生命（2009）

The crabs are here to lay their eggs.
红腹滨鹬等的就是这个
That's what the knots are after.
鲎卵大多埋在它们够不到的地方
Most eggs are buried out of reach,
但偶然有些 会被其他美洲鲎挖出来
but some are accidentally dug up by other crabs.
大西洋西岸的红腹滨鹬
Most of the west Atlantic red knot population
大多会到这儿来狼吞虎咽
join this feeding frenzy.
短短几个星期后
In a matter of weeks
红腹滨鹬就得重新累积脂肪 让体重加倍
the knots need to rebuild their fat reserves and double in weight.
为了达到目标，每只红腹滨鹬 得吃下四十万个鲎卵
To achieve this, each knot must eat as many as 400,000 eggs -
以仅仅吞一颗鱼卵，所需的技巧和力气 这有蛔天方夜谭
a tall order given the skill and effort needed to swallow just one.
低着头不停进食 自然很难警觉到掠食动物的出现
Head down, feeding non-stop means it's hard to be alert to predators.
一只游隼
A peregrine falcon.
产卵结束后
With egg laying complete,
美洲鲎离开这片海岸
the horseshoe crabs now leave
红腹滨鹬尽量收集 它们能找到的每一个卵
these shores while the knots gather every last egg they can find.
红腹滨鹬继续往前飞的时候到了
It's time for the birds to move on.
红腹滨鹬还得不停的飞上三千公里
The knots still have a further 2,000-mile non-stop flight
才能抵达加拿大的繁殖地
to reach their breeding grounds in Canada.
飞行给了鸟类许多优势
Flight gives birds many advantages,
但在生命中有一段期间
but there's a period in their lives
它们不得不回到地面上
when they are forced back down to Earth.
筑巢季
The nesting season.
这时候它们的处境最危险
This is the time when they are at most risk,
因此必须尽可能 找到最安全的地点
so they must find the safest possible location.
小红鹤的作法最为极端
Few go to greater extremes than lesser flamingos.
它们在非洲的苛性纳湖 最偏远的角落筑巢
They nest in the remotest corners of Africa's caustic soda lakes.
和它们的爬虫类祖先一样 鸟类产的卵是不透水的
Like their reptilian ancestors, birds lay waterproof eggs.
尽管如此，红鹤仍旧把卵
Despite this, flamingos still protect theirs
放在特殊的泥堆上保护
on special mud-stack nests
因为湖水随时会泛滥
as the lake is prone to flooding.
上面这里也比较凉爽
It's also just a little cooler up here.
地面温度
Temperatures at ground level
可能上升到炽热的摄氏五十度
can reach a blistering 50 degrees Centigrade.
雏鸟孵化后的
Once a chick hatches,
头六天都待在鸟巢里
it spends the first six days in the nest.
雏鸟这时候最为脆弱
This is when it's at its most vulnerable -
完全仰赖父母照顾
totally reliant on its parents.
苛性的泥巴吓阻了掠食动物
The caustic mud deters predators.
但成年的红鹤 可以应付这种困境
But the adult flamingos can cope in this quagmire,
靠的是它们有鳞的长腿
because of their long, scaly legs.
不过雏鸟一旦从巢穴溜出来
Any chick that slips from the nest, however,
就踩在很危险的地面上
is treading on very dangerous ground.
这只母鸟哄着它的雏鸟 爬回安全地点
This parent encourages her chick to climb back to safety.
把雏鸟养大 父母要投♥注♥大量时间和劳力
Raising chicks requires huge parental investment in both time and labour,
不管在哪儿都一样
wherever you are.
没几个地方环境比南极更艰困
Few places are tougher than the Antarctic.
南极企鹅
Chinstrap penguins.
它们每天出海八十公里捕猎磷虾
Every day they travel up to 50 miles out at sea, hunting for krill.
但难的是把这些食物带回聚集地
But the hard part is getting this food back to the colony,
因为它们聚集在奇幻岛 也就是这座大火山顶峰的
because it sits on the ice-free rim at the top of this giant volcano,
无冰边缘
Deception Island.
这群捕鱼回来的企鹅 第一项挑战是上岸
For the returning fishing party, the first challenge is getting ashore.
海滨地形陡峭，逆流强劲
The beach is steep, with a powerful undertow.
这只雌企鹅安全登陆
This female lands safely,
不过现在要展开长途跋涉
but she now begins a long journey on foot.
不会飞的鸟儿
For a flightless bird,
要登上火山顶 只得苦哈哈的往上爬
getting to the top of the volcano means a gruelling climb,
特别是冰河 沾满了泥泞的火山灰在中间挡路
especially when glaciers, covered with muddy volcanic ash, stand in your way.
活像是蛇梯棋的游戏
It's like a game of snakes and ladders.
鸟喙，翼梢和双脚通力合作
A combination of beak, wing tip and feet.
这下子行了
And she wins through!
现在它和众企鹅一起赶路回家
Now she joins penguin rush hour.
就快到家了
Almost home.
它抵达火山回边缘
She's reached the crater rim,
但它的考验还没结束
but her trials are still not over.
现场有超过十五万只企鹅
She must now try and find her family
这时它设法找到家人
among more than a 150,000 birds.
它的听力非常敏锐
Her hearing is so acute
可以在众声喧哗中 辨认出子女独特的叫声
she can identify the individual cry of her own chick in the din.
