第12章 The Kingbird 必胜鸟

The kingbird is not bigger than a robin.

He eats flies, and worms, and bugs, and berries.

He builds his nest in a tree, near some house.

When there are young ones in the nest, he sits on the top of a tree near them.

He watches to see that no bird comes to hurt them or their mother.

If a hawk, a crow, or even an eagle comes near, he makes a dash at it.

Though he is so small, he is brave, and he is also very active.

He never fails to drive off other birds from his nest.

He flies around and around the eagle, and suddenly strikes him with his sharp bill.

He strikes at his eye, and then darts away before the eagle can catch him.

Or he strikes from behind, and is off again before the eagle can turn round.

In a short time, the great eagle is tired of such hard blows, and flies away. He is very glad to get rid of his foe.

Is not the little fellow a brave bird?

Because he can drive off all other birds, he is called the KINGBIRD.

必胜鸟比知更鸟还要小一点。

它以苍蝇、蠕虫、甲壳虫和浆果为食。

它会在居民住房附近的树上筑巢。

雏鸟在鸟巢时候，它会站在附近的树顶上。

时时刻刻都在观察，是否有其它鸟类来伤害它们或它们的母亲。

不管是猎鹰、乌鸦甚或老鹰来到附近，它都会立刻飞奔过去。

虽然它长得小，但它是勇敢的，而且身体非常灵活。

在驱赶其它鸟类靠近它的巢这件事情上，它从未失败过。

它会绕着老鹰一圈圈地飞，然后突然用它的小尖嘴而去袭击老鹰。

它会袭击老鹰的眼睛，然后在老鹰抓住它之前飞得无影无踪。

或者它从背后偷袭老鹰，并且在老鹰转身之前再次逃走。

身材庞大的老鹰在很短的时间，被这种突然袭击搞得十分疲惫，只好灰溜溜地飞走了。它也很高兴能摆脱它的敌人。

这种鸟儿是不是一个勇敢的小家伙？

因为它可以击退所有鸟类，所以它被称为必胜鸟。