Issue date: 26th May 2025
Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island are home to several bird species that are found nowhere else, and are the main breeding sites for many other species. This stamp series celebrates a selection of Tristan’s amazing birdlife.
1p Atlantic Petrel
The Atlantic Petrel, Pterodroma incerta, is a large gadfly petrel that only breeds at the Tristan islands.
5p Gough Finch
The Gough Finch, Rowettia goughensis, was once known as the Gough Bunting, but it is the largest member of the tanager-finch family from South America. As its name suggests, it is only found on Gough Island, where it is the only songbird.
10p Gough Moorhen
The Gough Moorhen, Gallinula comeri, is a flightless species, closely related to the Common Moorhen.
45p Great Shearwater
The Great Shearwater, Ardenna gravis, is a large shearwater that is virtually confined as a breeding species to the Tristan islands; only a few tens of pairs breed in the Falklands.
55p Northern Rockhopper Penguin
The Northern Rockhopper Penguin, Eudyptes moseleyi, is the largest of the three species of rockhopper penguins, and is characterised by its luxuriant head tassels, extensive dark margins to the under flipper, and deeper call. As its name suggests, it breeds at more northerly locations than the other two rockhoppers, with over 95% of the population at the Tristan islands
65p MacGillivray's Prion
The MacGillivray's Prion, Pachyptila macgillivrayi, is an enigmatic seabird known only from Gough Island and a tiny remnant population at St Paul Island in the central Indian Ocean.
95p Inaccessible Island Rail
The Inaccessible Island Rail, Laterallus rogersi, is the smallest flightless bird in the world.
£1 Starchy (Tristan Thrush)
The Tristan Thrush or Starchy, Turdus eremita, is one of the more charismatic birds at Tristan.
£1.50 Spectacled Petrel (Ringeye)
The Spectacled Petrel or Ringeye, Procellaria conspicillata, is a large petrel that only breeds on the plateau of Inaccessible Island in the Tristan archipelago.
£2.50 Tristan Albatross
The Tristan Albatross, Diomedea dabbenena, is one of five distinct forms of the Wandering Albatross, renowned as the bird with the longest wingspan.
£3 Wilkins' Finch
The Wilkins's Finch, Nesospiza wilkinsi, is confined to tiny Nightingale Island and is one of the naturally rarest birds in the world.
£5 Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross
The Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, Thalassarche chlororhynchos, only breeds at Tristan and Gough.