Birds, |
鸟类 |
close relatives of dinosaurs, |
是恐龙的近亲 |
appeared before mammals. |
出现在哺乳类动物之前 |
The first mammals, as far as we can tell, |
据我们目前所知 最初的哺乳类动物 |
were mostly nocturnal. |
大部分都在夜间活动 |
Colours are not easily distinguishable at night, |
夜间的颜色并不容易辨别 |
so why evolve the ability to detect them? |
那为什么辨别色彩的能力还会进化? |
So it seems that the first mammals themselves |
似乎最早的哺乳类动物本身 |
were not very colourful. |
也并没有很多色彩 |
And this is still largely true today. |
如今大部分情况也依然如此 |
Most are shades of black and white. |
大部分的哺乳类动物都是黑白相间 |
Or brown. |
或者棕色 |
But there are exceptions. |
但是也有一些例外 |
And one of the most dramatic |
这其中有一些非常特别的生物 |
lives in the forests of Gabon in West Africa. |
生活在西非加蓬的森林 |
[mysterious orchestral music playing] |
|
[bird calling] |
|
These monkeys are mandrills, |
这些猴子叫做山魈 |
a kind of baboon. |
是一种狒狒 |
They live in large troops. |
它们群居而生 |
Most are females and youngsters, |
大部分是雌性和未成年山魈 |
both of which are brown. |
两种都是棕色 |
But the males are different. |
但是雄性山魈则不同 |
They, when they're young, |
幼年时期的它们 |
have very plain faces with naked muzzles. |
面部都非常普通 鼻口平坦 |
As they grow, their faces begin to change. |
随着不断成长 它们的面部开始改变 |
Testosterone begins to flow through their veins. |
睾丸素开始在它们的血管中流淌 |
When they're about six years old, |
当它们长到大约六岁时 |
they leave the troop and start to fend for themselves. |
便会离开猴群 开始自力更生 |
As they become sexually mature, |
当它们性成熟时 |
colour appears in their faces. |
面部就会出现颜色 |
And what colour! |
多么奇妙的颜色! |
[tense orchestral music playing] |
|
Mandrill males are the biggest of all monkeys, |
雄性山魈是体型最大的猴类动物 |
weighing over 30 kilos. |
体重超过30公斤 |
Enormously, frighteningly powerful. |
力气惊人地巨大 |
And their colours say so. |
它们的颜色也说明了这一点 |
[mandrills shrieking] |
|
[mandrill shrieking] |
|
It is not only his face which is coloured. |
它不仅面部有颜色 |
So is his rump. |
臀部也是如此 |
Both are fearless declarations |
二者都在大胆地宣告着 |
of his health and strength. |
自己的健康与力量 |
And this male is more than happy to prove just how strong he is |
这只公猴很乐意证明自己的强壮 |
should any male dare to challenge him. |
让其他公猴不敢挑战自己 |
完整版请点击 |
|
Not surprisingly, |
毫不意外 |
mandrill eyes are particularly sensitive to colour. |
山魈的眼睛对颜色特别敏感 |
And it's the brightness of their colours which signals their status. |
颜色的亮度代表了它们的状态 |
[tense orchestral music building] |
|
[mandrill shrieking] |
|
There are four males in this troop, |
这个猴群中有四只公猴 |
and they're constantly flexing their muscles |
它们不断秀着肌肉 |
and displaying their colours to establish who is the strongest. |
展示着自己的色彩 来确定谁是最强王者 |
And not all disputes are settled peacefully. |
并非所有争端都能和平解决 |
They emphasise their ferocity by gestures, |
它们通过各种姿势来突出自己的凶猛 |
such as grinding their teeth. |
比如磨牙 |
If that doesn't work, |
如果这招不管用 |
the highest-ranking male will fight… |
地位最高的公猴便会打架… |
[mandrill grunting aggressively] |
|
and the others know it. |
以示群猴 |
It's better to let colour do the talking. |
最好还是让颜色来说了算 |
[grunting] |
|
Mandrills see the world much as we do |
山魈和我们看到的世界一样 |
and have three kinds of colour-sensitive cells. |
拥有三种感知颜色的细胞 |
[serene orchestral music playing] |
|
But another group of animals has colour vision that's far superior |
而另一种动物的色觉 |
to that of any mammal. |
远胜于任何哺乳类动物 |
Birds. |
鸟类 |
[birds calling] |
|
Their ability varies from group to group, |
它们的能力因种类不同而有所差异 |
but you can judge how good they are |
但是看到它们用颜色来给彼此发信号 |
from the colours they use to signal to one another. |
你就能看到它们有多厉害 |
[whispering] Hummingbirds have excellent colour vision, |
蜂鸟的色觉非常厉害 |
because that enables them to spot brightly coloured flowers, |
它们能够找到色泽鲜艳的花朵 |
which contains the nectar on which they feed. |
里面有它们食用的花蜜 |
So this artificial feeder is a big success. |
因此 这台人工喂食器非常成功 |
Brightly coloured down here |
下面是明亮颜色 |
and containing sugar solution, artificial nectar, up there. |
上面则包含了糖浆、人造花蜜 |
But hummingbirds also use their ability to see colour in a different way, |
蜂鸟还会用辨别色彩的能力 做其他的事情 |
to attract a mate. |
吸引配偶 |
Most species live in South America, |
大多数物种都生活在南美地区 |
where there are flowers of some sort all year round. |
这里全年都有各种各样的花朵 |
[birds chirping, calling] |
|
A few, however, have spread northwards |
但是 也有一部分会向北部延伸至 |
into the deserts of the American Southwest. |
美国西南部的沙漠地区 |
[tranquil orchestral music playing] |
|
In this vastness, |
在这片广阔的地方 |
it's hard to get noticed, |
很难引起注意 |
especially if you're a small hummingbird looking for a mate. |
特别是那些求偶的小蜂鸟 |
But this male Costa's hummingbird uses his colours to send a secret message. |
但是 这只雄性的科氏蜂鸟 则用颜色传达了一则秘密消息 |
Out in the open, |
在开阔的空地上 |
flashy colours can attract unwanted attention, |
鲜艳的颜色会引起不必要的注意 |
so he keeps them hidden most of the time. |
因此它大部分时候都在韬光养晦 |
A slight turn of the head, however, |
然而 它只是稍微扭转一下头部 |
provides a tantalising glimpse of what he has to offer. |
就能让我们看到它所能展示出的魅力 |
He's spotted a female. |
它发现了一只雌鸟 |
She's feeding. |
雌鸟在吃食 |
Hummingbirds live fast lives and need plenty of fuel. |
蜂鸟的移动速度很快 所以需要大量的能量 |
So if he is to attract her attention, he needs something eye-catching. |
如果想要吸引雌鸟的注意 它必须做出些抓眼球的事情 |
Time to reveal his colours. |
是时候展现自己的颜色了 |
Erecting the iridescent feathers on his neck, |
雄鸟竖起了脖子上色彩斑斓的羽毛 |