# 5799d - 2023 First-Class Forever Stamp - Endangered Species: Thick-billed Parrot

U.S. #5799d
2023 Thick-billed Parrot – Endangered Species

• Part of the Endangered Species set celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act
• Design pictures a photograph by Joel Sartore’s famous “Photo Ark” project 

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Endangered Species
Value:  63¢, First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue:  May 19, 2023
First Day City:  Wall, South Dakota
Quantity Issued:  30,000,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Offset, Flexographic
Format:  Panes of 20
Tagging:  Phosphor tagged paper

Why the stamp was issued:  To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act and the endangered thick-billed parrot.

About the stamp design:  Like the others in the set, the photograph on the stamp is from Joel Sartore’s famous “Photo Ark” project.  They are among over 13,000 the National Geographic photographer has taken in his quest to shoot photos of as many animal species as possible.

Special design details:  Stamp includes “Endangered” and the common name of the species.

First Day City:  First Day of Issue Ceremony was in Wall, South Dakota, at the National Grasslands Visitor Center.  The center encourages visitors to see the 20 National Grasslands and Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.  These habitats are home to the black-footed ferret, one of the endangered species pictured in the set of stamps.

About the Endangered Species set:  The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28.  The legislation “protect[s] species and the ecosystems upon which they depend,” with a goal “to halt and reverse the trend toward species extinction, whatever the cost.”  The ESA is jointly administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service.

In 2023, the US Postal Service celebrated the 50^th anniversary of the ESA with a set of 20 Forever stamps.  The stamps were issued on Endangered Species Day, which lands on the third Friday in May.  Each design pictures a different endangered species, representing only a small handful of the over 1,300 plants and animals protected under the ESA as of 2023.  The images used for the stamps were part of Joel Sartore’s “Photo Ark.”  Partnering with National Geographic, he set out to capture 20,000 species living in zoos and wildlife sanctuaries around the world.  Together, they are determined to intimately picture each species in order to educate and bring awareness to their preservation.  Sartore calls his work as a photographer a “mission to document endangered species and landscapes in order to show a world worth saving.”

Thanks to the ESA, many plant and animal species that were once endangered have made a comeback.  With the continued effort of conservationists, volunteers, and increased awareness, even more species can make their way back from the brink of extinction one day.

History the stamp represents:  The thick-billed parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha) is a medium-sized parrot native to Mexico.  Its historic range included the southwestern United States.  Some early accounts say they were once found in Arizona, New Mexico, west Texas, and even Utah.  They were driven from much of their native range by heavy logging and development.  The last confirmed sightings of thick-billed parrots in the US were in 1935 and 1938 in Arizona.  It is classified as an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Thick-billed parrots live in temperate conifer forests at elevations of 4,000 to 12,000 feet.  Today, they are mostly found in the Sierra Madre Occidental in Chihuahua and Durango, Mexico.  Thick-billed parrots are identifiable by their bright green feathers, large black beak, and red feathers on the front of their head, shoulders, and upper legs.

While some endangered species can be bred in captivity and released into the wild, this practice is tricky with thick-billed parrots.  Reproduction in captivity is difficult and, even when successful, their native wild habitats have been decreasing in size for decades.  However, efforts have improved over time, and there is still hope that these birds may one day be found throughout their historic ranges again.