Colour is important,and texture,
雌鸟看起来在估量每份礼物的价值
and the females seem to weigh up each gift.
偶尔也有奇异的东西 一个活海胆
Occasional exotic offerings – a living sea urchin,
或者一种新颜色的水草
or a new shade of seaweed –
被送到巢根前 有时候也会遭到拒收
are brought to the nest,and sometimes rejected.
自己会走的对它没有用处
A gift that walks away is of no use.
这个大小并不合它意
And size certainly doesn’t impress her.
对鸬鹚来说 干水草作用很大
The drying seaweed means more to the cormorants
绝不仅仅是建筑材料
than mere construction materials.
巢穴变成了一个特别的地方
A nest becomes a special place,
用于防备好奇地来访者…
to be defended from curious visitors…
还是鸟蛋完美的家
..and a perfect home for the eggs.
我们不知道 它们的真实想法或者感受
We don’t know exactly what they think or feel,
但一些科学家坚信
but some scientists believe the effort
通过筑巢 使它们的感情更为亲近
seems to draw them closer together.
幼鸟受益于父母用心制♥造♥的
The chick benefits from the parents’ commitment
一个完美的家
to making the perfect home.
有关动物通过筑造宫殿 来赢得配偶芳心的
The ultimate example of an animal that builds a palace
最典型的例子 能在新几内亚岛的森林里找到
to win round a mate can be found in the forests of New Guinea.
这个编织的一米宽篷子 是一个用于引诱的公♥寓♥
This metre-wide woven wigwam is a seduction pad
一切都是为了展示
and is all about show.
精心准备的花和水果
Carefully arranged flowers and fruits
堆放在修剪过的苔藓上
are placed in piles on manicured moss.
小点儿的贵重物品在后面放着
Smaller treasures are towards the back,
是为了让篷子看起来大些 这也是人类室内设计师用的方法
to make the bower seem bigger,a trick human interior designers also use.
然而雄性褐色园丁鸟本性端庄 甚至有些乏味
Yet the male Vogelkop bowerbird himself is modest,even drab.
要成为精通于房♥屋建筑的专家
It may take many years to become a proficient enough
得需要好多年
house builder to reach this stage.
如果它看见一个小枝位置不合适 就会把它推进去或者弄掉
If he sees a twig out of place,he’ll push it in or remove it.
它的建筑眼光很独特
His architectural eye is unique.
附近的每个竞争者 都有不同的色彩策略
His rival neighbours each have different colour schemes,
或者地板设计、还有装饰
or floor designs or decorations.
这只挑剔的雄鸟正在经历红色期
This particular male is going through a red phase.
花会定期更换
The flowers are changed regularly
浆果也一定得安排完美 甚至摆放顺序也不能出错
and the berries must be perfectly arranged,even the right way up.
地板是个挑战
The floor is a challenge.
穿过苔藓长出的各种根必须得修剪
Roots grow through the moss and have to be tackled.
那些不能去除的 就把它们藏在毯子底下
What he can’t remove,he sweeps under the carpet.
一个雄性竞争者在鸣叫
A rival male is singing.
它必须予以反击
He must respond.
我们现在就明白 篷子为什么是这种形状了
We see perhaps now why the bower is the shape it is.
它是音乐会的平台 拱形的门用于放大它的声音
It’s a concert platform and the arch may help project his voice.
它以一小段舞蹈结束
He ends with a little dance.
观众已经到了
The audience has arrived.
雌鸟看起来感兴趣 但它却消失了
She seems interested,but he has disappeared.
它不能现身 这是褐色园丁鸟求爱的关键
It is crucial in bowerbird courtship that he remains hidden.
得用房♥子引诱雌鸟进去
His house has to coax her in.
只有当雌鸟对它的布置 达到入迷的程度的时候
Only when she is brought to a state of ecstasy over his decor
它才冲出去与之交♥配♥
does he dash out and try to mate.
最终没有成功 也许雌鸟还没有准备好见它呢
It’s not entirely successful. Maybe she wasn’t ready for his appearance.
又或许是它的花或地板 没有合乎标准
Or maybe his flowers or his floor weren’t up to scratch.
它很垂头丧气
It’s most frustrating.
也许它会引诱雌鸟回来 也许只好等到下一次
Perhaps he will tempt her back and maybe next time,
篷子要展现最好的一面
the bower will be looking at its best.
家庭装饰有时候可以
Home decoration can,occasionally,
比完美的另一半更打动对方
be about more than impressing the perfect partner.
穴鸮在草原犬鼠城用于郊外的
The burrowing owls in prairie dog town have a strange take
装饰品味很奇怪
on suitable suburban decor.
它们的房♥东 草原犬鼠
Their landlords,the prairie dogs,
不会赞同它的这项创新
would not approve of this innovation.
穴鸮喜欢的是水牛们留下来得
What burrowing owls like is what the buffalo leave behind.
它们收集粪便
They collect dung.
穴鸮把粪便仔细地摆在前门附近
The owl places the dung carefully around his front door.
小♥穴♥鸮看起来并不喜欢
The burrowing owl chicks don’t seem impressed by the collection
门口的粪便
of poop on the stoop.
这看起来并不是大多数动物 处理它们自己门阶的方式
This is not how most wise animals treat their own doorsteps.
事实上 这么特别的装饰
In fact,this extraordinary bit of decoration
是一个甲虫陷阱 对屎壳郎最有效
is a trap for beetles,particularly dung beetles.
