Three years ago, five parrots were set free in a wild place of Arizona, thousands of miles from the Channel Islands in Jersey where they had been looked after by zookeepers. No evolutionary strategies informed them how to behave in this new landscape of mountainous pine forest unoccupied by their kind for 50 years. To the researchers’ surprise, they failed to make contact with a group of wild parrots imported from Mexico and set free at the same time. Within 24 hours the reintroducing ended in failure, and the poor birds were back in cages, on their way to the safety of the Arizona reintroduction programme.
Ever since then, the programme has enjoyed great success, mainly because the birds now being set free are Mexican birds illegally caught in the wild, confiscated (没收) on arrival north of the border, and raised by their parents in the safety of the programme. The experience shows how little we know about the behaviour and psychology(心理) of parrots, as Peter Bennett, a bird researcher, points out: “ Reintroducing species of high intelligence like parrots is a lot more difficult. People like parrots, always treating them as nothing more than pets or valuable ‘collectables’.”
Now that many species of parrot are in immediate danger of dying out, biologists are working together to study the natural history and the behaviour of this family of birds. Last year was an important turning point: conservationists founded the World Parrot Trust, based at Hayle in Cornwall, to support research into both wild and caged birds.
Research on parrots is vital for two reasons. First, as the Arizona programme showed, when reintroducing parrots to the wild, we need to be aware of what the birds must know if they are to survive in their natural home. We also need to learn more about the needs of parrots kept as pets, particularly as the Trust’s campaign does not attempt to discourage the practice, but rather urges people who buy parrots as pets to choose birds raised by humans.

Three years ago, five parrots were set free in a wild place of Arizona, thousands of miles from the Channel Islands in Jersey where they had been looked after by zookeepers. No evolutionary strategies informed them how to behave in this new landscape of mountainous pine forest unoccupied by their kind for 50 years. To the researchers’ surprise, they failed to make contact with a group of wild parrots imported from Mexico and set free at the same time. Within 24 hours the reintroducing ended in failure, and the poor birds were back in cages, on their way to the safety of the Arizona reintroduction programme.
三年前，5只鹦鹉被放飞到亚利桑那州的野外，距离它们曾经被关的动物园所在地——泽西的香奈儿岛数千英里。没有任何进化方面的策略告诉它们在这个长满松树的山区森林里如何生存，尽管50年前它们的祖先就在那里。令研究人员惊奇的是，它们不能与和它们同时放飞的、来自墨西哥的一群野生鹦鹉进行交流。在检验亚利桑那州重新引进计划安全性的过程中，24小时内，该计划就以失败告终。这几只可怜的鹦鹉（不得不）又回到笼中。

Ever since then, the programme has enjoyed great success, mainly because the birds now being set free are Mexican birds illegally caught in the wild, confiscated (没收) on arrival north of the border, and raised by their parents in the safety of the programme. The experience shows how little we know about the behaviour and psychology(心理) of parrots, as Peter Bennett, a bird researcher, points out: “ Reintroducing species of high intelligence like parrots is a lot more difficult. People like parrots, always treating them as nothing more than pets or valuable ‘collectables’.”
自那以后，重新引进计划还是取得了一些成功，主要是因为现在放飞的鹦鹉都是在野外非法捕捉、在北部边界地区没收的墨西哥鹦鹉，并且是由它们的父母在该计划区域内养大。这个经历告诉我们，我们对应物的行为习惯和动物心理了解得多么的少。正如一个名叫Peter Bennett的鸟类研究员所说：“重新引进像鹦鹉一样高智商的物种是很困难的。人们喜欢鹦鹉，都把它们看做是宠物或者是“有收藏价值”的东西，而不是其他。”

Now that many species of parrot are in immediate danger of dying out, biologists are working together to study the natural history and the behaviour of this family of birds. Last year was an important turning point: conservationists founded the World Parrot Trust, based at Hayle in Cornwall, to support research into both wild and caged birds.
如今，许多种鹦鹉都面临着即将灭绝的危险，生物学家正团结一心研究鹦鹉家族的自然历史和行为习性。去年是一个重要的转折点，生态保护主义者在Cornwall的Hayle创办了“世界鹦鹉基金”，用以支持野生和笼养鸟类的研究。

Research on parrots is vital for two reasons. First, as the Arizona programme showed, when reintroducing parrots to the wild, we need to be aware of what the birds must know if they are to survive in their natural home. We also need to learn more about the needs of parrots kept as pets, particularly as the Trust’s campaign does not attempt to discourage the practice, but rather urges people who buy parrots as pets to choose birds raised by humans.
对于鹦鹉的研究在两个方面是至关重要的。第一，正如亚利桑那计划呈现的那样，当将鹦鹉重新引进到野外时，我们必须意识到如果它们要在自然环境中生存，必须知道怎么去适应。同样，我们也应该更多地了解作为宠物的鹦鹉它们需要什么，特别是在“世界鹦鹉基金”并不试图劝阻人们不去买鹦鹉，而是敦促人们在买鹦鹉时尽量买人类饲养的鹦鹉作为宠物的前提之下。