Green-tailed Trainbearer – Reichenbach Antique Hummingbird Engraving
  • Green-tailed Trainbearer – Reichenbach Antique Hummingbird Engraving
  • Green-tailed Trainbearer – Reichenbach Antique Hummingbird Engraving
  • Green-tailed Trainbearer – Reichenbach Antique Hummingbird Engraving
Green-tailed Trainbearer – Reichenbach Antique Hummingbird Engraving
Green-tailed Trainbearer (Lesbia bifurcata).  Original Hand-Colored Engraving by Ludwig Reichenbach, Antique Print Green-tailed Trainbearer (Lesbia bifurcata).  Original Hand-Colored Engraving by Ludwig Reichenbach, Antique Print Green-tailed Trainbearer (Lesbia bifurcata).  Original Hand-Colored Engraving by Ludwig Reichenbach, Antique Print

Green-tailed Trainbearer (Lesbia bifurcata). Original Hand-Colored Engraving by Ludwig Reichenbach, Antique Print

€395.00
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Original nineteenth-century hand-colored engraving depicting the Green-tailed Trainbearer (Lesbia bifurcata), one of Ludwig Reichenbach’s most elegant hummingbird compositions from Trochilinarum Enumeratio.

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  Authentic antique prints

Original engravings from the 17th–19th century.

Green-tailed Trainbearer: Elegance Suspended in Air

This original nineteenth-century hand-colored engraving depicts the Green-tailed Trainbearer (Lesbia bifurcata), one of the most graceful hummingbirds illustrated in Ludwig Reichenbach’s celebrated Trochilinarum Enumeratio. Published during the Victorian golden age of natural history, the composition transforms scientific observation into an image of remarkable elegance and movement.

The extraordinary elongated tail feathers create a striking visual rhythm, while emerald-green plumage and delicate yellow blossoms provide a refined chromatic balance. The result is a composition that appears almost weightless, capturing the illusion of suspended flight with remarkable sophistication.

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Visual Analysis

Among Reichenbach’s hummingbird engravings, this plate is distinguished by its exceptional sense of symmetry and movement. The two birds mirror one another across the page, while their elongated tails create elegant vertical lines that guide the eye through the composition.

The restrained palette of emerald greens, warm browns and soft yellow botanical elements gives the engraving an unusually sophisticated decorative character. Its minimalist composition and generous margins make it particularly suited to refined interiors, libraries, studies and curated collections of natural history art.

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About the Species

Lesbia bifurcata, today commonly known as the Green-tailed Trainbearer, is native to the Andean regions of South America. Its most distinctive feature is the remarkably elongated forked tail, which made the species a favourite subject among nineteenth-century naturalists and illustrators.

Reichenbach's depiction highlights precisely those characteristics that fascinated Victorian ornithologists: aerodynamic elegance, visual symmetry and the extraordinary ornamental beauty of hummingbird plumage. The engraving demonstrates how scientific illustration could simultaneously serve both taxonomy and art.

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Heritage Stories

This engraving belongs to Ludwig Reichenbach’s remarkable world of hummingbirds, where Victorian scientific curiosity meets extraordinary visual elegance. Explore the story behind Trochilinarum Enumeratio and discover why these original hummingbird engravings remain so compelling today.

Ludwig Reichenbach and the Art of Hummingbirds →

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Condition Report

Very Good to Excellent condition. Original nineteenth-century paper with strong hand-colouring, generous margins and a well-preserved impression. Visible plate mark consistent with period intaglio printing. Minor signs of age may be present, fully consistent with authenticity and historical character.

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Details

Species: Lesbia bifurcata
Common name: Green-tailed Trainbearer
Work: Trochilinarum Enumeratio
Author: Ludwig Reichenbach
Date: c. 1855–1860
Technique: Original hand-colored engraving
Plate: DCCXVI (716)
Reference number: 4624–25
Associated plant: Hibiscus ferox
Inscription: ad naturam (“drawn from life”)
Origin noted by Reichenbach: Peru
Sheet size: approx. 28.5 × 22.5 cm

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