甲虫凭嗅觉找到粪便
The beetles find dung by smell.
对它们来说 粪便是建筑材料和食物 它们把粪便滚到一起
It is,to them,building material and food,rolled into one.
成吨♥的粪便都被滚走
Tons of dung are trundled away.
带卵的粪球 被埋起来
The dung ball,with an egg inside,is buried.
至少对于屎壳郎幼虫来说 这是温暖而可口的家
A warm and delicious home,at least for a dung beetle larva.
鸟类和哺乳动物几乎从不像蜘蛛那样
Birds and mammals almost never turn their homes into traps,
把家设计成陷阱
as spiders do.
据说人类和穴鸮是唯一的例子
Human beings and burrowing owls are said to be the only examples.
一只小♥穴♥鹗把一些粪便拖进洞里
A chick takes some dung down the burrow.
也许它正在学习把粪便与食物联♥系♥起来
Maybe it’s learning the connection with food.
这是向正确方向迈出的一步
It’s a step in the right direction.
穴鸮妈妈并不同意种做法 把这当成一次家务课程
The owl mother doesn’t agree and turns it into a lesson on housework.
家务是一项辛苦的工作 小动物们还有很多要学
Homes are hard work and there’s a lot for young animals to learn.
做家务要有空间观念
Home making requires a sense of place,
就好像在社会上学会怎样与人相处
as well as working out how to get along in a community.
陷井看起来起作用了
The trap seems to have worked.
食物总是至关重要
Food is always critical,
很多动物建筑者 把食物贮藏室设在屋子中♥央♥
so many animal builders put a larder at the heart of their homes.
河狸的隧♥道♥和池塘系统 就是巨大的冷室
The beavers’ system of canals and ponds is a massive cold store.
河狸吃树皮和树叶
Beavers eat bark and leaves
贮藏食物是需要花费几个月的工作
and stocking the larder is a job that takes months.
河狸把树枝楔到泥土里
The beavers wedge the branches down in the mud.
即使贮藏到水下 一个潜在的盗贼还是看到了
Even stored underwater,a potential burglar spots the stockpile.
但北美糜很快就了解到 这是私人贮藏室
But the moose is soon told that this store is private property.
拍打几次尾巴后 入侵者就明白了
A few tail-slaps and the intruder gets the message.
一个房♥子如果没有食物 就没有什么用处
A house is of little use if there’s no food.
在外♥蒙♥古的冬季 对于仓鼠来说
Winter in Outer Mongolia would be hard for a hamster,
如果没有一个满仓的贮藏室 就会很艰难
without a well-stocked store room.
在洞穴里 有好几个房♥间
Down the burrow,there are several rooms.
在卧室里 幼崽在稻草里保暖
In the bedroom,the young are kept warm in straw
由母亲喂养
and fed by their mother.
隔壁是食品储存室
Next door is the larder.
整个秋天 它们用颊囊收集种子
All autumn,they gathered seeds in their cheek pouches
把它们带到这里
and brought them down here.
幸亏种子保持得干燥又安全
Thanks to the seeds staying safe and dry,
在外面一片荒芜的时候 得以养活一家老小
the hamsters can start a family while it’s still barren outside.
我们自己最早的房♥屋 也有谷物贮藏室
Our own earliest buildings may have been grain stores.
为冬季保存食物
Protecting food for winter
使得房♥屋建筑者 能够搬到冷一点的地区
enables house builders to move into colder areas
在那里 没家就无法存活
where the homeless could never survive.
另一些家就进入更高的层次了
Some homes go a stage further.
它们有一个活的储藏室
They have a living larder.
鼹鼠的黑暗通道网
A mole’s network of dark passages
能够每小时延伸两米
can be extended at up to two metres an hour
供给鼹鼠食物
and provide the mole’s food.
蚯蚓不经意地钻到了洞里
Earthworms burrow through the walls by accident
星鼻鼹鼠鼻子上 有特别的蠕虫状感受器
and the star nosed mole has special worm-detecting feelers on its nose.
这个足不出户的动物 有一个奇特的声誉
This housebound animal has a curious reputation
最迅速的进食者
as the fastest eater on record.
一条蚯蚓能在四分之一秒内消失
An earthworm can disappear in a quarter of a second.
不是谁都能制♥造♥这样的房♥屋 晚餐能够自己
Not everyone can build a house where your food literally
准时地来访 也不是谁都喜欢蚯蚓
drops in for dinner – and not everyone likes earthworms.
在中国 竹子是生长得最快的植物
In China,bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants,
但是我听说 它有时也会往下长回到土里
but I have heard of it occasionally growing back into the ground.
在竹子下面有400米长的隧♥道♥
Under the bamboo is a quarter of a mile of tunnelling,
这是竹鼠花了几年的时间建成的
built over several years by bamboo rats.
隧♥道♥沿竹子根部挖掘
The tunnels follow the roots
它们悬在顶棚上像入户管一样
which run along the ceiling,like service pipes.
它用嗅觉检验竹子
She checks the bamboo by smell.
如果根部长出来 它就能感觉到嫩枝的生长
If the roots put out a new shoot,she can sense the fresh growth
当长到适当的长度 它便进行收割
and when it’s the right length,she harvests it.
房♥子已经变成了农场
The house has become a farm.
它有着河狸一样的富铁牙齿