試釋《禮記?月令篇》的「鷹化為鳩」

摘 要 在古希臘亞里斯多德的早期理論中，就出現了有關紅尾鴝在冬天會轉變為歐 亞鴝的說法，中國古籍《禮記?月令篇》也記載：「仲春之月，鷹化為鳩。」可見 典籍記載著古代有關鳥類身形會變化的現象。本文即以現代鳥類學的觀點來詮釋 《禮記?月令篇》有關禽鳥變化的種種說法，結果作者發現這種「鷹化為鳩」的 現象，其實是古人觀察鳥類遷徙時所記載的拙樸看法。 關鍵
Abstract In an early theory of Aristotle, redstarts can turn into robins in the winter. Book of Rites also mentioned the transformation of birds. For example, the eagle turns into a cuckoo in the spring and transforms back to what it was in autumn. To provide a modern point of view for these descriptions, the author investigates the correlation between the transformation and the behavior of birds. It is found that these descriptions were probably resulted from the faulty observations of bird migration by ancient people.