French Antarctic Territory TAAF - “ BIRDS ~ MAC GILLIVRAY PRION.”

MNH ~ Miniature Sheet !

This sea bird appears on a block, endemic species of the islands Amsterdam and St. Paul, the prion of MacGillivray (Pachyptila salvini macgillivrayi).

Threatened with extinction on Amsterdam Island, it has been the subject of a safeguard policy since 1997 in Saint-Paul thanks to a rat hunt, one of the harmful species introduced by European exploration.

Its classification within known species is still under debate since its description in 1777 by Georg Forster during a trip by James Cook and the collection in 1853 of the type specimen by John MacGillivray, son of ornithologist William MacGillivray.

Date of Issue: 02 – 01 – 2018.

(FD18)