America has the bald eagle, France the Gallic rooster and India the peacock. That Britain, a nation of animal lovers, does not have a bird to call its own, has spurned ornithologist David Lindo to action with a campaign to find the British national bird.

He said, “I want to encourage the great British public to vote for the bird that best represents all that is great about this nation.”

More than 70,000 people voted in the first round to whittle it down to a shortlist of 10 and members of the public now have six weeks to choose which British bird they would like to see represent the country, he said.

The 10 most popular birds which have been voted for by the public are the robin, kingfisher, barn owl, blue tit, wren, blackbird, puffin, mute swan, red kite and hen harrier.

Lindo said, “Along with the expected contenders — the friendly robin, charismatic puffin and elegant swan — there is one major surprise, the hen harrier, one of England’s rarest breeding birds.

“Down to just one breeding pair a couple of years ago, it may already be extinct. Could the majestic hen harrier knock the hot favorite robin off its perch?”

Although Lindo says he is supposed to remain impartial, he claims his vote would go to the blackbird, whose birdsong reminds him of growing up and “lazy, hazy sunny days.”

The final round of voting for Britain’s National Bird Campaign closes May 7, the day of the general election.

Lindo said he will be speaking to the British Government once the public has voted to see if the winner can officially be made Britain’s national bird.

美国有秃鹰，法国有高卢雄鸡，印度有孔雀。而英国，作为一个满是动物爱好者的国家，却没有自己的国鸟，因此鸟类学家大卫· 林多发起了国鸟选拔运动。

他表示：“我想鼓励英国民众投票选出最能彰显英国伟大之处的鸟类。”

他说，超过7万民众参与了第一轮投票，海选过后得出十个最终候选鸟，在接下来的六周里，民众就要选出哪种鸟最能代表英国。

由民众投票选出的10个最终候选鸟分别是：知更鸟，翠鸟，仓鸮，蓝冠山雀，鹪鹩，画眉，海鹦，疣鼻天鹅，赤鸢和白尾鹞。

林多指出：“除了预料之中的竞争者 — 友好亲切的知更鸟，富有魅力的海鹦，高贵优雅的天鹅之外，意外上榜的还有英国最稀有的鸟类之一，白尾鹞。”

“数年前白尾鹞仅剩一对繁育后代，几近灭绝。庄重威严的白尾鹞能否一举将大热门知更鸟挤下枝头？”

林多说他虽然应该保持公正，但他自己将投票给画眉，因为画眉的叫声让他想起了自己成长的岁月和那些“懒洋洋，雾蒙蒙，天晴晴的日子”。

英国国鸟竞选的最后一轮投票截止于5月7日，也是大选当天。

林多称届时他将与政府协商看看选出的冠军是否能够正式成为英国国鸟。

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

    【有魅力的】 yǒu mèilì de charismatic possessing an extraordinary ability to attract

    【灭绝的】mièjué de extinct no longer existing or living