鸟类秘闻（2012）

所以蚯蚓就爬出来了
So they come up.
你耐心点看
If you watch, in a minute,
一会儿它就会啄起几条蚯蚓吃掉
she'll pick up the earthworms and feed.
太有意思了,虽然看起来傻傻的
It's funny. It looks really silly.
但是非常有效
But it's very effective.
鸟类爪子的形状
The shape of a bird's foot changes considerably
也会随着它们的行为和栖息的地方而改变
depending on what the bird does and where it lives.
一只苍鹭和一只黑水鸡正在湿地上漫步
A heron and moorhen walk on wet ground,
它们需要宽大的爪子,免得沉下去
so they need big feet to stop them sinking.
鹅和鸭子长时间生活在水中
Geese and ducks spend a lot of their time in water,
因此它们需要一双蹼足用来游泳
so they need webbed feet to help them swim.
蹼足在着陆过程中也能很好地
Webbed feet are also handy
发挥“刹车”的作用
as breaks when landing.
旋木雀和啄木鸟经常需要爬树
Treecreepers and woodpeckers spend a lot of their time climbing trees.
它们需要强壮的脚趾来提供支撑
So they have strong thumbs to give them added support.
而黑鸫的爪子主要用来支撑身体
A blackbird uses its feet to perch, mainly.
麻雀和鹪鹩的爪子是最细的
The house sparrow and wren have the tiniest of feet,
可以用来抓取细小的东西
which grab the smallest perch.
猛禽则需要用它们的爪子来捕获猎物
Birds of prey need to use theirs to catch prey.
它们也会用喙来撕扯鲜肉
They also use their beak to tear flesh.
对鸟来说,爪子和喙都是不可或缺的
Both feet and beaks are useful tools for birds.
银鸥的喙还有另一个重要特征
The herring gull's beak has another important feature.
可以用来发出信♥号♥♥
It can be used to signal.
黄底红点的喙很鲜艳
The red dot against the yellow bill stands out,
可以让幼鸟很容易发现
and chicks can see it clearly.
给它们一个目标
This gives them a target to peck at
刺♥激♥成年鸟回流食物
and stimulates the adult to regurgitate food.
海雀的喙也有发射信♥号♥♥的作用
Puffin bills are also used as signals.
在威尔士,它们的喙的颜色是最鲜艳的
They're the most brightly-coloured beaks you'll find in Wales.
海雀的巢在地下
Puffins nest in burrows
这块土地位于彭布洛克郡近海的斯科默岛上
and this colony is on Skomer Island off the Pembrokeshire coast.
这张大嘴的用途是捕鱼
The beaks are big because they use them to catch fish.
同样,它们的喙也有发信♥号♥♥的功能
But again, they've been adapted to double-up as signal devices.
还未到繁殖季节的时候
Outside the breeding season
它们的喙并没有鲜艳的颜色
the beaks are not brightly-coloured
但在求爱季就会变得十分醒目
but during courtship they are stunning
成为雄鸟和雌鸟互相交流和吸引对方的工具
and are used as attractive tools by the males and females.
威尔士有很多五彩缤纷的鸟
We have many colourful birds in Wales.
在啄木鸟当中,绿啄木鸟是最好看的
Amongst woodpeckers, the green woodpecker is the most handsome.
在这里即使是最普通的乌鸦也十分迷人
Even one of our commonest crows is striking.
它并不是一种很受欢迎的鸟
Though not a particularly popular bird,
因为它们会捕食别的鸟类的幼鸟
because it preys on small chicks
它们在垃圾箱里觅食也会让人讨厌
and generally makes a nuisance of itself when raiding bins,
但不管怎么说说,它的翅膀还是很漂亮的
close up, it's plumage is beautiful.
松鸡看起来更漂亮
The jay is even more striking.
它们翅膀上颜色和花纹的细节和样式
The detail and variety of colour and patterns
多得令人吃惊
on its feathers are startling.
为什么像松鸡这样的鸟类会如此多彩？
Why is a bird like the jay so colourful?
看看它们生活的环境就知道了
Just look at this environment,
这片巨大、浓密的树林
a big, dense woodland like this.
林地鸟类需要吸引和留住配偶
Woodland birds need to attract and keep a mate
也需要让其他雄鸟敬而远之
and they also need to keep other male birds away.
它们一般有两种方法
They do that in one of two ways.
一是比谁唱得更好听,比如说黑鸫
Either they sing tunefully, like the blackbird,
二是比谁的羽毛更加五彩斑斓
or they can be really colourful.
对松鸡来说,它们两手都用上了
In the case of a jay, it uses both.
它们是颜色亮丽的鸟类
Very colourful bird,
嗓音却不可恭维
and it's got a...not a tuneful song, exactly,
但这种鸣叫声可以传播得很远很远
but this screech that carries a long, long way.
这两种方式
Both of those act
都可以用来警告其他雄性并吸引雌性
as a warning to other males and to attract females.
一些鸟栖息在非常隐蔽的地方
Some birds live in very hidden habitats.
雄鸟需要吸引配偶
The males need to stand out to attract a mate.
