Artistic photography: Birds eyes - Great Crested Grebe - Liechtenstein 2018 - 130 Rappen

Photographer Sven Beham presents the eyes of indigenous birds from an artistic perspective. Three of these birds eyes adorn the new special stamps typographically designed by Hans Peter Gassner. Seen as a pest by fishers, the “Grey Heron” (face value: CHF 1.00) with its yellow eyes was widely hunted from the middle of the 19th century. By the 1920s, the once large population of the Grey Heron had been decimated to such an extent that the bird was then placed on the list of protected species. Since then, the numbers of this bird have slowly but gradually increased. The “Great Crested Grebe” (face value: CHF 1.30) lives on lakes, reservoirs and slow-flowing rivers. It has dazzling red eyes, although its ornate head plumes with black tips and reddish brown cheek tufts are also striking. The courtship dance of these birds is fascinating to watch: Whilst shaking and bending down their heads during their dance, the space in-between the necks and beaks of the male and female takes on the shape of a heart. The “Cormorant” (face value: CHF 1.50) is another indigenous breeding bird. With a size of 80 to 100 centimetres, the blue-eyed bird which has dark feathers with a metallic gloss cuts an impressive figure. Cormorants feed almost exclusively on fish and often dive for food together.