BBC自然世界：天堂之鸟（2010）

BBC 自然世界
想象有种生物 华丽绝美
Imagine creatures so beautiful
美到人们传说它是来自天堂的神鸟
That people thought they had come down directly from heaven.
美到令初次见到它们的欧洲人
So striking that the first Europeans to see them
认为它们只可能是从伊甸园逃出来的
Thought they could only have escaped from the garden of Eden.
实际上 那个伊甸园就是新几内亚
In fact, that Eden was New Guinea,
欧洲人最后探索的有人居住岛屿之一
One of the last inhabited islands to be explored by Europeans.
事实上 这个岛是目前仅存的
And it remains virtually the only place
可以欣赏这些珍奇生物的地方
Where you can see these wonderful creatures.
它们是鸟
They were birds, but
但又不像我们以前所见的任何鸟类
unlike birds that anyone had ever seen before.
其华丽绝美
They brought the image of beauty
几乎让人难以置信
almost to the edge of absurdity.
而它们为求偶所做的表演 比起它们的外表
And their displays were even more extraordinary
更加超乎寻常 更加奇特
and bizarre than their appearance.
是动物王国中 已知的最为复杂的鸟类之一
Some of the most complex to be found in the animal kingdom.
它们也许不是真的来自伊甸园
They may not have come from the garden of Eden
但绝对可说名副其实
But they certainly deserved the name
配得上早期欧洲科学家赋予它们的名字
That the first European scientists gave them -
极乐鸟 [又名:天堂鸟]
The birds of paradise.
然而人们对这些鸟的习性知道得并不多
Yet much of what they do is still unknown.
自150多年前
More than 150 years after the
开始对这些生物 进行科学观察以来
first scientific observations of these creatures,
尽管历尽无数探险
In spite of innumerable expeditions
和大量时间的科学观察
And countless hours of scientific observation,
仍然只能说是浮光掠影
We are still only catching glimpses,
对这种天堂神鸟 我们还知之甚少
tantalising glimpses, of these heavenly creatures.
新一代的科学家和拍摄组
A new generation of scientists, and film crews,
试图弥补这一遗憾
Are attempting to put that right.
但这些非凡的鸟 不会轻易揭开其神秘面纱
But these remarkable birds don't give up their secrets easily.
极乐鸟
又一支寻找极乐鸟的探险队出发了
Another expedition is setting off to look for birds of paradise.
这支探险队
This one is being mounted
是由新几内亚人自己组织的
by the New Guinea people themselves.
新一代的地区自然资源保护者
A New Generation of local conservationists
担心极乐鸟的数量可能正在减少
is concerned that paradise bird numbers may be falling.
这个小队由米里亚姆·舒普玛带领
This team is led by Miriam Supuma.
随行的还有鸟类专家保罗·艾格
With her is bird expert Paul Igag.
我裤子全湿了
Ah! I've got my knickers wet!
米里亚姆在一个小山村学校上学时
Miriam's love of nature began
就开始产生了对大自然的热爱
In a small village school in the mountains.
怀着这种激♥情♥ 她学了英语
To follow that passion, she learned English,
上了大学
got herself to university,
完成了在澳大利亚的生态野外考察项目
And finished her ecology fieldwork in Australia.
在接下来的3个月里
Over the next three months,
她的目标是观察并记录
She aims to see and document
十种极乐鸟
ten birds of paradise species.
她同意让我们拍摄小组随她一起工作
She has agreed to let our camera crew go with her.
他们从最小的极乐家族开始
They are starting with the smallest of the family -
王极乐鸟
The king bird.
米里亚姆寻找各种迹象
Miriam searches for signs.
你必须清楚自己要找什么 她就知道
You have to know what to look for... and she does.
你可以看见这些果子上有啄食的痕迹
You can see peck marks on this fruit here.
这就是它的叫声
That's his call.
但是她看不见它们
But she just can't see him.
应该就在这附近
It tends to like this area.
因为这里有光线透过
One of the reasons is because of the light coming through.
它们是好炫耀的鸟 喜欢展示它们的羽毛
They're show-off birds so they like to show their plumage
而光线正好映照着它们美丽的羽毛
And the light complements their bright plumage.
迹象很明显
The signs are good.
他们决定搭建一个藏身处
They decide to build a hide.
要足够大才能容纳她和摄影小组
It must be big enough to seat her and the camera crew.
但是问题出现了
But there's a problem.
一棵枯死的香蕉树挡住了相机镜头
A dead banana tree blocks the camera's view.
米里亚姆小心翼翼地把它砍倒
Miriam has it gently pruned back.