加的夫附近的卡斯麦斯顿湖
This is Cosmeston Lake, near Cardiff.
一座古老的采石场
It's a site of an old stone quarry
周围长满了芦苇
which is surrounded by reeds.
在这里几乎不可能看到小型鸟类
It's virtually impossible to see any small bird in the growth.
但是这里住着一种极其漂亮的鸟
But living here is one of our most spectacularly patterned birds.
这是一只雄文须雀
It's a male bearded tit.
威尔士最珍稀的繁殖鸟之一
It's also one of our rarest breeding birds.
它小巧而又敏捷
Because he's small and agile,
它五彩的羽毛也不算是一个很大的劣势
his colourful plumage isn't a great disadvantage,
在天敌飞近的时候它可以快速飞走
as he can soon fly away if a predator is about.
卡斯麦斯顿湖几英里外
But a few miles from Cosmeston,
一种体型稍大且略显笨拙的鸟
a bigger and less agile bird
行事低调的生活在这个地方
has to be less conspicuous in a similar habitat.
亨德瑞湖位于圣梅隆
This is Hendre lake in St Mellons
在纽波特和加的夫之间
between Newport and Cardiff,
这种地方在威尔士可能看起来很普通
and it's one of those places you find now and again in Wales
但对鸟类来说,这里是个难得的好地方
which is surprisingly good for birds.
我说的"难得的好地方"
I say "surprisingly good"
是指,这里有很多房♥子
because you've got houses all around
还有一条繁忙的铁路经过
and a busy railway line over here.
然而到了冬天
And yet, in winter,
来到这里的鸟类种类之多令人难以置信
it attracts an incredible variety of birds.
这里也是观察鹭鸶的好地方
It is also a good place to see bitterns.
鹭鸶是一种棕色的 胆小而稀有的鹭
Bitterns are a really shy, quite rare, brown heron.
它们喜欢呆在芦苇里,不喜欢出来
They like staying in the reeds and they don't like coming out.
这里面有它们所需要的一切
They've got everything they need here.
芦苇地里生活着大量的鱼
You've got reedbeds that are full of fish
由于芦苇荡比较稀疏
and because the reedbeds are not very dense,
它们不需要走出很远
they don't go far back
可以在一窄条的地方活动
they're just a narrow strip,
要观察鹭鸶,这里是最好的地方之一
it really is one of the best places in Wales to see the bittern.
而到了更广阔的芦苇地中
In a more extensive reedbed,
要想观察到鹭鸶就很困难了
this view of a bittern would be very rare indeed.
因为它们会躲在芦苇丛中
It would be hidden deep within the reeds.
但在这里
But here,
你可以清楚地观察到它们追踪猎物
you can watch it clearly stalking its prey.
冬天的时候,它们捕鱼
In the winter, it hunts for fish.
夏天的时候,它们靠吃昆虫和青蛙过活
In the summer, it will supplement that with insects and frogs.
一旦回到芦苇丛中,它们的伪装毫无破绽
Once inside the reeds, it's perfectly camouflaged.
一旦有风吹草动,它们会伸长脖子,看起来就像一株芦苇
Any sign of threat and it raises its head to look like a reed.
鸟类有种技能是其他生物所不及的
There's one thing that birds can do better than any other living being.
它们会飞
They can fly.
它们有很多种飞行技巧
And they have many different flying techniques.
观察鸟类飞行姿态的绝佳地点是海边
One of the best places to see birds flying is on the coast.
它们利用大海和陆地间的风力来滑翔
They use the wind as it blows off the sea and lifts over the land.
安格尔西岛的南斯塔克是个非常不错的地方
South Stack on Anglesey is a particularly good site.
站在悬崖顶上
On the high cliffs,
鸟几乎就在你眼前飞来飞去
you can watch the birds at eye level.
由于海边的风力强劲
The wind is so strong
海鸥和乌鸦可以毫不费力地
that gulls and ravens can simply glide here,
在这里滑翔
with very little effort.
它们是两种不同的鸟
They are two very different birds
有着不同的类型的翅膀
with different shaped wings.
但最终结果是一样的
But the end result is the same.
它们可以平稳地飞行
They fly smoothly.
为什么海鸥和乌鸦长着不同类型的翅膀？
But why do gulls and ravens have different wing shapes?
那是因为它们的生活习性不同
It's because they naturally lead very different lives.
海鸥的翅膀比较尖
Gulls have pointed wings,
尤其适合持久滑翔
designed specifically for sustained gliding.
乌鸦通常生活在内陆
Ravens generally live more inland
在远离地面上空滑翔盘旋
and soar and circle high up above the ground.
这样,它们需要有良好的控制能力
For this, they need more control,
因此它们的翅膀上进化出了翼缝结构
which they get from their slotted wings.
这种额外的操控性使它们更加灵活
This extra control allows them to be more playful.
翅膀最引人注目的一种鸟
One of our most dramatic birds on the wing
生活在兰迪德诺附近
can be found on the coast near Llandudno,
小奥姆的崖壁上
on the cliffs of the Little Orme.'