科学美国人60秒 SSS 我的歌声你懂得（在线收听）

Sweet Song Gives Away New Bird Species 我的歌声你懂得

That, of course, is the sound of the Himalayan forest thrush. And that sound was a clue to field researchers that they might have a new species of bird on their hands. Even though it was in the bush. You know what I mean.

这是喜马拉雅深林中画眉的歌声。这个歌声会告诉田野研究员这里可能有新的鸟类物种。即使它在灌木丛中，那又怎样。你懂我的意思。

You see, the Himalayan forest thrush looks a great deal like another well-known bird called the alpine thrush. They’re both found in northeastern India and nearby parts of China. But the alpine thrush has a raspy song compared with the more mellifluous Himalayan forest thrush.

喜马拉雅画眉和著名的高山画眉有很多相似之处。它们存在于印度东北部以及中国附近地区。但是，喜马拉雅画眉的歌声甜美如蜜，但高山画眉的歌声却有些刺耳。

One of the researchers, Shashank Dalvi of India’s National Center for Biological Sciences and the Wildlife Conservation Society, likened the two different birds to Rod Stewart versus Adele.

来自于印度的国家生物科学中心和野生动物保护协会的的沙·代尔维，将它们比作为罗德·斯图尔特和阿黛尔。

Further analyses, including of the birds’ DNA, confirmed that the song differences were indicative of these birds indeed belonging to two separate species. The finding is in the journal Avian Research.

通过对鸟类的DNA等进一步分析，证明了这两种鸟歌声不同,表明,实际上它们属于不同的物种。该研究结果发表在《鸟类学研究》杂志上。

The discovery of a new bird species is relatively rare. Since the year 2000, ornithologists have found five new species annually on average, mostly in South America. So this newly characterized thrush—only the fourth new species found in India since it became independent in 1947—should send birdwatchers from all over the world flocking. I mean, it’s a sound discovery.

发现新的鸟类物种是相当罕见的。自从2000年，鸟类学家平均每年发现5种新物种，而这些新的物种主要集中在南美洲。所以，自1947年印度独立以后，这种具有新特征的画眉，是在印度发现的第四个新物种。这项新发现应引起世界观鸟者蜂拥而至。我的意思是，这样才是惊奇的发现。