她相信王极乐鸟还会回来的
She's confident the birds will return.
这是交♥配♥的季节 所以它们不会那么害羞
This is the mating season when they become less shy.
她还是个学生的时候就发现了这一点
She discovered this when she was still a student.
在森林里工作时的一个清晨
Working in the forest, early one morning,
她看见一只极乐鸟在树的顶端
She spotted a bird of paradise high in the tree tops.
下面还有另一只
And below it, another,
在晨光中梳理着羽毛
preening its plumes in the morning sun.
之后雄鸟开始炫耀求爱
And then they displayed.
这一幕改变了她的生活
The sight changed her life.
那一天我注意到有六七只极乐鸟
On that day, I noticed about six or seven birds of paradise,
唱歌♥ 跳舞
Singing and dancing and
一直延续了5到10分钟
it just continued for five or ten minutes.
我停下手中的活
I stopped what I was doing,
我当时正在测量树木
I was measuring trees at the time.
我看着它们 惊叹地注视着那一幕
I was looking at it - just staring at it in awe.
自然学家们热爱大自然
Naturalists fall in love with nature
大自然也会回馈给他们更多
and then come back for more.
七年以后 经验告诉米里亚姆
Seven years on and experience has taught Miriam
观察雄性王极乐鸟的最好方式
That the best way to observe the male king bird
就要找到求偶的表演现场 然后等它出现
Is to find his display perch and then wait for him to arrive.
很锻炼人的耐心 是不是
Teaches you a lot of patience, doesn't it?
耐心经常会奏效
And patience can often pay off.
在那儿 看
Oh, there it is. Wow!
王极乐鸟
The king bird.
他朝那边走 我们看见的是后背
It's facing that way with its back towards us.
你看他的红色后背
You can see the red back.
他要去树冠了
It's gone up into the canopy.
他长着辣椒红的后背 雪白色的前胸
He's a deep chilli pepper red, with a snow white breast.
两根长长的大翎毛从尾巴处伸出
Two long quills sprout from his tail,
末端生长着绿色的像硬币似的小圆盘
Each tipped by a green disc like a coin.
这是很难见到的时刻
That was a rare moment.
看 又要表演了
Oh, there - there it is again. Wow.
她激动不已
She's thrilled.
听着森林中其他雄鸟的叫声
With other males calling in the forest nearby,
米里亚姆确信这附近有很多鸟
Miriam is sure that she's found a good population here.
雄性王极乐鸟会呼唤附近的雌鸟
The male king bird will call to the females in the area.
即使没有雌鸟来 他一样会表演
If none come, he will perform without them.
他先舒展开全身的羽毛
After puffing himself up,
将尾部的大翎毛挥舞到头部
he flicks his quills above his head,
来回晃动
And waggles them,
让这两个小圆盘在空中起舞
making the little discs dance in the air above him.
他还在期盼观众的到来
He's still hoping for an audience.
毫不灰心 最后全身起舞
Undeterred, he ends with a flourish.
把腿固定在树枝上 上下摇摆
He swings upside down and locks his legs
那时候他看起来就像个钟摆
And then he turns himself into a pendulum.
王极乐鸟喜欢独自表演
The king bird is a soloist.
而其他种类的雄鸟则成群表演
The males of many other species display in groups.
这些是大极乐鸟
These are the greater birds of paradise.
雄鸟每天都在一棵特定的树上集♥合♥
Males assemble every day in one special tree,
等着雌鸟的到来
Waiting for a female to arrive.
一旦雌鸟到来 他们都快速的拍打着翅膀
When one does, they all snap into action.
她挑一只自己最喜欢的
And she selects the one she prefers.
两只鸟就独自约会
She's rewarded with a one-on-one,
雄鸟开始在雌鸟头上啄来啄去
starting with pecks on the head.
最后她接受了他
And eventually she accepts him.
所有的雄鸟在我们看起来
While all the males may appear equally
都一样绚丽动人
gorgeous to our eyes,
但雌鸟却洞察出了不同
Females apparently detect differences.
而且 她们几乎只和同一只雄鸟交♥配♥
What's more, they nearly all mate with the same male.
用这种方式选择拥有最美丽羽毛的雄鸟
By selecting the finest plumes in this way,
经过雌鸟一代又一代的繁衍
The females have increased the males' beauty,
更增加了雄鸟的雄性之美
generation after generation,
也使这华丽的舞姿得以存在
And so brought these magnificent dances into existence.
这些鸟们惊人的美丽
The spectacular beauty of
让新几内亚的人们痴迷不已
their birds fascinates the people of New Guinea,
早在1957年时我就发觉了这点
As I discovered back in 1957.