After hours.

Ye Qian and I had dinner and came to the Yishui River together.

By the river, the grass is green, the breeze is gentle, and all kinds of wildflowers and mugwort grass exude a refreshing fragrance; The river water is clear, and there are schools of small fish in the clear water; On the distant mountains, the trees are tall and dense, and the greenery is thick; In the air, many birds flew around, and their cries came and went......

"Look," I said to Ye Qian with a smile, "that black, long-beaked, red-headed, pale pink dress is the crested ibis!" ”

"Is that it?" Ye Qian pointed to the egret by the river.

"That's not," I laughed, "that's an egret, and bigger than it is a crested ibis!" ”

"Wow!" Ye Qian said happily, "I saw it!" Is it the bird whose whole body feathers are white, but the upper and lower body feathers and flying feathers are slightly pink, the entire face and feet are bright red, and the tip of the beak and the base of the lower beak are red and the rest of the body is black? ”

"You're right," I said with a smile, "or you're cultured, and you speak so plainly and simply!" ”

"Why is the crested ibis called a lovebird?" Ye Qian asked with interest.

"The reason why the crested ibis is called a lovebird," I explained as I looked at Ye Qian, who was excited, "is because it will only choose one partner in its life and will unswervingly protect their love until death." If a partner dies, they will never marry or not marry! ”

"This is also the reason why the crested ibis has a low reproductive ability and has become a rare bird." Ye Qian guessed.

"Yes," I said seriously, "the infidelity of the female bird can allow her offspring to acquire more genes, so this 'debauchery' can help the population prosper from an evolutionary point of view." Therefore, the crested ibis's unswerving view of love prevents the young birds from getting more and healthier genes. ”

"No wonder there are so many stray dogs," Ye Qian said with a smile, "It turns out that it was all caused by debauchery!" ”

"Love requires loyalty!" I looked at Ye Qian affectionately and said.

"When will the crested ibis couple start preparing to be parents?" Ye Qian asked with interest.

"Two years after I was born," I said solemnly, "if there is a 'bird of love' at first sight or a love affair, the crested ibis couple is ready to be a parent." At the end of each year, the crested ibises return in pairs from their low-altitude wandering areas to the low mountains at an altitude of about 1,000 meters. In early spring and February, the cold wind is still cold, the mountain streams and streams are still frozen, the dead branches and grass on the slopes are still the same, and there is no spring on the mountains. At this time, the crested ibises return to their breeding colonies in pairs, find a tall tree in the valley near the village with paddy fields, and prepare to build a new nest for the new year's breeding. ”

"Only by living in peace can we be happy!" Ye Qian smiled.

"Yes," I said with gusto, "the crested ibis is very funny!" When they arrive at the nesting area, they are not in a hurry to build a nest. ”

"And where do they sleep at night?" Ye Qian asked curiously.

"At night," I said with a smile, "they occasionally spend the night in the big trees in the nesting area, and during the day they fly far away to feed. They are not in a hurry to eat food from the nesting area for hatching and brooding. ”

"It means that rabbits don't eat the grass next to the nest!" Ye Qian guessed.

"It can also be understood in this way," I said earnestly, "that rabbits do not eat the grass by the nest in order to hide themselves; The crested ibis does not eat food from the nesting area in order to prepare for the baby born in the future! ”

"The crested ibis is so smart!" Ye Qian said with emotion.

"At this time," I continued, "the crested ibis lovers spend their days and nights together, foraging for food and flying, grooming each other's feathers. When their snow-white feathers turn gray in white, it means that the crested ibis's estrus season is approaching. ”

"How can feathers turn gray?" Ye Qian asked curiously.

"Because each crested ibis has a small hole in its cheeks," I said seriously, "every time it reaches the sexual maturity stage of love, it secretes a dark brown viscous liquid, and then uses its wings to smear this 'dye' on itself, and finally gray feathers appear on its white body, as if it is wearing a flower dress, to attract the attention of the opposite sex!" ”

"Then if we see a crested ibis with blue-gray feathers," Ye Qian thought and said, "then this crested ibis must be in estrus, right?" ”

"Yes," I said with certainty, "in mid-February, when the temperature rises, the snow-white coats of the male and female crested ibises that love each other become more gray and their faces are even more red, as if they are drunk." Their lovemaking is becoming more and more frequent, and when they build a love nest together, it is time to breed new life. During the period before the crested ibises lay their eggs, they are close to each other, having frequent sex, and concentrating on nesting – the male brings dead branches from nearby and gives them to the female to build a nest. When the male crested ibis returns to the soft grass stalks to lay the nest, the female crested ibis is ready to lay eggs. Before sex, the male crested ibis chirps affectionately, one by one, to attract the attention of the female. When the female crested ibis gazes affectionately at the male crested ibis, the male crested ibis slowly circles in front of the female crested ibis, flies with affection, and then lands beside the female crested ibis, chirping in a low voice. During sex, the male crested ibis passionately jumps on the back of the female crested ibis, and while pressing the tail, he clamps the long beak of the female crested ibis with his long beak, just like a human kiss. After sex, the male and female crested ibises excitedly and contentedly shoulder to shoulder, looking up to the sky and singing, and from a distance of 100 meters, they can hear ......"

