[英国] 国鸟花落谁家？

　　America has the bald eagle, France the Gallic rooster and India the peacock. That Britain, a nation of animal lovers, does not have a bird to call its own, has spurned ornithologist David Lindo to action with a campaign to find our national bird.

　　美国有秃鹰，法国有高卢雄鸡，印度有孔雀。而英国，作为一个满是动物爱好者的国家，却没有自己的国鸟。鸟类学家大卫·林多坐不住了，发起了国鸟选拔运动。

　　He said: "I want to encourage the great British public to vote for the bird that best represents all that is great about this nation."

　　他表示：“我想鼓励英国民众投票选出最能彰显英国伟大之处的鸟类。”

　　More than 70,000 people voted in the first round to whittle it down to a shortlist of 10 and members of the public now have six weeks to choose which British bird they would like to see represent the country, he said。

　　他说，超过7万民众参与了第一轮投票，海选过后得出十个最终候选鸟。在接下来的六周里，民众就要选出哪种鸟最能代表英国。

　　The 10 most popular birds which have been voted for by the public are the robin, kingfisher, barn owl, blue tit, wren, blackbird, puffin, mute swan, red kite and hen harrier。

　　由民众投票选出的10个最终候选鸟分别是：知更鸟，翠鸟，仓鸮，蓝冠山雀，鹪鹩，画眉，海鹦，疣鼻天鹅，赤鸢和白尾鹞。

　　Mr Lindo said: "Along with the expected contenders - the friendly robin, charismatic puffin and elegant swan - there is one major surprise, the hen harrier, one of England's rarest breeding birds。

　　林多先生指出：“除了预料之中的竞争者——友好亲切的知更鸟，富有魅力的海鹦，高贵优雅的天鹅之外，意外上榜的还有英国最稀有的鸟类之一，白尾鹞。”

　　"Down to just one breeding pair a couple of years ago, it may already be extinct. Could the majestic hen harrier knock the hot favourite robin off its perch?"

　　“数年前白尾鹞仅剩一对繁育后代，几近灭绝。庄重威严的白尾鹞能否一举将最受喜爱的知更鸟击落高位?”

　　Although Mr Lindo says he is supposed to remain impartial, he claims his vote would go to the blackbird whose birdsong reminds him of growing up and "lazy, hazy sunny days"。

　　林多先生说他虽然应该保持公正，但他自己将投票给画眉，因为画眉的叫声让他想起了自己成长的岁月和那些“懒洋洋，雾蒙蒙，天晴晴的日子”。

　　The final round of voting for Britain's National Bird Campaign closes on May 7, the day of the general election。

　　英国国鸟竞选的最后一轮投票截止于5月7日，也是大选当天。

　　Mr Lindo said he will be speaking to the Government once the public has voted to see if the winner can officially be made Britain's national bird。

　　林多先生称届时他将与政府协商被选出的冠军是否能够正式成为英国国鸟。

　　十只候选鸟

　　Robin 知更鸟

　　Pros: Beautiful. Friendly. Lovely red breast.

　　Cons: Bit too seasonal.

　　Blackbird 画眉

　　Pros: Beautiful. Could represent ethnic diversity of Britain. Beatles wrote a song about it.

　　Cons: Hard to see at night.

　　Wren 鹪鹩

　　Pros: big voice and a long Latin name (Troglodytes troglodytes), the wren is the most common UK breeding bird.

　　Cons: Tiny and rather inconspicuous.

　　Red kite 赤鸢

　　Pros: As well as a master of aerobatic displays, the red kite is a conservation success story - it recovered from a tiny and dwindling population to its present numbers which exceed 3,000.

　　Cons: Eats owls.

　　Barn owl 仓鸮

　　Pros: The barn owl is a distinctive, nocturnal hunter and a much-loved, widespread feature of the UK countryside.

　　Cons: Can be eaten by red kite.

　　Hen harrier 白尾鹞

　　Pros: One of the most persecuted birds in the UK, according to Mr Lindo the hen harrier should be Britain's choice if we want to 'back an underdog'

　　Cons: In some parts of Europe people believed that seeing a harrier perched on a house was a sign that three people would die.

　　Swan 疣鼻天鹅

　　Pros: Beautiful. Majestic. Overcomes childhood ugliness.

　　Cons: Can kill you.

　　Puffin 海鹦

　　Pros: Cute. Ridiculously cute. Really ridiculously cute.

　　Cons: Terrible personalities.

　　Blue Tit 蓝冠山雀

　　Pros: Cute. Pretty. Comedy value of our national bird being 'a tit'.

　　Cons: Our national bird would be 'a tit'.

　　Kingfisher 翠鸟

　　Pros: Stunningly beautiful. King-like. Good at fishing.

　　Cons: Too flashy to be a truly British choice.

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