保护夏威夷岛上的濒危鸟类（在线收听）

保护夏威夷岛上的濒危鸟类

Of the world's nearly 9,900 bird species, 13 percent - one in eight - are threatened with extinction, according to BirdLife International. Among them are two Hawaiian honeycreepers - tiny birds that live in the forest canopy, and, as the name implies, survive on nectar from tropical flowers.

Scientists at the San Diego Zoo report they have managed to hatch half a dozen of their chicks in captivity, raising hopes that the birds will flutter back from the brink of extinction.

Akikiki and Akeke'e, two species of honeycreepers, make their nests high in the trees of dense rainforests on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i, camouflaging them as clumps of moss.

蜜旋木雀的两个品种：考岛悬木雀和考岛管舌雀在考爱岛上茂密热带雨林的树上筑起高高的巢穴，将自己伪装成苔藓的样子。

Avian malaria, loss of native habitat, hurricanes and non-native predators have devastated their population.

禽流感、天然栖息地的丧失、飓风和非本土捕食者让这个鸟群遭受重创。

Losing them would mean losing a special part of Hawaii, said Bryce Masuda, Program Manager of the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

夏威夷濒危鸟类保护项目经理布莱斯·马苏达说，失去这种鸟类将意味着夏威夷失去一个特别之处。

“Akikiki and Akeke'e are found only on the Island of Kaua’i and could become extinct in a few years without an intensive conservation intervention,” said Masuda.

“只有在考爱岛上才能看到考岛悬木雀和考岛管舌雀，如果不进行有力的保护干预，它们可能会在几年内灭绝。”

Members of the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project found several eggs from both species after a long search. They were carefully collected, and transported by helicopter to a conservation facility, where they were placed in an incubator.

考爱岛“森林鸟恢复项目”成员们经过长期的寻找，发现有考岛悬木雀和考岛管舌雀的几个鸟卵。这些鸟蛋得到认真的保藏，用直升机运输到一个保护中心，然后放在那里的孵化器里。

So far, six chicks have hatched and are doing well. Masuda said this is the best way for recovering the population of endangered birds.

到目前为止已经孵化出6个小鸟，而且状态不错。马苏达说这是恢复濒危鸟类族群的最好办法。

“By bringing Akikiki and Akeke'e into captivity for breeding purposes, we would be able to prevent these two species from going extinct and we would be able to support their long-term recovery by eventually releasing captive-reared individuals back into the wild again,” he said.

“为了孵化我们将考岛悬木雀和考岛管舌雀圈养起来，这样就能防止它们灭绝，最后将圈养的鸟放回大自然，这样就能维持其长期的恢复。”

Scientists plan to continue with the program throughout the breeding season. The same method was successfully used by the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program for increasing populations of other endangered birds on the islands.

科学家计划在繁殖季节继续进行该项目，夏威夷濒危鸟类保护项目也使用同样的办法来增加岛上其他濒危鸟类的数量。