Baby Birds
幼鸟
Gale Lawrence
盖尔·劳伦斯
Every spring the "baby bird crisis" occurs. By May many birds have hatched their first broods and are feeding them in the nest while they grow their feathers and learn to fly. Baby birds have a way of tumbling out of their nests, and children have a way of finding them and bringing them home. What should a family do if faced with this "crisis"?
每年春天“幼鸟危机”都会发生。到5月份,很多鸟都孵出了它们的第一窝幼鸟。幼鸟在鸟窝里得到成鸟的哺育,长出羽毛,学习飞翔。幼鸟有时会从鸟巢里滚落下去,孩子们则经常能找到它们并把它们带回家玩。面对这样一种“危机”,家庭应该做些什么呢?
First, take the baby bird back to the exact spot where it was found. Look carefully for a nest nearby. If you find the nest and it is accessible, put the bird gently back into the nest. Contrary to popular belief, the mother bird will not reject a baby that has been handled by human beings. A deer, which has a keen sense of smell and fears the human scent, will reject a fawn that has been handled, but birds are different. If you find the nest and return the baby, you have done the best you can do.
第一种方法是把幼鸟送回它被发现的地方,仔细寻找附近有没有鸟窝。如果你找到了那个鸟窝并且可以够得着,就把幼鸟小心地放回鸟窝。与人们的普遍认识相反,鸟妈妈不会排斥那些被人类触摸过的幼鸟。鹿的嗅觉很敏锐且害怕人类的味道,它们会拒绝被人类触摸过的小鹿。而鸟则不同,如果你找到了鸟窝并将幼鸟放了回去,那么你已经做了你所能做的最好的事。
As a next-best measure, tie a small box onto a branch of a tree or shrub near where the bird was found, and put the baby bird in the box. The bird will thus be off the ground and out of the reach of neighborhood cats and dogs.
第二好的方法是,在幼鸟发现地附近的树枝上绑一个小盒子,把幼鸟放进去。这样幼鸟就远离地面,不会被附近的猫、狗伤害到。