Residents along the Texas Gulf Coast have spotted a flamingo on the run

Residents along the Texas Gulf¹ Coast have spotted² a flamingo³ on the run

Transcript⁴

The flamingo is one of two pink birds that escaped a zoo in Kansas during a storm in 2005. Nicknamed Pink Floyd, the bird has been spotted along the Texas coast for several years.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

All right. Let's go now to the Texas Gulf Coast, where folks recently laid eyes on a critter that, as some in Texas might be fixin' to say, ain't from around these parts.

(SOUNDBITE OF FLAMINGO SQUAWKING)

MARTINEZ: It's a flamingo. Sean Saldana investigates the case of the avian invader⁵.

SEAN SALDANA, BYLINE⁶: If you want to see a flamingo outside of a zoo, you're going to have to do some traveling. Here's Dr. Felicity Arengo of the American Museum of Natural History.

FELICITY ARENGO: You could see them in Mexico and Cuba and the Bahamas and some of the other islands.

SALDANA: One place they aren't typically found is in Texas. To explain exactly how a flamingo ended up in the Lone⁷ Star State, we have to rewind to 2005.

(SOUNDBITE OF REWINDING SOUND EFFECT)

SALDANA: On a windy day in Wichita, Kan., in the Sedgwick County Zoo, more than 700 miles away, a guest reports seeing two flamingos⁸ on the loose - their names, 492 and 347. Zoo staff tries to approach them. But as they get close, the flamingos use their long, skinny legs with those knees that bend the "wrong" way to flee the scene.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SALDANA: A standoff ensues. Every time a staff member gets closer, the pink partners run away.

ARENGO: They are quite sensitive to human disturbance⁹. You know, the adults are very hard to catch.

SALDANA: Then the unthinkable happens.

(SOUNDBITE OF THUNDER CRACK)

SALDANA: A thunderstorm strikes, and the flamingos are gone. The feathered fugitives¹⁰ are on the run.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SALDANA: A few years later, Flamingo 492 is spotted in Texas. This time, the locals have given him a nickname made for an outlaw¹¹ - Pink Floyd.

ARENGO: It has been finding food and surviving. Flamingos are found in shallow saline wetlands. And the microinvertebrates and some seeds and those sorts of things that they eat in their natural range also occur in Texas.

SALDANA: Pink Floyd likes to keep to himself. But every once in a while he can be spotted around the coastline. If you do see him, keep your distance.

ARENGO: I would just not disturb it but just, you know, enjoy watching it. It's a good opportunity to see a wild flamingo.

SALDANA: As for 347, authorities are unsure of his whereabouts. There's a chance he passed away. But he also could have traveled north, changed his name and gotten a job as a lawn ornament¹².

Sean Saldana, NPR News.

[POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: This story incorrectly says that flamingos’ knees bend the “wrong” way. It’s their ankles that appear to bend the “wrong” way.]

(SOUNDBITE OF ZZ TOP SONG, "LA GRANGE")

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

3 flamingo   

n.红鹳，火烈鸟

参考例句：

• This is the only species of flamingo in the region,easily recognized by its pink plumage.这是那个地区唯一一种火烈鸟，很容易凭粉红色的羽毛辨认出来。
• In my family,I am flamingo in the flock of pigeons.在家里，我就像一只被困在鸽笼里的火烈鸟。

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 invader   

n.侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者

参考例句：

• They suffered a lot under the invader's heel.在侵略者的铁蹄下，他们受尽了奴役。
• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

8 flamingos   

n.红鹳，火烈鸟（羽毛粉红、长颈的大涉禽）( flamingo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Flamingos stand in a salt lake in Larnaca, Cyprus. 塞浦路斯的拉纳卡市一个盐湖中的火烈鸟。 来自互联网
• The research started researchers studied greater flamingos and in a bird sanctuary in southern Spain. 研究人员在西班牙南部的一个鸟类保护区对大型火烈鸟进行研究。 来自互联网

9 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

10 fugitives   

n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Three fugitives from the prison are still at large. 三名逃犯仍然未被抓获。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Members of the provisional government were prisoners or fugitives. 临时政府的成员或被捕或逃亡。 来自演讲部分

11 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

12 ornament   

v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物

参考例句：

• The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
• She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。