Scott No: 1805-1810
Serial number: T79, T79m
Values in set: 5,1
Date of issue: September 10, 1982
Denomination: 114 fen, 200 fen
Designer: Zou Jianjun
Size of stamps: 30*40mm
Perforation: 11.5*11
Sheet composition: 50 (10*5)
Size of S/S: 136*80mm
Stamp of S/S: 60*40mm
Perforation of S/S: 11.5*11
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T79 "Beneficial Birds" special stamps were issued on September 10, 1982, with a souvenir sheet issued simultaneously. The set consists of 5 stamps, printed by photogravure, designed by Li Yinqing, with original paintings by Tian Shiguang, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size 30 mm × 40 mm, perforation gauge 11.5 × 11, 50 stamps per sheet.

Theme of the Set

Beneficial birds prey on agricultural and forestry pests and are important creatures that maintain ecological balance. In conjunction with publicity for loving and protecting birds, this set selects five birds common in China that are beneficial to agriculture and forestry, displaying the forms and habits of different beneficial birds, popularizing ornithological knowledge, and advocating that the public cherish birds, protect wildlife, and safeguard natural ecology.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Hoopoe

In the image a hoopoe stands among rocks, flowers, and grasses, its iconic fan-shaped crest spread out, with an elegant posture. Hoopoes mostly move about in fields and open country, preying on underground pests such as mole crickets and scarab beetles, and are beneficial birds of farmland.

House Swallow

With weeping willows as the background, two house swallows flit among the willow branches. House swallows prey in large numbers on mosquitoes, flies, and flying insects and live alongside humans; they are a household-known summer migratory bird.

Black-Naped Oriole

The oriole perches on a branch, with bright golden-yellow plumage and a melodious, warbling song. It preys on various agricultural and forestry pests in the woods and is active in broad-leaved forests—a highly ornamental beneficial forest bird.

Great Tit

Two great tits stop on flowering branches to forage, small and nimble in form. Great tits prey year-round in forest areas on aphids, insect eggs, and lepidopteran larvae, and are important forest-protecting beneficial birds.

Spotted Woodpecker

The woodpecker clings tightly to the tree trunk, its sharp beak chiseling open the bark to catch wood-boring pests hidden inside the trunk. It is called the "forest doctor" and is the key stamp of the entire set.

Souvenir Sheet: Large Cuckoo

The souvenir sheet measures 136 mm × 80 mm, with an inner stamp image of 60 mm × 40 mm. The background is ancient ginkgo branches and leaves, with cuckoos, minivets, thrushes, and other beneficial birds gathered on the branches. The Latin scientific names of the corresponding birds are marked on the sheet, balancing artistry and scientific accuracy and implying the coexistence of a hundred birds and the harmony of all things.

Artistic Design Features

The set adopts the narrow vertical composition of traditional fine-brush flower-and-bird painting, with delicate and neat brushwork, and vivid, realistic depiction of the birds' plumage, expressions, and the flower-and-grass backgrounds. The five stamps progress from single birds to pairs to foraging in the woods, successively presenting the living states of beneficial birds; the souvenir sheet gathers multiple bird species, with a broad layout. This set was voted the Best Designed Stamp of the year, and the souvenir sheet was voted the Best Printed Stamp. It is a classic work among JT bird-themed stamps.