The quail is peculiarly a domestic bird, and is attached to his birthplace and the home of his forefathers.
鹌鹑为一种典型的家常鸟类,依恋滞留繁衍地或长久栖息地。
The various members of the aquatic families educate their children in the cool summer of the far north,
这种禽类大多栖水而生,在遥远北方的凉爽夏季孵化幼仔,
and bathe their warm bosoms in July in the iced waters of Hudson Bay;
然后飞去哈德逊湾冰水里消退七月炎热。
but when Boreas scatters the rushes where they had builded their bedchambers,
一旦朔风卷起枯枝败叶,当初鹌鹑以此垒巢建窝,
they desert their fatherland, and fly to disport in the sunny waters of the south.
然后,它们就会离开父辈领地,飞去温暖南方的水湄地带过冬。
The songsters of the woodland, when their customary crops of insects and berries are cut off in the fall,
秋天,以昆虫和莓子为生的鹌鹑,一旦田间农作物被砍倒后,
gather themselves to renew their loves and get married in more genial climes.
这些丛林歌手们便会麇集成群,重新开始新的爱恋,在更为温和的气候里求偶交配。
Presently, the groves so vocal, and the sky so full, shall be silent and barren.
很快,果园树林里鸟声鸣啾不断,天空清澈空旷。
The “melancholy days” will soon be here; only thou, dear Bob White, wilt remain.
忧郁哀愁的日子不久将要降临,唯有你,亲爱的鲍勃·怀特仍会盘桓不去。
The quail is the bird for me.
鹌鹑是我的鸟。
He is no rover, no emigrant.
它并非流浪汉,亦不是迁徙者。
He stays at home, and is identified with the soil.
它习惯待在熟悉的地方,它离不开土地。
Where the farmer works, he lives, and loves, and whistles.
农夫们下地干活,它在田间地头栖息、爱恋、玩耍。
In budding springtime, and in scorching summer—in bounteous autumn, and in barren winter,
季节流转,无论在含苞欲放的春天,骄阳似火的夏季,还是丰收喜悦的秋天,万木肃杀的寒冬;
his voice is heard from the same bushy hedge fence, and from his customary cedars.
无论在浓密灌丛上空,或树篱栅栏周围,或常见的香柏树枝头,鹌鹑鸣啾声声不绝于耳,