Estonia

A cover from Estonia - the FDC shows a pigeon with a beautiful matching cancellation too ! And the outer envelope has two stamps - the postal horn definitive , and the Estonia - Romania joint issue stamp on forest trees. This stamp - one of the two stamps - shows a Rowan shrub . The Rowan trees are found in the temperate regions of the Northern hemisphere and the berries are rich in organic minerals . 

Another cover - a registered post from Estonia - with the entire set of the birds stamps on it and the postal horn definitive and also the flag of Estonia stamp ! 

The Estonia flag is a tricolour - sinimustvalge - literally meaning “ blue-black-white” . The blue denotes the sky , the black for the soil and centuries of worry , and white for hard work and commitment! It’s a 1.40€ stamp . 

 The capercaillie is a national symbol of Estonia . It is the first bird to arrive here after the ice age and has stayed in Estonia since then. It’s the Estonian bird of the year 2018. 

 The turtle dove is the smallest European dove. Its head is greyish, its throat pink, the wings orange with black spots, the lower part of the abdomen white. The vital feature is a black and white striped spot on the neck. The places where it usually lives are sparse broadleaved forests. The turtle dove's utterance is a low and monotonous gurgling that sounds like the purring of a cat. The ruff turtle dove is the size of the thrush, with a slender body and long tail. The main tone of its plumage is creamy beige with one black spot on the neck. The ruff turtle dove lives in human settlements or close to them. Its song is a quiet "guguu-kuk" which somewhat sounds like the cuckoo. It’s the Estonian bird of the year 2017

The common grooming bird of Estonia, The Great Tit bird is known to everyone by its black strip as well as the black head and a big white blot on the cheeks. It’s the Estonian bird of the year 2016. 

The Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix) is a small bird of the pheasant family who mainly lives in farmland – in fields as well in pasturelands. It passes the winter in groups, often in the vicinity of human settlements. It’s the 2013 bird of the year ! 

Beautiful covers - showing the different birds of Estonia ! Maybe I should collect the entire set from 2002. 

Why is Estonia called Eesti ? It’s the phonetic pronounciatiin of Estonia in Estonian language . The country is one of the fastest growing economies of EU and has a high Human Development Index as per UN ranking . The country gained independence after 1918 and then was occupied by Soviets during WW-2 . It gained independence from USSR after the Singing revolution in 1991. Quite interesting ?!