纪录片《我们的地球》 第129期 辽阔平原(04)（在线收听）

Red-billed quelea. One and a half billion swarm across the savannahs of Africa.

红嘴奎利亚雀。以15亿的数量聚集在非洲的稀树大草原上。

These are the most numerous birds on Earth.

这些鸟是地球上数量最多的鸟。

Some flocks are so vast that they can take five hours to pass overhead.

这些鸟数量众多，让它们从你的头顶上飞过要花5个小时。

Only grass can feed plagues of these proportions.

只有草才能满足这些鸟的胃口

The ravenous hordes devour the seeds.

饥肠辘辘的群鸟贪婪地吞食着草的种子。

And the leaves and stems are cropped by great herds of antelope.

而叶子和茎则被巨大的羚羊群所享受。

The East African savannahs alone sustain nearly two million wildebeest.

仅生活在东非稀树大草原的角马就接近两百万。

They trim the grass down to its roots, leaving little in their wake,

这些角马拼命地吃草，把草根上面的草茎部分全部吃掉，

but within days the plant will recover and continue to sustain the biggest herds on Earth.

然而被吃掉的那部分仅在数天之内就能恢复生长，并继续维系着地球上最大的动物群落的食物需要。