白尾刀翅蜂鸟
Campylopterus ensipennis
Campylopterus ensipennis
Blue-throated Sabre-wing
- 中文名
- 白尾刀翅蜂鸟
- 学名
- Campylopterus ensipennis
- 合集
- 古尔德蜂鸟图谱
- 绘者
- John Gould（约翰·古尔德）
- 年代
- 1850
- 图版号
- Pl. 46, Vol. II
- 原书页码
- p.46
- 授权
- CC0 1.0 Universal (Public domain)
十观
- 略纵 1.29∶1
第一眼
凡画山水，意在笔先。
—— 唐·王维《山水论》
下笔之前，心里已经有了整幅画。看画时可以反过来推：画家先定了什么，后添了什么。这一幅略高于宽，落点在中央偏上那只鸟的头部。第二步凑近一寸：看线与色的交界，色有没有压住线，线有没有断。第三步，把视线放到最深的那一小块：整幅的用色秩序，都是从那里排开的。
名与实
学名 Campylopterus ensipennis：前一词是属，管它归在哪一类；后一词是种加词，管它在这一类里凭什么与众不同。双名制的好处是唯一：全世界叫这个名字的，只能是这一种。中文名“白尾刀翅蜂鸟”是后人据学名回译的通行叫法，与古书里的旧名未必对得上——名与物之间，总隔着一层翻译。
形与色
翼小而振频极高，能悬停、能倒飞；羽色非颜料所致，是羽枝结构折射的光，随角度而变。此幅未作色相归档，只能就形制论。看形制不必求全：记住喙形、翼式与栖姿，这一类的骨架就立住了。
构图与呼吸
画幅略高于宽，鸟身居中偏上，视线落在头部与喙。全幅只画一只，不作解剖附图——这类图更近于“观赏”，而非“鉴定”。空白不是没画完，是给眼睛留的落脚处：一张图若四边都塞满，花反而会闷。
一刀一色
十九世纪后半叶，石版与彩色石印渐成主流：颜色可以直接印出，不再依赖手工，线条反倒退居其次。图像的“准确”提高了，手性却淡了。还有一种证据在纸背：铜版压进纸里的那道痕、上色处微微凸起的颜料、再版时磨浅的线。扫描件里也能看出七分。想动笔临它的人记住一句：先铺大块的形与色，干后再收细部；石印的柔和层次来自薄涂与网点，水彩分两三遍淡铺即可逼近。
诗境
夫列子御风而行，泠然善也，旬有五日而后反。
—— 《庄子·逍遥游》
蜂鸟悬停于空，不落不飞，最近于“御风”。庄子说的是一种自由的姿态，蜂鸟把它做成了生理事实。诗以气行，画以形立；两种“看”叠在一起，才是看画的意思。
花语
阿兹特克以蜂鸟为战神与太阳的化身；欧洲维多利亚时代则以蜂鸟为收藏与装饰的极致，百万只羽毛被做成胸饰。中国旧籍无此鸟，故无象征——这空白本身，就是一部博物学交流史。花语是给人与人的关系用的；植物自己只关心有没有传粉的虫。这两套语言，可以并行不悖。
时与地
热带美洲几乎全年可见，花期即其季节。仅产美洲，自阿拉斯加南部至火地岛，以安第斯山最为繁盛。中土无蜂鸟，汉籍不载，晚清海外游记始见其名。图上所记的 1850 年是刊行之年，不是采到那只鸟的年份；真正的观察记录通常比出版早一两年。同一株植物，春秋两季像两种东西；同一座山，一百年前与今天叫两个名字。图把这两样都冻结在了纸上。
书与人
《古尔德蜂鸟图谱》只署了约翰·古尔德一个人的名字。从画稿到成图要过好几双手：转刻的人求准，上色的人求快——快与准之间，就是各幅之间深浅不一的来历。
带走一双眼睛
鉴赏力不是知识，是习惯：每次多看一眼，十年之后你看什么都和别人不一样。图谱的用意是“以备查考”，看久了却会忘记查考：1850 年的一个人，为一只鸟花了整整一天。
关于本图版
此图原刊于《古尔德蜂鸟图谱》（Gould's Hummingbirds），绘者为约翰·古尔德，成书于 1849—1887 年间。图中描绘的是白尾刀翅蜂鸟，学名 Campylopterus ensipennis，归入蜂鸟科（Trochilidae）。
全编共收录 421 幅图版，本图是其中一幅，原书将其列为 Pl. 46, Vol. II，见第 46 页，版式为纵幅。图为公有领域原件的修复扫描，构图与设色未经改动。
原书文字（英文 / 法文）
The Island of Tobago
The Campylopterus ensipennis is one of the most powerful species of the genus.
The boldness of its markings and the brightness of its colouring render it also one of the most beautiful. Although the female is not so brightly coloured as her mate, she assimilates more closely to him in her dress than do the females of the other brilliantly coloured species to theirs; she is, however, somewhat smaller, and has the blue of the throat less conspicuous, and separated from the sides of the face by a white stripe which passes from the base of the bill to beneath the eye.
The West Indian Islands appear to be the native habitat of this fine species: in all probability it also visits some parts of the South American continent, but this has not yet been positively ascertained.
The following extract from Mr. Kirk’s notes on the birds of the island of Tobago, published by Sir William Jardine, Bart., in the twentieth volume of the “ Annals and Magazine of Natural History,” above referred to, comprises all that is at present known respecting this fine bird:—
Feeds on ants, small flies and sweets, and is particularly fond of the blossoms of the wild and common plantain tree; but whether from the circumstance that these blossoms are generally attended by numerous herds of ants, which form the principal part of its food, or for the purpose of extracting sweets, or perhaps both, I am unable to determine; but in all I have dissected, I have found the stomach to contain ants and portions of small gnats. It is found principally in the woods, by rivulets and in low marshy places.
The male has the head, all the upper surface, wing-coverts, sides of the neck, under surface of the body and under tail-coverts deep shining golden-green, passing into grass-green on the upper tail-coverts, and particularly glittering on the nape and back of the neck; wings purplish-brown; chin and throat deep lazuline-blue; two centre tail-feathers greenish-bronze, the next on each side dark steel-blue; the three outer on each side steel-blue at the base, the apical two-thirds being pure white; bill black; feet dark brown.
The female differs in having the blue on the throat less extensive, and separated from the green of the sides of the face by a streak of greyish-white; the centre of the abdomen is also grey.
Like the males of other members of the genus, the very old male of this species has the shaft of the outer primaries very much dilated, which we may suppose adds considerably to its wing-powers.
The Plate represents the birds of the natural size. The plant is the Dipladenia Harrisii.
References
- Trochilus ensipennis, Swains. Zool. Ml., vol. ii. pl. 107.—Less. Les Troch., pp. 124, 127. pls. 46, 47.
- Campylopterus ensipennis, Less. Hist. Nat. des Ois. Mou., pp. xl, 124. pl. 35.—Ib. Traité d’Orn., p. 287.—Ib. Ind. Gen. et Syn. des Ois. du gen. Trochilus, p. vi.—Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., p. 71, Campylopterus, sp. 3.—Reich. Aufz. der Col., p. 11.— Bonap. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p. 250.—Jardine, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. xx. 1847, p. 372.
- Polytmus ensipennis, Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 107, Polytmus, sp. 2.
