With me here today I brought something beautiful. This is a feather from one of the most beautiful birds we have in Kenya, the crested guinea fowl. But this feather is more than just that. If you've taken time when you are outdoors to look at the feathers around you, you'll have noticed that there is this huge variety of different sizes, shapes and even colors. The feather is one of the most astonishing pieces of technology invented by the natural world, and for centuries, this feather has helped birds to keep dry, to keep warm and even power flight. Only one section of the tree of life can actually make a feather. Among all the world's animals, birds are the only ones who can make something like what I'm holding today. I personally have given them a nickname, and I like to call them the feathermakers. It is the major difference between birds and any other animals we have on earth, and if you can't make a feather, you cannot call yourself a bird.
今天, 我带来了一些漂亮的东西。 这羽毛来自肯尼亚最漂亮的鸟类之一, 凤头珍珠鸡。 但是这羽毛不仅仅只是漂亮。 如果你在户外时花些时间 去观察周围的羽毛, 你会发现 这些羽毛形态各异,有各种大小、 形状、甚至颜色。 这羽毛是大自然创造的 最惊人的技术之一, 自古以来,这羽毛帮助鸟儿保持干燥、 温暖,甚至驱动它们飞行。 事实上,仅有一部分物种能长出这样的羽毛。 在世界上所有的动物中, 鸟类是唯一一种能长出 像我手上的东西的生物。 我自己给它们起了个昵称, 我喜欢叫它们 “羽毛制造者”。 这是鸟类和地球上其他动物之间最大的不同, 如果你不能长出一根羽毛, 你就不能称自己是只鸟。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
For us humans, who are earthbound, birds represent freedom. This feather has enabled birds to conquer gravity and take to the air in an extraordinary way. Don't you sometimes wish you could fly like a bird?
对于我们生活在地面上的人类而言, 鸟类代表着自由。 这种羽毛能使鸟类克服重力, 并以一种非凡的姿态在空中飞翔。 你难道不希望能像鸟儿一样飞翔吗?
Birds are my passion, and I want to change the way each one of you thinks about them. The easiest reason I love them so much is because they are beautiful. There are 10,000 species in the world, and each one of them is uniquely beautiful. Birds are amazing, and this talk is dedicated to all the birds of the world.
鸟儿是我的酷爱, 我希望改变你们每个人对它们的看法。 我之所以这么喜欢它们,最简单的原因是它们很漂亮。 世界上有10000种鸟类, 每一种都有与众不同的美丽。 鸟类是令人惊异的, 而这个演讲就是献给世界上所有的鸟。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
(Applause)
(鼓掌)
Indeed, these birds have been part of our lives and cultures all over the world for centuries, and every society has a story about birds. You probably have heard childhood stories of different birds and how they relate with man. I personally recently learned that our human ancestors would follow flocks of vultures and then they would help them to identify where carcasses have been dropped by large carnivores, and these humans will scavenge and eat part of that meat. Birds have been used as brands and labels all over the world. You know the bald eagle? It was chosen as the national emblem for the US because of its majestic strength, beautiful looks and even a long lifespan. And just like us humans who have managed to live in virtually all habitats of this earth, birds have also conquered the world. From birds such as these beautiful penguins that live in the cold ice caps to even others like the larks, who live in the hottest deserts you can imagine. Indeed, these species have conquered this world.
确实,自古以来,鸟类是我们生命中和 文化中的一部分, 每一个社会都有一个关于鸟类的故事。 你可能听说过关于不同种鸟类的童话, 还有它们和人类有着怎样的联系。 我个人近期学习了, 我们人类的祖先会跟随成群的秃鹫, 它们会帮助我们的祖先 确定大型食肉动物掉落动物尸体的位置, 然后这些人会从残骸中找出肉来吃。 全世界的商标和标签都有运用到鸟儿的形象。 你知道这只白头鹰吗? 它被选用作美国的国徽, 因为它有雄伟的力量、 美丽的外表、 和长的寿命。 鸟类和我们人类一样, 设法生活在地球上几乎每一个栖息地, 鸟儿也已经征服了这个世界。 从生活在寒冷冰层中的 美丽的企鹅, 到你所能想象的最炎热的沙漠中 生活着的百灵鸟, 鸟类确实已经征服了这个世界。
Birds also build houses like us. The real pros in housebuilding are a group of birds we call the weaverbirds, and this name they were given because of the way in which they weave their nests.