它找到了，家人欢迎它的归来
She's made it and the family welcomes her return.
母亲努力的成果是一口磷虾
The result of all this parental effort - a mouthful of krill.
现在轮到它的伴侣出去觅食
Now it's her partner's turn.
雏鸟是需索无度的
A chick's demands are endless.
有时可能逼得父母铤而走险
Sometimes they can push parents to desperate lengths.
但鸟类是随机应变的大♥师♥
But birds are masters of improvisation.
南非外海的达森岛
Dassen Island, off the coast of South Africa,
白鹈鹕集体在这儿筑巢
is home to a nesting colony of great white pelicans.
这里的雏鸟年纪虽然不一样 但全都食欲旺盛
There are chicks of all ages all with a hefty appetite.
父母肩负一项艰巨任务
The parents have a formidable task.
这些鹈鹕是世上最笨重的飞鸟
These pelicans are among the heaviest flying birds in the world,
最多重达十公斤
weighing up to 10 kilos.
V字队形是最省力的飞行方式
A V-formation is the most energy efficient means of flying.
为后面的鸟儿大幅降低阻力
It significantly reduces drag for the bird behind.
鹈鹕通常在岸边捕鱼
Pelicans normally fish along the coast,
但食物供应短缺 它们只得到别处觅食
but a shortage of food supplies has forced them to look elsewhere.
南非鲣鸟跃入深海中 追捕鹈鹕抓不到的鱼
Cape gannets plunge deep, hunting fish beyond the reach of the pelicans.
但鹈鹕要抓的不是鱼
But the pelicans aren't after fish.
它们看中的是更大的猎物
Their sights are set on a bigger catch.
马尔加斯岛是约莫 六万只鲣鸟的筑巢地
Malgas Island is the nesting ground for some 60,000 Cape gannets.
通常是一只鲣鸟外出捕鱼
Normally one gannet parent goes off fishing
另一只留下来照顾雏鸟
while the other looks after the chick.
但鱼群逐渐减少
But declining fish stocks means
因此双亲经常同时外出捕猎
both parents are often away hunting at the same time,
留下小鲣鸟孤立巢中
leaving their chicks unguarded,
这一点鹈鹕也注意到了
something which hasn't gone unnoticed by the pelicans.
小鲣鸟除非有父母保护 或体积太大无法被吞食
Only chicks with parents at their side,
否则就死定了
or those too large to swallow, have a chance.
回到鹈鹕聚集地，父母把
Back at the pelican colony,
消化一部分的小鲣鸟 吐出来喂孩子吃
the parents regurgitate partially-digested gannet chicks for their brood.
虽然非洲海角的海鸟聚集地 大多逐渐衰微
Although most seabird colonies on the African Cape are in decline,
在达森岛筑巢的白鹈鹕 却越来越多
the population of white pelicans nesting on Dassen is growing.
当鸟儿聚在一起繁殖 在它们以身相许之前
When birds come together to breed, and before they commit to one another,
往往会端出最精彩的表演
they will often perform the most remarkable displays.
其中最迷人的演出 就在俄勒冈州的湖泊上演
One of the most enchanting happens here, on the lakes of Oregon.
鸊鷉对伴侣从一而终
Clarke's grebes mate for life,
但雌鸟必得考验它的伴侣 是否矢志不渝
but the female must test her partner's continuing commitment,
于是邀请雄鸟和它一块儿 来一段仪式化的舞蹈
and she does this by inviting him to join her in a ritualised dance.
为了巩固双方的盟约 雄鸟送礼物给它
To strengthen their bond, he offers her a gift.
现在它们眼里只有对方
Now, with eyes only for one another,
这对忠诚的伴侣舞到最高♥潮♥
the faithful pair reach the climax of their dance.
其他的鸟类不会成双成对
Other birds don't form pairs.
雄鸟反而尽量和许多雌鸟交♥配♥
Instead a male tries to mate with as many females as he can.
雄性的艾草榛鸡 聚集在怀俄明州大草原
Male sage grouse gather in the grasslands of Wyoming
用华丽的羽毛和骄傲的姿态 宣传它们的雄性精力
to advertise their virility with a finery of feathers and proud posturing.
雌鸟的外表单调得多
Females are much drabber-looking,
但很会挑三拣四
but extremely choosy.
它们只和最出色的雄鸟交♥配♥
They will only mate with the most impressive male,
它们是凭雄鸟发出的声音 判断它的价值
and they judge a male's worthiness by the sounds he makes.
鸟儿想尽办法让伴侣刮目相看
Birds go to great lengths to impress their partners.
在新几内亚的森林
In the forests of New Guinea,
鸟儿最出名的是把缤纷的羽毛和歌♥声 发挥得淋漓尽致
they famously use colourful feathers and song to maximum effect.
天堂鸟
Birds of Paradise.
不过在岛屿西部 森林里除了这种华丽的禽鸟
But in the western part of the island, these flamboyant birds
还有一种外观不起眼的鸟类
share the forests with a rather unassuming-looking character...
褐色园丁鸟
the Vogelkop bowerbird.
它或许没有亮丽的羽毛
He might lack the plumage,
却有绕梁三日的歌♥声
but he's got an extraordinary repertoire of song.
还是个模仿天王
And, he's a wonderful mimic.
那是鸽子拍击翅膀的声音
Those are pigeon wing beats.
那是怯虚鹦鹉
That's a modest tiger-parrot.
那是葵花凤头鹦鹉