评论
打印
"So I want to show you something that is bringing me joy right now.
“我想给大家看一个让我特别开心的东西。
Because it is spring, this little bird nest, has a little egg in it."
因为现在是春天了嘛，这个小鸟窝里有一个小蛋哎。”
That was me a few months ago...
视频是我几个月前拍的。
"That's crazy!"
“太不可思议了！”
Right after I discovered this bird's nest with a single bright blue egg sitting on this porch swing.
当时我刚发现我家门廊秋千上有个鸟窝，里面还有一颗蓝绿色的蛋。
A few days later it had four eggs.
几天后，又多了3个蛋。
Guess what happened next?
猜猜接下来发生了什么？
They hatched.
它们破壳了。
And you better believe I named them.
而且你最好相信，我还真的给它们起了名字。
This is Goose, Pepper Jack, Dot, and Rocco.
这是Goose，这是Pepper Jack，这是多特和这是洛克。
For a few weeks when I was really bored during lockdown,
隔离隔离得我特别无聊的那几周，
I watched these little baby birds grow and grow and grow.
我就看着这些小家伙长啊长啊长啊。
And, I started to film them.
后来我就开始拍它们。
And they let me get really close.
它们也允许我近距离地拍他们。
I even filmed them in slow motion, you'll find out later why.
我甚至还拍了慢动作镜头，一会儿你就知道为什么了。
As I watched them grow, a million questions popped in my head.
就在我看着他们长大的时候，无数个问题从我的脑海里冒了出来。
Why is the egg blue?
为什么那个蛋是蓝色的？
How long do the eggs take to hatch?
这些蛋要多久才会破壳？
What type of bird is this? What do baby birds eat? Can they eat bees?
这是什么鸟？鸟宝宝吃什么？它们会吃蜜蜂吗？
Why is bird poop white? Are they safe in the nest? When do they open their eyes?
为什么鸟粪是白色的？它们在巢里安全吗？它们什么时候睁眼？
But my biggest question?
但我最想知道的是
How is this tiny little nest not full of poop?
这个小小的鸟窝怎么没有搞得到处都是鸟粪呢？
To answer all my questions, I tracked down this guy.
为了回答我所有的问题，我找到了这个人。
"My name is Michael Murphy, I'm a professor of biology at Portland State University in Portland Oregon."
“我叫迈克尔·墨菲，是俄勒冈州波特兰州立大学的生物学教授。”
He's an ornithologist which means he studies birds.
他是一名鸟类学家，意思就是他是搞鸟类研究的。
"My personal interest is in the behavior of birds, and the population biology of birds."
“我个人比较感兴趣的领域是鸟类行为和鸟类种群生物学。”
And when he says birds he means a lot of birds.
他说的鸟指的是很多很多的鸟。
"Tree swallows, barn swallows, cliff swallows, eastern phoebes, spotted towhees...
“树燕，谷仓燕，悬崖燕，东方凤凰，斑点燕……
I've worked on a species known as the eastern kingbird since 1979.
1979年至今，我一直在研究一种叫“东王霸鹟”的鸟。
As you can see I have a tattoo of it right there."
看见没，我还搞了个东王霸鹟的纹身。”
He studies all of their behaviors, like where they sleep, what they eat, and how they travel.
这种鸟所有的行为都属于他研究的范畴，比如它们在哪儿睡觉，吃什么，怎么飞行等等。
And he also knows a lot about bird poop,
关于鸟粪他知道的也不少。
which brings us back to the eggs I found on my porch.
说到这个，就不得不说回我在门廊上发现鸟蛋这件事了。
So what type of birds are in these eggs?
那这些蛋里究竟是什么鸟呢？
"Well, that was an American Robin."
“是北美知更鸟（又名“旅鸫”）。”
When it grows up, it's got this firery orange belly.
等它长大之后，它的肚子就会变成火一样的橙色。
"It's impressive.
“它们很厉害的。
This animal breeds across this enormous swath of North America."
