20100416 Birds of Feather Find Sanctuary at World Parrot Refuge (2)

Birds of Feather Find Sanctuary at World Parrot Refuge

And Bob, a blue-front Amazon, came to Huntbatch knowing how to say, "Hello, my name is Bob," bite really hard and then break into a rousing version of "Zip-a Dee-Doo-Dah" by way of apology. "That's Bob," says Huntbatch. "He knows what he's doing." All the birds were either captured in the wild to be sold as pets or are first-generation offspring of once-wild birds. In the jungles where they're born, they form stable flocks and are highly social. That means those that are passed around from home to home as temporary pets take a long time to recover psychologically, Huntbatch says.


Many have plucked their feathered bodies bare in fits of self-mutilation. They may wear socks knit into special sweaters and head cones to keep them from continuing to peck away at new feathers. But they are too battered mentally and physically to join a flock at the refuge and are treated in a hospital wing for as long as it takes them to grow new feathers and healthy psyches. The birds that are healthy enough live in flocks in 25-by-50-foot cages in three concrete-lined rooms where they roost in the limbs of "trees" constructed by staff.



rousing adj. 令人振奮的/充滿活力的
eg: The president gave a rousing and passionate speech at the meeting.
=> 總裁在會議上發表了一個充滿熱情振奮人心的演講。
eg: The rousing cheers from the audience really boosted the team's morale.
=> 觀眾令人振奮的加油聲真地鼓舞了球隊的士氣。

mutilation n. 損傷/殘缺/外型損毀
eg: Many suffered injuries, including mutilation, after the intensive bombing.
=> 許多人因為密集的轟炸以後受了傷害，甚至包括肢體殘缺。

self-mutilation 自殘
=> do something that harm their bodies
eg: The hospital had to restrain the patient because of her self-mutilation tendencies.
=> 因為這名病患有自殘的傾向，醫院不得不把他束縛起來。

psyche n. 心理/精神
=> psyche has to do with your mind
eg: The book discusses the male psyche with much data and evidence.
=> 這本書以許多數據和證據來談論男性心靈。
eg: It's important to study the public's psyche if you want to win the election.
=> 如果要贏得選舉您需要研究大眾心理。


pluck v. 拔...的毛
=> pull it out


offspring n. 子女/子孫/後代
=> children

mutilation n. 切斷/毀損/致殘

battered adj. 打扁了的/憔悴的
=> being hit

head cones n. 避免動物去咬傷口的頭套

roost n. 鳥巢

knit v. 編織


//== Chat room ==//

peck v. 啄
=> strike/bite

beck n. 鳥喙

pecking order (啄序)任何團體的長幼尊卑次序
=>在鳥類中輩分高可以啄輩分低的人
eg: He is at the bottom of the pecking order.
eg: He is at the bottom of a company's pecking order.
=> 他是公司裡最低層的員工.