The swarms of starlings that swoop down on<注1> Rome's historic piazzas and baroque churches every winter, forcing tourists and passers-by to seek refuge under umbrellas, are about to get an earful. The Italian League for the Protection of Birds (Lipu) will broadcast bird “distress calls”over loudspeakers in the historic center, using a technology it has tried in Rome's outskirts to scare the birds away."We have recorded the sound that starlings make when there is danger and we will play it over megaphones at dusk when they are starting to nest down," said Danilo Selvaggi, the coordinator of Lipu's Rome project."We want to chase the starlings out of concentrated urban centers with distress calls and spotlights. They will head to outlying parks and suburbs. It is very efficient and there is no cruelty to birds involved since they just migrate to parks and woods outside the city." Between October and February some four million starlings migrate to the Italian capital from Germany, Poland and Russia, darkening the horizon and tracing abstract shapes in the sky that capture the imagination of onlookers. The huge flocks also coat cars, buildings and anyone who has not found cover with bird droppings. Tourists are advised to carry umbrellas or raincoats at dusk and residents have to put up with the rank smell<注2> for months at a time.

　　每年冬天都有大群的八哥扑向罗马的古老广场和巴洛克式教堂，迫使游客和路人在雨伞下寻求遮蔽。如今它们将要听到“严厉的斥责”。意大利鸟类保护联盟(Lipu)将在这一历史名城用喇叭广播鸟的“哀号”来吓走它们，此前他们曾在罗马市郊试用过这一技术。“我们录下了八哥遇到危险时发出的叫声，准备在黄昏八哥归巢的时候用扩音器播放，”Lipu的罗马项目协调员丹尼洛·瑟尔瓦吉说。“我们想用‘哀号’和聚光灯把八哥赶出人口密集的市中心，让它们飞向僻静的公园和郊区。这很有效，而且不牵涉虐待鸟类的问题，因为它们只是移居到城外的公园和树林而已。”每年10月到次年2月间，大约400万只八哥从德国、波兰和俄罗斯迁徙到意大利首都罗马。这些鸟儿遮天蔽日，在空中织出引人遐思的抽象图案。巨大的鸟群也使车辆、建筑和没有遮挡的人无从躲避飞落的鸟粪。游客们被告知在薄暮时分应携带雨伞或雨衣，而每到此时当地居民也不得不忍受长达数月的恶臭。

　　Remarks：人们也可以说“哀号”于八哥的心理健康不利。爱鸟害鸟，终究是人类从自己利益出发在那里翻云覆雨。