junglefowl. It is not a bantam but it is ancestor of all domestic breeds of poultry. It inhabits the forest edge, plantation, scrub and open grassland throughout Peninsular Malaysia. It has a long, slender body with bright orange-yellow hackles on the neck. The tail is long and black glossed green with a white patch at the base of tail. 

Malaysia 2000 Birds

This issue introduces Malaysia protected pheasants and partridges which are plump in shape and rather like chicken. Malaysia only can find 9 species of pheasants and 10 partridges over 49 and 141 species in the world. But all these species are protected under the Protection of Wildlife Act.

Malaysian pheasants are only found in rain forest. The right hand 20 sen bird stamp is known as Mountain Peacock pheasant which can be found in Peninsular Malaysia and the RM1 bird stamp is Bulwer's pheasant, mostly can be found in Sabah and Sarawak. For the 30 sen bird stamp is the male Crested Argus. It is one of Malaysia's most beautiful ground birds.

Most pheasants and partridges are forest dwellers, preferring to find food and build nests under bushes or fallen tree. They feed on insects, berries, seeds, etc solely on forest floors. The are not good fliers and do not migrate. They prefer to run or hid from danger.

During breeding seasons, the male will show as many ocelli (tail feather's eye) in order to attract the females. This will normally occurs after raining seasons.

Malaysia 1997 Highland Birds

Malaysian highland bird are generally colorful and relatively tame. These featured make them easy to find and watch, at fairly close range.

About 134 bird species are largely exclusively dependent on mountain forest such as at Mountain Kinabalu. This highland birds are important for the survival of the forest. Some helps to disperse seeds, and various sun-birds and spider-hunters help to pollinate flowers. Without such help, the plants could not continue to propagate successfully.

Of course, the conservation of the highland is vital for the survival of the birds too. This is called natural environment, it helps to prevent imbalance of the forest ecosystem.



1. 20c - Pygmy Blue Flycatcher (This species only can be found in forest above 1200m)
2. 30c - Silver-Eared Mesia (This species can be found in forest above 900m)
3. 50c  - Black-Sided Flowerpecker (This is species of Borneo, can be only found at mountain forest 1200m upward)
4. RM1 - Scarlet Sunbird (It is found in forest and mountain areas to above 1500m.)

First day cover with a bird cancellation postmark.

Malaysia 2009 Unique Bird

This issue was a collaborative effort between Pos Malaysia and Malaysian Nature Society to gain attention from all Malaysians to be aware and appreciative of our local birds and raise the concern of people the loss of habitat of these unique species.

Malaysia has over 742 species of birds, totaling about 7% of the world's population. Approximately 63 of these species are endemic to our country. The following 3 stamps of unique birds are Malaysian Peacock-Pheasant (30sen), Milky Stork (50sen), Malaysian Whistling Thrush (50sen).

The Malaysian Peacock Pheasant is listed as one of the endemic. Previously it is widespread in Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore and Sumatra, but today it is only confined to central Peninsular Malaysia.  This species has medium size body, up to 53cm long, brownish with blue-green ocelli on its wing, back and tail. The female is smaller and its color duller than the male. 

Milky Stork is a large wading bird of freshwater habitat, living in wetland and wet farmlands across southern Asia. It can reach 97cm and as a thick, yellowish bill and blackish flight feather. This species can be found in Cambodia, Peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Sumbawa, Sulawesi and Buton.

Malaysian Whistling Thrush is a rare and reclusive bird found in broad leaf evergreen forest. They prefer to appear in streams, hills and highlands. Their size is about 26cm, has a small yellowish ill, bright metalic blue and black wings and body.

Error Miniature Sheet whereby the Malaysia country name is not printed.

The miniature sheet with $5 face value is showing The Plain-pouched Hornbill. This species has a rather black body and a pouch without any visible marking, hence the name Plain-pouched. The female has a blue pouch while the male has a yellow pouch. It is about 70 to 100cm in size. The birds prefer humid evergreen, mixed deciduous forest and mainly in the lowland. It has a varied diet, mainly comprising of fruits but also invertebrates and small vertebrates.