天府自然历丨鸟类“语言大师”(2022年1月29日)

四川山鹧鸪：鸟中“大熊猫”

人们通常将那些特别珍稀的鸟类给予“鸟中大熊猫”称号。其中，四川山鹧鸪就是其中之一，也是国家一级重点保护野生动物，数量非常稀少。

Particularly rare birds are usually given the title of "panda among birds", and the Sichuan partridge, first-level protected wild animal in China, is one of them.

四川山鹧鸪雌雄羽毛颜色极其分明。雌性上体呈现橄榄褐色、胸为棕灰色、腹部为白色。而雄性上体以暗绿色为主，有较宽的黑色横斑和不规则的细纹。这与许多鸟类雄性美雌性丑的风格不同。

The Sichuan partridge has an extremely distinct feather color between males and females. Females have olive-brown upper body, brownish-gray breast and white abdomen. In contrast, the male‘s upper body is mainly dark-green, with wide black horizontal spots and irregular fine lines, which is different from many other birds in that male birds are often more beautiful than female ones.

值得一提的是，四川山鹧鸪还是鸟类中的“语言大师”，叫声非常特别，在不同环境、不同情绪下差异很大，可以凭借声音传递复杂的信息。尤其在求偶时，雄鸟可以发出单音节和双音节啼叫声，听起来像公鸡打鸣。雌雄之间相互鸣叫应答像对唱山歌，颇有韵味。

Sichuan partridge is the "master of language" among birds, with a very special call that varies with environments and moods and can convey complex information. Especially during courtship, males can make monosyllabic and bisyllabic calls that sound like a rooster crowing. The male and female call and reply to each other in such a rhythmic way that sounds like singing folk songs.