60秒科学:想要求婚,可以学学造园鸟~~~（在线收听）

The first time you visit your boyfriend’s place, he no doubt tidies up, to give you the illusion that he doesn’t live like an animal. Well, animals, too, can use optical illusions to woo a mate. Take the bowerbird. 
 
你第一次去男朋友的家里，他势必会打扫干净，这会给你一个假象，他没有像个动物一样住着。是的，动物也是如此，用视觉假象来求婚。以造园鸟举例。

Male bowerbirds build elaborate shelters to try to attract a female. They decorate these bachelor pads with shells, bones and pebbles, and even lay a pathway of sticks along which the female can walk to get the best view. But that path provides more than just a welcome mat. It allows the male bird to set the stage so that the décor will accentuate—even exaggerate—his size, a typical sign of good genes.  

雄性造园鸟精心筑巢就是为了吸引雌性。这些单身汉们用果壳、骨头、卵石把自己垫高，装饰自己。甚至用枯枝铺一条小路，让雌造园鸟走过来好好参观。但这条路不仅仅只是作为欢迎的地毯。同时也可以是雄造园鸟的舞台，使得周遭布置能够突出装饰——甚至能让他看上去更大——大小是雄造园鸟优秀基因的典型标志。

See, male bowerbirds line their courtyards with objects arranged from smallest to largest. Viewed from the walkway, this layout makes the court seem smaller and the bird sitting at its center look larger. When scientists went in and reversed the gradient, the male bowerbirds restored it within days, results published in the journal Current Biology.

看看，雄造园鸟布置庭院的东西，从最小的到最大的都准备了。从通道上看去，这种布局是比庭院看上去更小，而造园鸟坐在中间则显得更大。当科学家们进去，改变了路的坡度，雄造园鸟几天内又把它改正回来。研究结果刊登在《当代生物学》杂志上。

Of course, the females may be on to the trick. And rather than being fooled about size, a female may be selecting a male based on how clever he is to make himself look so swell. Or so swelled.

当然，雌造园鸟或许会中计。但雌造园鸟与其被尺寸所蒙骗，不如在挑选“郎君”时立足于他是多么聪明的使自己看上去如此强壮。或者就是这么的高大