He will scream like a hawk, and then they will hide themselves,

知更鸟会像老鹰一样尖叫，然后躲起来，

fancying that their enemy is upon them;

好像它们的敌人就在它们上面；

or he will imitate the call of the birds to their mates, and draw them off their nests!

或者它会模仿鸟类呼唤伴侣的声音，并吸引它们到巢中来。

Even the sportsman is often led astray by him;

甚至爱好运动的人也会由它们引入歧途；

and goes in search of birds that are hundreds of miles away, fancying they are close at hand.

还会跑到数百里之外寻找鸟儿，却没想到它们就近在咫尺。

 

In fact, there is no end to the mimicking powers of the mocking-bird;

实际上，知更鸟的模仿能力没有尽头；

and the ancient Mexicans very properly called him by a hard name, that means "four hundred languages."

古代墨西哥人用一个很靠谱的名字称呼它们，意思是“四百种语言”，这么称呼很恰当。

Besides being a musician and a mimic, the mocking-bird is, in his way, a hero.

除了是一位音乐家和模仿者外，知更鸟以它自己的方式在做一位英雄。

He fights obstinate battles with the black snake, the inveterate enemy of the forest birds;

它顽强地与黑蛇打斗，黑蛇是森林鸟儿们的宿敌；

for the black snake loves to suck their eggs, and devour their young ones.

因为黑蛇喜欢吮食鸟儿们的蛋，还会吃掉它们的小鸟。