By late summer, the rice fields of southern China have turned to gold. The time has come to bring in the harvest. Nowadays, modern high-yield strains are grown throughout much of the rice lands, boosted by chemical fertilizers and reaped by combine harvesters. This is the great rice bowl of China, producing a quarter of the world's rice. Insects, stirred up by the noisy machines, are snapped up by gangs of red-rumped swallows, including this year's youngsters, who will have fledged several weeks ago. This could be their last good feast before they head south for the winter.


夏末的中国南部是一片璀璨的金色稻海。如今正是丰收的季节。现代高产人工田占据了中国的大片土地，受化学肥料的滋养并用联合收割机进行大规模收割。这里是世界上最大的水稻种植区，占据世界水稻产量的四分之一。被机器轰鸣惊扰的虫子，马上成为了一群红尾燕的腹中餐，包括新生儿——数周前刚刚羽翼丰满的新燕。这也许是它们在动身渡冬到来前最后的聚餐了。