鸟儿还和我们一样盖房子。 我们称真正建房子的那群鸟为 “织巢鸟”, 而这种织巢的方式 使它们得到了这样的名字。
An interesting one: birds also love and date just like us humans. In fact, you'll be surprised to know that males dress to impress the women, and I'll show you how. So here we have a long-tailed widowbird, and this is how they would normally look. But when it comes to the breeding season, everything changes, and this is how he looks.
有趣的是: 鸟儿们也和人类一样,恋爱、约会。 事实上,你会惊奇于雄性鸟类为吸引雌性而装扮自己。 我将向你展示这个过程。 我们有一只长尾非洲凤凰雀, 这是它们平时的模样。 但是当繁衍时期来临时, 一切都变了, 这是它现在的样子。
(Audience murmurs)
(观众小声说话)
Yeah? Birds also, multiple species of them, do love to touch and cuddle just like humans. And I know you're wondering about this one. Yes, they kiss too, sometimes very deeply.
哦? 很多种鸟类也的确, 和人类一样喜欢抚摸和拥抱。 我还知道你正在疑惑这件事。 没错,它们也接吻, 有时候深吻。
(Applause)
(鼓掌)
Some have even learned to cheat on their spouses.
一些已经学会了欺骗它们的配偶。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
For example, the African jacana: the females will mate with multiple males and then she takes off to find other males to mate with and she leaves the male behind to take care of the chicks.
举个例子,非洲水雉: 雌性水雉会和多个雄性交配, 然后她会离开去找其他的雄性交配, 她把雄性留下照顾雏鸟。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
(Applause)
(鼓掌)
And birds help us so much, and they play very crucial roles in our ecosystems each day. Vultures clean up our environment by literally digesting disease-causing pathogens, and they finish carcasses that would otherwise cost us lots of money to clear from the environment. A sizable flock of vultures is capable of bringing down a carcass the size of a zebra straight to the bone within just about 30 minutes. Owls help to rid the environments of rodents and this helps us a lot because it saves us money -- we don't lose our crops -- and secondly, we don't have to buy harmful chemicals to handle these rodents. The beautiful sunbirds we see in our environments are part of nature's pollination crew, and they help our plants to form fruits. Together with other pollinators like insects, they have actually helped us to get most of the food crops that we depend on for many years.
鸟类给予了我们很多帮助, 他们每天在我们的生态系统中扮演着非常关键的角色。 秃鹫们打扫着我们的环境 通过真正地消化致病的病原体, 它们还消灭尸体残骸,为我们省下一大笔 清洁环境的钱。 数量可观的秃鹫群可以消灭 一具斑马大小的尸体,吃到只剩骨头, 在短短30分钟内。 猫头鹰帮助摆脱环境中的啮齿动物, 这帮助了我们不少,因为省了我们的钱, 我们没有损失农作物, 其次,我们不需要去买有伤害的化学物品 来对付这些啮齿动物。 我们看见的美丽的太阳鸟 是大自然的授粉员的一部分, 它们有助于我们的庄稼结果。 和其他授粉员一起,如昆虫, 他们真正地帮助我们 收获我们多年来赖以生存的大部分粮食作物。
Unfortunately, the story of birds is by far not perfect. They are faced by numerous challenges every day wherever they live. Top on the threats facing birds is habitat loss and reduced food availability. Birds are also hunted, especially migratory species and ducks that congregate in water bodies. Poisoning is happening to flocks that like to stick together, especially in places like rice schemes. Moreover, power lines are electrocuting birds and wind farms are slicing birds when they fly through the blades. Recently, we've heard the talk of climate change making a lot of headlines, and it's also affecting birds, because birds are being forced to migrate to better breeding and feeding grounds because unfortunately where they used to live is no longer habitable.
不幸的是,鸟类的故事还远远不够完美。 无论它们生活在哪里,它们每天正面临着无数的挑战。 鸟类面临的最首要的威胁 就是栖息地的丧失 和越来越少的食物供应。 鸟类也被猎杀,尤其是迁徙物种和 水中聚集的鸭子。 中毒的现象在喜欢聚集在一起的鸟群中发生, 特别在像在大米计划等地方。 另外,电线正电击着鸟类, 当它们从到片中飞过时, 风电场也正切割着鸟类 最近,我们听说气候变化的问题 引发了很多头条新闻, 这也影响着鸟类, 因为它们被迫从更好的繁殖和饲养场地迁移 因为不幸的是,他们过去居住的地方 已经不再适合居住了。
My own perspective towards birds was changed when I was a small boy in high school, and there was this boy who struck, injuring the wing and the leg of a bird we called the augur buzzard. I was standing there, just a mere 14-year-old, and I imagined a human being in a similar situation, because this bird could not help itself. So even if I was hardly any biologist by then, I gathered with three of my friends and we decided to house the bird until it had regained strength and then let it free. Interestingly, it accepted to feed on beef from our school kitchen, and we hunted termites around the compound for its dinner every day. After a few days, it had regained strength and we released it. We were so happy to see it flap its wings and fly off gracefully. And that experience changed the way we looked at birds. We went on to actually make a magazine, and we called it the Hawk Magazine, and this was in honor of this bird that we had helped within our own high school.
