Endangered Birds

Endangered Birds, written by Rachel Lawson.

《濒危鸟类》，作者：瑞秋·劳森。

Introduction. Have you ever seen a great och? These penguin -like birds once lived along the coasts from Iceland to Florida. But the great och was fiercely hunted for its feathers and eggs. The very last ones were killed in 1844. Today, great ochs are extinct. You can only see them in pictures or see their skeletons in a museum.

引言 你见过大海雀吗？ 这种长得像企鹅的鸟类曾经生活在从冰岛到佛罗里达的沿岸区域。 但人类为了获取大海雀的羽毛和鸟蛋对它们进行了疯狂的捕猎。 最后一批大海雀在1844年被杀害。 如今，大海雀已经灭绝了。 你只能在图片里看到它们的模样，或是在博物馆里见到它们的骨架。

There are many other birds that are endangered or close to becoming extinct. We will look at some of those birds in this book. We will also see some ways that humans are trying to save them.

还有很多其他鸟类正处于濒危状态，或是接近灭绝。 我们会在这本书里认识其中一些鸟类。 我们也会了解人类为了拯救它们正在尝试的一些方法。

The cockapoo. The cockapoo of New Zealand is one of the strangest and rarest birds in the world. It has short wings and cannot fly, but it has strong legs to walk through the mountains. It looks like an owl and it comes out at night like an owl. But the cockapoo is actually a parent. Male cockapos make a booming call that sounds like a giant heartbeat.

鸮鹦鹉 新西兰的鸮鹦鹉是世界上最奇特、最稀有的鸟类之一。 它的翅膀很短不会飞，但长着强壮的腿，可以在山间行走。 它长得像猫头鹰，也和猫头鹰一样昼伏夜出。 不过鸮鹦鹉其实是非常称职的家长。 雄性鸮鹦鹉会发出隆隆的叫声，听起来就像巨人的心跳声。

Before Europeans came to New Zealand, there were few predators or meat -eating animals on the islands. Europeans brought cats, rats, and dogs to New Zealand. The Kakapos had never seen these animals, so they didn't know how to defend themselves. And they couldn't fly to escape. The predators killed so many birds that by the 1950s, the Kakapo disappeared.

在欧洲人抵达新西兰之前， 岛上几乎没有捕食者，也就是食肉动物。 欧洲人把猫、老鼠和狗带到了新西兰。 鸮鹦鹉从来没见过这些动物，不知道该怎么保护自己。 而且它们也没法飞行逃生。 捕食者杀死了太多鸮鹦鹉，到20世纪50年代时，鸮鹦鹉已经踪迹全无。

Then, in 1974, a few males were found. But because there were no females to lay eggs, cockapos would become extinct once the males died. In 1980, four females were found. Humans moved the cockapos to small islands without predators. Scientists began breeding the cockapos or helping them reproduce. Today, there are 62 cockapos.

后来在1974年，人们发现了几只雄性鸮鹦鹉。 但因为没有雌性鸮鹦鹉产卵， 等这些雄性鸮鹦鹉死去，这个物种就会彻底灭绝。 1980年，人们找到了四只雌性鸮鹦鹉。 人类把这些鸮鹦鹉转移到了没有捕食者的小岛上。 科学家开始人工繁育鸮鹦鹉，也就是帮助它们繁衍后代。 如今，现存的鸮鹦鹉一共有62只。