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It's the morning of June 12th, 1944 and a pigeon named Paddy is making an epic 368 kilometer journey.
在1944年6月12日的早晨。一只名叫帕迪的鸽子进行着368千米传奇般的旅程。
He manages to dodge Nazi falcons then beats on through stormy weather, flying an average of 79 kilometers per hour for almost five hours straight.
它设法躲避纳粹猎鹰，然后在暴风雨中继续前进，帕迪大约连续飞行5小时，平均飞行79千米每小时。
Paddy's carrying the first news of the D-Day invasion back to England. He wins a medal for gallantry for this accomplishment.
帕迪带着最早诺曼底登陆的讯息回到英国，这个成就为它赢得了英勇勋章。
Paddy was one of around 250,000 pigeons used by the British during World War II to speedily transport secret messages.
帕迪是大约250000只在二战期间里被英国人用来快速传递秘密信息的鸽子中的一只。
In fact, pigeon delivery systems are ancient human practices.
事实上，信鸽通信是一种人类古老的做法。
Seeing their meat as a protein source and their nitrogen-rich poop as the perfect fertilizer,
由于鸽子的肉是蛋白质的来源，它们富含氮的粪便是完美的肥料，
humans brought pigeons into captivity as far back as 10,000 years ago.
早在一万年前，人类就将鸽子圈养。
We then tapped into other traits.
人们还利用了鸽子的其他特征。
Pigeons are naturally speedy and possess a powerful homing instinct that drives them to navigate long distances back to the location they consider "home."
鸽子拥有与生俱来的速度和强大的归巢本能，这促使它们长途跋涉地回到它们称为家的地方。
So we began developing pigeon posts and breeding and training them for racing.
人们发展了鸽舍，并进行育种和训练以用于比赛。
In a hobby called "pigeon fancying," people selected for traits like head plumage and fabulously feathered feet.
在叫做“鸽子比赛”的爱好中，人们在鸽子中选择了像头部羽毛和极好的羽毛脚这样的特质。
As we carried pigeons around the world, they escaped or were released, forming the wild urban flocks we're familiar with today.
在鸽子被带往世界各地的途中，有些逃脱或被放生了，形成了我们今日熟悉的都市鸽群。
Pigeons are now one of the most abundant, widespread species on the planet, managing to thrive in chaotic cities.
鸽子现在是地球上最丰富、分布最广的物种之一，它们在混乱的城市中蓬勃发展。
They owe their success to an ideal combination of traits, including some that were accentuated by humans.
鸽子的成功源于理想特征的组合，包括一些人们注重的特征。
Unlike birds that nest on the ground or in trees, pigeons were originally cliff-dwellers.
不同于其他鸟在陆地或树上筑巢，鸽子最初在悬崖上筑巢。
City buildings mimic their natural habitat. And pigeons set a notoriously low bar when it comes to homemaking.
城市建筑仿造了它们自然栖息地。众所周知，鸽子对筑巢有一个很低的标准。
Add some sticks to any window ledge or highway overpass and it's a great spot to raise babies.
对于鸽子来说，在任何窗台或高速公路的桥上搭一些枝条，这就是一个鸽子极好繁殖的地方。
This unfussiness allows them to live in environments where more specialized species can't.
一些更特殊的物种不能在这种环境下生活，但鸽子可以，因为它们不讲究。
As generalists, pigeons take advantage of urban food waste.
作为一个多面化的物种，鸽子会利用城市的食物垃圾。
With an organ in their throats called a crop, they can gorge themselves when food is available and store some for later.
鸽子的喉咙里有一个叫作“嗉囊”的器官，可以在有食物时饱餐一顿，然后储存一些以备后需。
They provide "crop milk" to their young instead of having to fetch them live food.
鸽子为它们的幼鸟提供“嗉囊奶”，而不是活食。
Chicks grow quickly with this fat and protein-rich meal.
这种富含脂肪和蛋白质的食物使幼鸟迅速成长。
If conditions are right, pigeons breed year-round and produce new offspring every six weeks.
在合适的环境，鸽子可以每六个星期繁殖新的幼鸟。
They actually have higher breeding rates in cities because of the abundance of food and shelter.
鸽子实际上在城市中有更高的繁殖率，因为城市为它们提供足够的食物和遮风避雨所需。
These booming populations attract predators. New York City is home to a million pigeons, which support large populations of raptors.
这些日渐增多的鸽子吸引了掠食者。纽约市是一百万只鸽子的家园，这些鸽子支撑着城市中巨大数量的猛禽。
But pigeons' aptitude for swift flight, further exploited by being bred for racing, means they're made for high speed chases.
但是，鸽子快速飞行的能力在为比赛而繁育的过程中被进一步利用，这同样意味着它们是为高速飞行而生的。
Compared to barn owls, which are a similar size, pigeon wing bones are thicker and more curved, providing extra space for muscle mass.
与体型相似的仓鸮相比，鸽子的翼骨更加的粗和弯曲，为肌肉块提供了额外的空间。
They can reach speeds of 125 kilometers per hour. And their large flocks ensure safety in numbers and more eyes on the lookout.
鸽子可以达到每小时125千米的速度。大群的鸽子确保了整个鸽群的安全和警惕性。
While pigeons play a starring role in urban wildlife, we're not always enthusiastic neighbors.
鸽子在城市的野生动物里扮演主角的同时，人们和鸽子并不总是热情的邻居。
In 1966, New York's parks commissioner coined the term "rats with wings" and it stuck.
在1966年，纽约公园管理局长将鸽子称为“带翅膀的老鼠”，这一称号在很长时间里挥之不去。
Indeed, their poop, which we originally cherished as fertilizer, presents a unique problem.
人们原本珍视作为肥料的鸽子粪便，带来了一个独特的问题。
Just one pigeon can leave behind 11 kilograms of acidic excrement per year,
仅仅一只鸽子每年就能留下11千克的酸性排泄物。
which, in the United States, scales to about $1.1 billion in structural damage annually.
在美国，这导致了每年11亿美元价值的建筑结构性损坏。
Though incidents of infection are rare, this poop can host fungi that are harmful to people if inhaled.
虽然鸽子粪便导致感染的情况非常罕见，但是这些的粪便可能寄生真菌，如果吸入真菌是对人体有害的。
They may be numerous, noisy and a little too keen on your lunch, but the pigeons that swirl around us are evidence of an ancient, ongoing relationship.
鸽子可能太多和太过吵闹了，并且对你的午餐有点过于热衷，但是在我们周围盘旋的鸽子，证明了一种古老且持续的关系。
Their rise to world domination has been a collaborative effort. For better or for worse, we did this to ourselves.
鸽子在世界的崛起是我们共同导致的。无论是好是坏，这都是我们自己造成的。
