国家地理:Acorn Woodpecker 橡树啄木鸟

Tragedy has produced opportunity among the acorn¹ woodpeckers here in California's Carmel Valley.

The second of two breeding females in this particular communal² group has been killed, probably by the birds of prey³ that kill one in five of the acorn woodpeckers every year.

To understand where the opportunity comes in, it helps to know how a communal group of acorn woodpeckers works. They don't just wing it. Acorn woodpeckers are what scientists call cooperative breeders. This group includes co-breeder males, like this farther and son who share the job of fathering offspring. These two sisters are the clan's joint-nesting breeding females who share the job of producing the chicks.

The others in the group are non-breeding helpers of both sexes who collect acorns⁴ and help out in general.

In this group, both joint-nesting females have died. So these highly prized positions in the group are up for grabs. That's where the opportunity comes in. But the now deceased females have left behind two newly hatched chicks. What'd become of them?

Competitors for the covet⁵ed chance to leave the ranks of helper and become a breeder arrive from all over. And once they arrive, the cooperation turns to conflict as they fight for the role. The winners are a pair of sisters, former helpers from another group nearby.

The first thing they do is, kill the babies of the previous breeders. Somehow, the group accepts this without a squawk.

New group, new order.


acorn: The fruit of an oak, consisting of a single-seeded, thick-walled nut set in a woody, cuplike base. 橡树
wing it: (idiomatic) to improvise⁷; to make things up or figure things out as one goes; or to perform with little or no preparation 即兴表演
father: To procreate (offspring) as the male parent. 作为父亲生养(后代)
up for grabs: Available to anyone 供人竞争
deceased: No longer living; dead. 已死的
become of: Happen to, befall, be the fate of 遭遇；发生
covet: To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another's). 非分地妄想（别人的所有物）
squawk: To complain or protest noisily or peevishly⁸. 抱怨

1 acorn   

n.橡实，橡子

参考例句：

• The oak is implicit in the acorn.橡树孕育于橡子之中。
• The tree grew from a small acorn.橡树从一粒小橡子生长而来。

2 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

3 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

4 acorns   

n.橡子，栎实( acorn的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Great oaks from little acorns grow. 万丈高楼平地起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Welcome to my new website!It may not look much at the moment, but great oaks from little acorns grow! 欢迎来到我的新网站。它现在可能微不足道，不过万丈高楼平地起嘛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 covet   

vt.垂涎；贪图(尤指属于他人的东西)

参考例句：

• We do not covet anything from any nation.我们不觊觎任何国家的任何东西。
• Many large companies covet these low-cost acquisition of troubled small companies.许多大公司都觊觎低价收购这些陷入困境的小公司。

6 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 improvise   

v.即兴创作；临时准备，临时凑成

参考例句：

• If an actor forgets his words，he has to improvise.演员要是忘记台词，那就只好即兴现编。
• As we've not got the proper materials,we'll just have to improvise.我们没有弄到合适的材料，只好临时凑合了。

8 peevishly   

adv．暴躁地

参考例句：

• Paul looked through his green glasses peevishly when the other speaker brought down the house with applause. 当另一个演说者赢得了满座喝彩声时，保罗心里又嫉妒又气恼。
• "I've been sick, I told you," he said, peevishly, almost resenting her excessive pity. “我生了一场病，我告诉过你了，"他没好气地说，对她的过分怜悯几乎产生了怨恨。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