我改变了自己对鸟类的看法 当我还是一个高中男孩时, 这个男孩撞到了一只被我们称做非洲鵟的鸟, 并且弄伤了它的腿和翅膀。 我站在那儿, 年仅14岁, 我想象着人类处于类似的情况下, 因为这只鸟不能自救。 所以即使我那时还不是什么生物学家, 我也召集了三个朋友,我们决定安置这只鸟 直到它恢复了力量,然后放飞它。 有趣的是,它接受了我们从学校厨房拿来喂它的牛肉, 我们每天在大院周围狩猎白蚁给它当晚餐。 几天以后,它恢复了力量, 然后我们放了它。 我们很高兴地看到它拍打着翅膀, 优雅地飞走。 那次经历改变了我们对鸟类的看法。 事实上,我们继续做了一本杂志, 我们叫它老鹰杂志 这是为了纪念我们 在高中时帮助过的这只鸟。
Those experiences in high school made me the conservationist I am today. And a passion for birds should especially matter for Africa and all Africans, because among all other continents, Africa hosts some of the most amazing bird species you can find anywhere in the world. Imagine having a name like "shoebill." That's the name of that bird. And there are countries like DR Congo, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya who are leading the continent in highest numbers of diversity when it comes to the species. These birds continue to provide the continent with very crucial ecosystem services that Africa needs. Moreover, there is huge potential for Africa to lead the world in avian tourism. The economy will definitely benefit. Imagine how many communities will benefit from groups of tourists visiting their villages just to see the endemic birds that can only be found in those villages.
那些高中的经历使我成为了今天的环保主义者。 对鸟类的热情对于非洲来说尤其重要 还有所有的非洲人, 因为在所有其他大陆中, 非洲拥有一些世界上任何地方都能找到的 最惊人的鸟类。 想象一下,拥有一个像“鲸头鹳”这样的名字。 这是那种鸟类的名字。 还有像刚果民主共和国, 坦桑尼亚,乌干达和肯尼亚这样的国家, 它们使这个大陆在物种方面 处于领先地位。 这些鸟类继续为非洲大陆提供它所需的 非常关键的生态系统服务。 此外,非洲在鸟类旅游领域 有着巨大的潜力。 经济必然收益。 想象一下,有多少社区可以从参观村庄的游客中受益, 只是为了看到 只能在这些村庄发现的地方性鸟类。
How can we help birds together? There is now a chance for all of you to turn your passion for birds into contributing to their continued survival, and you can do that by becoming a citizen scientist. Citizen science is a growing trend around the world, and we are having scenarios where people are sharing information with the rest of the community about traffic updates, security alerts and so on. That is exactly what we realized as bird-watchers, and we thought, because birds are found everywhere, if we've got all of you and everyone else in Africa to tell us the birds they find where they live, where they school, or even where they work, then we can be able to come up with a map of every single species, and from there scientists will be able to actually prioritize conservation efforts to those habitats that matter the most.
我们能怎样帮助鸟类呢? 现在你们有机会 把你们对鸟类的热情 转化为对它们持续生存的贡献, 你们可以通过成为公民科学家来做到这一点。 公民科学在全球范围内呈现出不断增长的趋势, 我们正在设定一些场景, 让人们与社区其他人分享有关交通更新, 安全警报等的信息。 这正是我们作为观鸟者所认识到的, 我们认为,因为到处都可以找到鸟类, 如果我们让非洲的所有人和其他所有人 都告诉我们他们在居住、学习甚至工作的地方, 甚至工作的地方的鸟类, 我们就能够拿出一张包含每个物种的地图 从而,科学家将能够 把保护工作的重点 放在最重要的栖息地。
Take for example these two projects, the Africa Raptor DataBank, which is mapping all birds of prey in the continent of Africa, and the Kenya Bird Map, which is mapping about 1,100 species that occur in my country, Kenya. These two projects now have online databases that are allowing people to submit data, and this is converted into very interactive websites that the public can consume and make decisions from.
