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A voracious predator is closing in on Big Bend.
一个贪婪的捕食者正逼近大本德。
Flying through the night, he has come from the South where he spent the winter waiting and preparing for his journey North.
它在黑夜里飞行，它来自南方，在南方等待了一个冬天，为他的北方之行做准备。
For the next five months, he will bring a swift and silent death to countless creatures of the Big Bend night.
在接下来的五个月里，它将在大本德的夜晚给无数生物带来迅速而无声的死亡。
He is an elf owl, the very smallest owl in the world.
他是一只姬鸮(小精灵猫头鹰)，世界上最小的猫头鹰。
Barely five inches high and weighing less than a tennis ball, but for elf owls, size, truly doesn't matter.
它身高只有5英寸（12.7cm），体重还没有一个网球重，但对小精灵猫头鹰来说，大小真的不重要。
They'll tackle prey almost as big and powerful as themselves.
它们捕食的猎物几乎和它们自己一样大、一样强壮。
This male elf owl now has a partner. She's moved into their nest, an old woodpecker hole in a giant agave stalk.
这只雄性精灵猫头鹰现在有了伴侣。她搬到了它们的巢里，一个巨大龙舌兰茎上的啄木鸟洞。
Sitting on eggs for the next few weeks, she'll need him to do most of the hunting and when she's hungry, she lets him know all about it.
接下来的几个星期里她都在孵蛋，她需要他来完成大部分的狩猎工作，当她饿了，她会让他知道的。
From dusk to dawn, the male scours the surrounding desert for fresh supplies.
从黄昏到黎明，雄性姬鸮在周围的沙漠中搜寻新鲜食物。
After all his efforts, he seems tempted to have a quick snack on the job, but mom is not impressed.
经过他所有的努力，他似乎很想在工作时吃点快餐，但妈妈不买账。
Sitting on three ravenous chicks, she's not tolerating that kind of behavior.
坐在三只饥饿的雏鸟身上，她无法容忍这种行为。
Every scrap of food is precious now, and with another three or four weeks before the young leave the nest, this extraordinary little father is facing many more hunting missions through the long desert nights.
现在每一丁点儿食物都很珍贵，距离幼鸟离开巢穴还有三到四周的时间，这位非凡的小父亲在漫长的沙漠之夜面临着更多的狩猎任务。