整个北美这么大一片土地上都能看到它们的影子。”
It travels as far north as Alaska to breed in the springtime,
春天的时候它们会飞到阿拉斯加北部那么远的地方去繁殖，
and as far south as Mexico during the cold winter months.
冬天的时候它们又会飞到墨西哥那么靠南的地方过冬。
That's over 5,000 miles.
这可是5000多英里（8000多公里）的距离啊。
"It seems, as long as you've got a structure it can put a nest on,
“但凡有一个能放下一个窝的地方，
and as long as it can get some good mud to build a nest, you're going to find it.
但凡能找到筑巢的好泥的地方，就会有它们的身影。
So it's just extremely adaptable."
总而言之，它们的适应能力真的超级强。”
So, let's walk through the life of my porch Robins.
那现在，就让我们来回顾一下我家门廊上这几只知的生活吧。
First, they're just 4 little eggs.
一开始，它们只是4颗小小的蛋。
Why are they blue?
那它们为什么是蓝色的呢？
"Well, that's a big question.
“这个啊，这个问题伤脑筋了。
The coloration of bird eggs is extremely variable."
鸟蛋的颜色极其丰富。”
What we do know is that bird eggs come in all sizes and colors.
我们确切知道的是鸟蛋有各种大小，各种颜色。
White eggs, like this giant ostrich egg, have been around for millions of years.
白色的蛋，就比如这个个头巨大的鸵鸟蛋吧，就已经有数百万年的历史了。
Over time the eggs, just like the birds themselves, have adapted to survive.
随着时间的推移，这些蛋，就像它们孵出来的鸟一样，已经掌握了适者生存原理。
Some are speckled because they want to blend into their environment.
有些鸟蛋身上会有斑点，因为它们想融入周围的环境。
So do you see the three eggs in this photo?
看到这张照片里的三颗鸟蛋了吗？
Look closer.
仔细看。
And for blue eggs?
那蓝色的蛋呢？
Well, the blue color is caused by a pigment in the mother.
是这样，蛋壳的蓝色来自于母体内的一种色素。
It's the same pigment that makes bruises turn blue.
这种色素和让擦伤变青的色素是同一种色素。
And some butterflies, like this one, have bright blue on their wings.
有些蝴蝶，比如这种蝴蝶，翅膀上也会有这种颜色。
"Pigments also strengthen egg shells.
“色素还能提高蛋壳的硬度。
So it's actually an active area of research.
所以，鸟蛋的颜色其实也是非常热门的一个研究领域。
Still trying to figure out why bird's eggs are blue."
为什么会有蓝色的鸟蛋这个问题我们还在继续研究。”
So, the mother lays the bright blue eggs.
说回来，鸟妈妈产下了蓝绿色的蛋。
"And the parents incubate those eggs,
“接下来，鸟妈妈鸟爸爸就要孵这些蛋了，
it takes about 14 days for them to complete their development.
这些蛋要等大约14天才能完成发育。
And then, they hatch out.
然后就是破壳了。
And then they're going to spend roughly twelve days more in the nest.
再之后，它们会在鸟巢里呆12天左右。
And over that 12 day period, they — as you saw in your films — change enormously.
在这12天的时间里，他们的模样——正如大家在视频中看到的这样——-会产生巨大的变化。
They go from a non-flying individual that is completely helpless,
他们会从一个完全不会飞，什么都不会，
they're completely blind, they have no feathers except for a little down."
还完全看不见，除了一点儿绒毛，连像样的羽毛都没有开始慢慢长大。”
They really look like aliens.
一开始，它们看起来真的很像外星人。
"Within 14 days, they are out of the nest."
“14天后，它们就要出窝了。”
Instead of little bald aliens, they look like grumpy old men.
这时它们已经不像秃顶的小外星人了，这时的它们比较像脾气暴躁的老人。
"And within just a few more days, they're actually able to fly.
“再过几天，它们就能飞了。
Not like an adult, but they can fly."
虽然不像成年以后那么娴熟，但也算是能飞了。”
So, what exactly happens in those two weeks in the nest?
那么，它们住在鸟巢里的那两周里到底发生了什么呢？