以两个项目为例, 非洲猛禽数据库 正在绘制非洲大陆的所有猛禽, 以及肯尼亚鸟类地图, 该项目正在测绘我的国家, 肯尼亚出现的约1100种物种。 这两个项目现在有在线数据库, 允许人们提交数据, 并且这些数据被转换成了可互动的网站, 在这里公众可以消费和作出决定。
But when we started, there was a big challenge. We received many complaints from bird-watchers, and they will say, "I'm in a village, and I cannot access a computer. How do I tell you what birds live in my home, or where I school, or where I work?" So we were forced to renovate our strategy and come up with a sustainable solution. It was easy: we immediately realized that mobile phones were becoming increasingly common in Africa and most of the regions could get access to one. So we came up with mobile phone applications that you can use on your iPhone and on your Android phone, and we made them freely available for every bird-watching enthusiast out there. So we came up with BirdLasser, which is used by the Kenya Bird Map, and also we have the African Raptor Observations, which is now used by the African Raptor DataBank. This was a huge breakthrough in our work and it made us get enormous amounts of data from every birder out there in the regions. With this, we realized that citizen science is indeed very powerful, the reason being, citizen science is adaptive. And we were able to actually convert many bird-watchers to start sharing new information with us.
但是当我们开始的时候,有一个很大的挑战。 我们收到了很多鸟类观察家的投诉抱怨, 他们会说: “我在一个村子里,我无法使用电脑。 我怎么告诉你,我的家里、我的学校, 或是我工作的地方有什么鸟儿?” 所以我们被迫改变了我们的战略,并提出了一个可持续的解决方案。 很简单: 我们立即意识到手机 在非洲越来越普遍, 大部分地区都可以接入。 所以我们想出了可以在iPhone和Android手机上 使用的手机应用程序, 我们可以免费地 为所有观鸟爱好者提供这些应用程序。 所以我们想出了肯尼亚鸟类地图使用的BirdLasser, 以及非洲猛禽数据库现在使用的 非洲猛禽观察。 这是我们工作的一个重大突破, 它使我们从各个地区的每一个观鸟者那里 获得了大量的数据。 有了这个,我们意识到公民科学 的确是非常强大的, 理由是,公民科学有很强的适应能力。 而且我们实际上已经能够让许多观鸟者 开始与我们分享新的信息。
When we were starting, we didn't know that birds could be a huge gateway to approaching conservation of other forms of animals. Interestingly, now in the Virtual Museum for Africa, we have maps for dragonflies and damselflies, butterflies and moths, reptiles, frogs, orchids, spiders, scorpions, and yes, we are even mapping mushrooms. Who could have imagined mapping mushrooms? So this showed us that indeed we've created a community of people who care about nature in Africa.
当我们开始的时候, 我们不知道鸟类可能成为一个 接近对其他动物的保护的巨大门户。 有趣的是,现在在非洲的虚拟博物馆, 我们有蜻蜓和豆娘, 蝴蝶和飞蛾, 爬行动物,青蛙,兰花,蜘蛛, 蝎子的地图,是的,我们甚至为蘑菇绘制地图。 谁能想象测绘蘑菇? 因此,这向我们展示了我们的确在非洲建立了 一个关心自然的社区。
I hereby call upon all of you to join me in promoting the value of birds within your communities. Please just tell your friends about birds, for we are always inclined to love and care for that which we know. Please spend a few minutes in your free time when you are at work, at school, or maybe at home, to at least look around you and see which beautiful birds are there. Come join us in citizen science and tell us the birds you're finding in the places where you visit. Even simpler, you could buy your child or your sibling a pair of binoculars or a bird book and let them just appreciate how beautiful these birds are. Because maybe one day they will want to care for that one which they know and love.
我呼吁大家 与我一道在你们的社区内 宣传的鸟类的价值。 请告诉你们的朋友关于鸟类的事, 因为我们总是倾向于爱和关心我们所知道的。 在工作时,在学校或在家时, 请花几分钟的空闲时间, 至少看看周围的人,看看那些美丽的鸟儿。 来加入我们的公民科学, 告诉我们你在访问的地方找到的鸟儿。 更简单的, 你可以给你的孩子或你的兄弟姐妹买 一个双筒望远镜 或一本关于鸟类的书, 让他们意识到这些鸟的美丽。 因为也许有一天他们会想要照顾 那个他们所知道和喜欢的东西。
The children indeed are our future. Let us please teach them to love our feathermakers, because the love of birds can be a huge gateway to appreciating all forms of nature.
孩子们的确就是我们的未来。 请让我们教他们爱我们的羽毛制作者, 因为对鸟的喜爱 可以成为欣赏各种形式的大自然的巨大门户。
Thank you very much.
非常感谢你们。
(Applause)
(鼓掌)
Thank you.
谢谢。