"You say it," Ye Qian said angrily, "Don't move your hands and feet!" I don't want to nest with you, and I don't want to have sex with you to lay eggs! ”

"You want to get dirty," I laughed, "I'm talking about the crested ibis, not the two of us!" ”

"Crested ibises are so rare," Ye Qian said thoughtfully, "then their territory for each couple should be very large!" ”

"Yes," I said seriously, "in order to have enough food to feed their babies during the breeding season, the crested ibis couple occupies a large area of the nesting area. The male of the crested ibis, like the males of other birds, plays a leading role in the defense of the territory. ”

"How to defend yourself?" Ye Qian asked with a smile.

"The crested ibis has a special aspect of its territorial defense," I said with great interest, "and when an intruder is spotted, the male does not attack immediately, but faints and feathers with the female. Through this gentle and passive way of showing off, they get the uninteresting intruder to leave. ”

"What if you run into a crested ibis that refuses to leave?" Ye Qian asked with a smile.

"If there is any other crested ibis," I said solemnly, "still obsessed with it, and forcibly entering the crested ibis' couple's little world, the male crested ibis will not be polite, and will begin to pounce in front of the intruder with a long scythe-like beak, pecking violently, pounced desperately, and made a high-pitched, hoarse intimidating sound." Especially when the intruder is male, the male crested ibis attacks even more violently! ”

"What if another crested ibis couple strayed into their nesting area?" Ye Qian then asked.

"Sometimes it's a couple of neighbors who come to the house," I said with a smile, "and the host and the guest are showing off to each other about the existence and stability of their relationship, and they are all putting on a series of breeding acts." The cries of the two pairs of crested ibises converge into one, and the attacking and defending sides will continue this affectionate display for an hour or two. ”

"Fake sex?" Ye Qianyan smiled, "It's really interesting!" ”

"It's funny," I said with a laugh, "that the male and female crested ibises that are hatching their eggs also often make love, and they don't have sex to give birth to life, because their cloaca are not connected, but to show the other crested ibises that they are husband and wife, and to drive away a third person." I once carefully observed a couple of crested ibises who had three fake sex in just one hour and drove away three outsiders......"

"You're really careful to observe," Ye Qian said with a smile, "This behavior of the crested ibis is funny and touching, and such a strong one-to-one mate relationship is rare in animals." ”

"Yes," I said with a smile, "the crested ibis is a typical monogamous bird. A pair of crested ibises stay together for the rest of their lives, flying and lodging together, and jointly bear the heavy responsibility of raising the next generation. ”

"The crested ibis is really a love bird!" Ye Qian said with emotion, "Stick to loyalty and love family!" ”

"Yes," I said seriously, "if you randomly put a male and female crested ibis that are not related to each other, they will not have sex, because they will only have a mate with whom they are close to their hearts." They leave the nest in the morning and are sure to return home on time in the evening. ”

"Then they never leave their nests?" Ye Qian asked curiously.

"No," I explained, "the crested ibis is divided into breeding and wandering periods throughout the year, with the breeding period from November to May of the following year, and the breeding area is relatively fixed, mainly in the quiet mountains and forests on the southern slope of the Qinling Mountains, such as the garden in Yishui Town and the Caihe River in Huaishuguan, which are the breeding grounds of wild crested ibis; The wandering period is from May to November, and the wandering area is relatively scattered, and the Han River and its surrounding tidal wetlands are its active foraging grounds. In addition, the crested ibis has relatively fixed overnight resting places, such as the Leicaogou in Caoba Village, Yangzhou Town, and Qianwan in Xicun Town......"

"Then the crested ibis we see now is in the wandering area," Ye Qian asked thoughtfully, "It's also the wandering period now, right?" ”

"Yes!" I said seriously, "That's why now I can see flocks of crested ibises foraging together!" ”

"Lovebirds," Ye Qian said with emotion, "Loyal love!" ”

"Loyal love," I chimed in, "is the keeping of a promise, like a bird that lives and dies, and nothing can stop and separate it, including death." ”

"Loyal love," Ye Qian said affectionately, "is to adhere to one's beliefs in the elusive earthly fate, in the face of insurmountable difficulties and obstacles, no matter whether it will be doomed in the end, love what the lover loves, want what the lover thinks, hurt the lover hurts, all love is only for the lover." ”

"Yes," I said affectionately, "loyal love is cherished love." Cherished love is a kind of sharing and sharing, like a bird that flies with wings and sleeps with its neck, this is a deep friendship between people, which makes people cherish their loved ones and cherish the love they keep. ”

"Cherished love makes people intimate," Ye Qian said with affection, "love each other, share each other's joy and happiness together, and bear each other's troubles and sorrows." ”

"Cherish love, grow harmoniously," I said emotionally, "naturally, cherish each other, close harmony, and tacit understanding, both parties in love are happy to rely on each other and accompany each other, showing meticulous care and care." ”

I saw tenderness rippling in Ye Qian's eyes.

My heart is rippling in the microwave.

Just then, a crested ibis flew overhead.

A huge cloud of guano whistled down from the sky and smashed right in my face.

"Ye Qian," I hurriedly shouted, "Bring the toilet paper!" ”

"What are you going to do?" Ye Qian asked in wonder, "Could it be that you want to wipe the butt of that crested ibis?" It's long gone! ”

"I'm glad I didn't speak," I laughed, "and I don't think it'll fall into my mouth!" ”

"What are you afraid of?" Ye Qian smiled and said, "You should treat it as a meal!" ”

I laughed, looking nervous.

Ye Qianwan smiled, very ladylike.