雷鸟: 身壮如牛、追着雷跑的大鸟(上)

So, yeah, so very unlike a bird that you typically think of sitting at a bird feeder—you know, definitely not that kind of bird.

是的，一点也不像你通常看到的停在喂食器旁边的鸟，绝对不是那种鸟。

I’m Flora Lichtman, with Scientific American’s Science, Quickly.

我是《科学美国人》科学快播栏目的弗洛拉·里奇曼。

Today: episode three of our four-part fascination on really big birds. We’re going on a gargantuan goose chase.

今天是“魅力大型鸟类”四集系列节目的第三集。我们将继续聊巨型大鹅。

I love talking about these big birds because, as you see, most people, you know, think ostrich, and they think that’s big. But actually they were real giants around at one time.

我喜欢谈论这些大鸟。因为，如你所见，大多数人都认为鸵鸟体型很大。但实际上这些鸟类在过去才是真正的庞然大物。

This is paleontologist Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan of the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

这是南非开普敦大学的古生物学家金萨米·杜蓝(Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan)。

She’s talking about the dromornithids. That’s their scientific name. But in big bird circles, you’ll hear them called thunderbirds.

她说的是雷啸鸟。这是它们的学名。但在大鸟圈，你会听到它们被称为雷鸟。

And I think the name the thunderbirds is really quite wonderful because it kind of immediately—you know, you can understand these really large animals are coming.

我认为雷鸟这个名字非常贴切，因为马上你就知道这些巨兽要来了。

Thunderbirds lived in Australia, and they had a long run.

雷鸟栖息在澳大利亚，可以长距离奔跑。

The earliest members of the group date back 50 million years or so, and one species persisted to about 40,000 years ago.

这个鸟群的初期成员可以追溯到大约5000万年前，而且其中一种鸟坚持到大约4万年前才消失。

And there was one thunderbird that was more thunderous than the rest.

有一只雷鸟的声音比其他的鸟都要响亮。

The largest are the thunderbirds called Dromornis stirtoni. And they are known from the late Miocene, about eight million years ago.

体型最大的雷鸟是史氏雷啸鸟(Dromornis stirtoni)。生活年代为中新世晚期，约为800万年前。

Here’s what to picture.

以下是对其形象的描述。

It’s like an overgrown ostrich, you know. Think about an ostrich, just kind of bigger—big beaks; the bones would have been heavier, more bulkier, more robust ...

它就像一只发育过度的鸵鸟。想想鸵鸟的样子，只是它的体型更大，鸟喙也更大; 骨头更重、更庞大、更结实……

But, like, a lot bulkier and more robust.

不过，雷鸟更庞大，更结实。

Absolutely. They are some of the hugest birds on the planet—were on the planet.

绝对如此。它们是地球上最大的鸟类之一。

This is paleontologist and thunderbird expert Trevor Worthy.

这是古生物学家和雷鸟专家特雷弗·沃西。

They got up to a whopping great 1,300 pounds, which is quite a lot, ten times a human.

它们的体重惊人，重达1300磅，相当重，是人类的十倍。

A bird the size of a cow.

个大如牛的鸟。

Yeah.

是的。

They were huge in … almost every way.

无论从哪里看，它们都是庞然大物。

They’ve got no discernible wings. The bit that pokes out of the side of the body is four inches. It isn’t going to make a dent in the feathers.

雷鸟翅膀的轮廓无法辨认。从鸟身侧面伸出来的部分有4英寸(约10厘米)长。羽毛上无法凹出翅膀的痕迹。

They’re not flying. Their closest living relatives are ducks and geese.

雷鸟不会飞。它们现存的近亲是鸭和鹅。

And that’s another thing you could picture: just a gigantic goose trundling across a lush landscape—Australia was greener eight million years ago—grazing on plants and fruits.

你可以想象这样一个画面: 一只巨大的鹅在郁郁葱葱的地面上缓慢移动——澳大利亚800万年前的草地更绿——吃植物、吃水果。