Cyanomyia quadricolor
Cyanomyia quadricolor
Red-billed Azure-crown
- 学名
- Cyanomyia quadricolor
- 合集
- 古尔德蜂鸟图谱
- 绘者
- John Gould（约翰·古尔德）
- 年代
- 1861
- 图版号
- Pl. 284, Vol. V
- 原书页码
- p.284
- 授权
- CC0 1.0 Universal (Public domain)
十观
- 纵幅 1.48∶1
第一眼
搜尽奇峰打草稿。
—— 清·石涛《苦瓜和尚画语录》
走遍山川，才有资格落笔。博物画的画家也一样：先在温室与山野里看够了活的花，纸上那一朵才不虚。这一幅是竖的：眼睛从下往上走，落点在中段那只鸟身上。先别急着看羽毛，让姿态先立起来。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 Cyanomyia quadricolor：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。名字是通行证，也是懒办法——记住两个词，就抓住了一整个物种。此幅尚无通行中文名，姑以学名相称；在没有本地名字的地方，学名就是它唯一的身份证。
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
画幅高而窄，鸟栖在枝的中段，上下留白多——十九世纪鸟谱的标准版式，留给它飞走的余地。全幅只画一只，不作解剖附图——这类图更近于“观赏”，而非“鉴定”。老图谱爱把主株摆在偏中线的位置，左右留得不一样多：这一点偏心，正是画面活起来的原因。
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。拿放大镜（或手机微距）看三处：喙缘、覆羽、题名。线若连续不断，是刻的；色若越过轮廓半毫米，是手涂的。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
穿花蛱蝶深深见，点水蜻蜓款款飞。
—— 唐·杜甫《曲江二首》
中土无蜂鸟，然“穿花”之态，杜甫早已写过：贴着花心走，是采蜜者的共同姿态。把这一句放回画面：画面就是诗句的落点——诗先写气，画后写形，两者在此处接上了。
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。在图谱里，它首先是一个物种，其次才是一种象征——这个次序值得记住。
时与地
温带种类的蜂鸟则随花北迁，一年往返数千公里。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 1861 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。那一代人对这类鸟的知识，多半来自标本与笼养。看这一类图，不妨把产地和季节都当“据说”来读。
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。二百年后，这只鸟的后代或许仍在某处活着；而纸上这一只，永远停在 1861 年的那个季节。
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 Cyanomyia quadricolor，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. 284, Vol. V，见第 284 页，版式为纵幅。图像由公有领域原件扫描修复而来，细节在放大视图中仍清晰可辨。
原书文字（英文 / 法文）
Northern Mexico
I believe I am right in stating that this species is exclusively confined to Mexico, as it is from that country alone that I have seen examples.
I make this remark because M. Lesson states, in the Supplement to his History of the Humming Birds, that the bird inhabits Brazil,—a statement it is but right to correct. Numerous specimens were from time to time transmitted to this country by M. Floresi d’Areais, before his untimely death in the pestilential region of Panama. The bright coral-red bill, contrasted with the beautiful azure-blue of the crown and the white under surface, renders this species remarkably different from the other members of its genus, all of which, though plain in their general colouring, possess many pleasing - features to recommend them to our notice: unfortunately, of their habits but little is known; we have, therefore, a wide field of inquiry before us, into which it is to be hoped future naturalists will enter, for it cannot be doubted that to each peculiar form some essential difference in their habits and manners will be found to appertain.
There is not a very marked difference in the colouring of the sexes of the present species, nor indeed of any member of the genus, except that the blue colouring of the head is much fainter in the female than in the male, and the outer feathers of her tail are tipped with dull greyish white. Neither of them exhibit any metallic brilliancy of plumage; their beauty, in fact, consists in the contrasted tints and agreeable tone of their delicate colouring.
Crown of the head fine blue, continued in a series of spots on the sides of the neck; all the upper surface and wings pale brown, with a slight tinge of green on the upper part of the back; tail-coverts pale bronzy brown, fringed with greyish white; tail pale bronzy brown; all the under surface pure white; bill coral-red, darker at the tip.
The figures are of the natural size.
References
- Trochilus quadricolor, Vieill. Eney. Méth. Orn., part ii. p. 573.
- Ornismya cyanocephala, Less. Supp. des Ois. Mou., p. 132. pl. 17.
- Polytmus quadricolor, Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 109, Polytmus, sp. 85.
- Cyanomyia quadricolor, Bonap. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p. 254.
- Uranomitra quadricolor, Reichenb. Aufz. der Colibris, p. 10.
