Fun Facts about Pigeons

Pigeons are the most misunderstood of all creatures. Upon seeing a flock of pigeons, many people want 【小题1】 more than to run a mile in the other direction. Pigeons are commonly viewed as carriers and spreaders of disease, but that’s actually not true. People may be surprised to learn that these creatures have a number of 【小题2】 (fascinate) characteristics that should not be overlooked.

First, pigeons are highly skilled navigators (领航员). A pigeon can find its way back to its nest after 【小题3】 (transport) more than a thousand miles away from it! Because of this ability, humans 【小题4】 (use) pigeons to their advantage for centuries.

Another interesting yet not so admirable quality of pigeons is that they appear to be master procrastinators (拖延者). Scientific studies have shown that pigeons often delay the completion of a dull or troublesome task when an immediately 【小题5】 (convenient) alternative is available. Maybe pigeons could “give humans a run for their money” when it comes to putting off work!

Next, we come to the unpleasant topic of pigeon droppings. Urban dwellers are used to seeing streets 【小题6】 (litter) with these droppings. Although pigeon poo is seen as a problem in modern times, several centuries ago, it was actually considered a valuable commodity 【小题7】 its usefulness as a fertilizer.

Finally, it cannot be denied 【小题8】 intelligent creatures pigeons are. In addition to their navigation skills and excellent sense of hearing, they can distinguish between the letters of the Roman alphabet and differentiate between human faces in photographs.

So, 【小题9】 you feel disgusted upon encountering a pigeon, 【小题10】 (remember) that besides carrying little disease risk, these birds are smart creatures with many wonderful abilities.

Passenger pigeons once 【小题1】（fly）over much of the United States in unbelievable numbers. Written 【小题2】（account）from the 18th and 19^th centuries described flocks（群）so large that they darkened the sky for hours.

It 【小题3】（calculate）that when its population reached its 【小题4】（high）point, there were more than 3 billion passenger pigeons—a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of 【小题5】total bird population in the United States, making it 【小题6】（true）the most abundant bird in the world. However, the population decreased because of 【小题7】（commerce）hunters who killed them by the thousands. Americans' need for wood scattered the flocks and forced the birds to go farther north , 【小题8】cold temperatures and spring storms contributed to their decline.

In 1897, the state of Michigan tried to pass a law prohibiting the killing of passenger pigeons, only 【小题9】（find）that by then, no sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10 years. The last of them, known affectionately 【小题10】Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden on September 1, 1914.

A penguin colony in Antarctica that’s home to over 18,000 pairs of Adélie penguins suffered a massive breeding failure, with all but two of the babies starving to death when their parents 【小题1】 (force) to travel further in search of food during this breeding season.

According to CNN, the World Wildlife Fund said unseasonably extensive amounts of sea ice around the colony forced the adult penguins to travel further 【小题2】 (hunt) for food. The babies did not survive the parents’ journeys. “This disastrous event contrasts with 【小题3】 image that many people might have of penguins,” 【小题4】 (say) Rod Downie, Head of Polar Programs at WWF.

Downie continued: “The impact of this event is restricted to this specific colony of Adélie penguins, and predictions are that the Antarctic will get 【小题5】 (warm) and this may pose different 【小题6】 (challenge) in the longer term.”

Adélie penguins are 【小题7】 (general) doing well in East Antarctica and there they mostly eat krill, a small shrimp like crustacean. 【小题8】 they are declining in the peninsula, 【小题9】 the effects of climate change are already being felt. In addition 【小题10】 the climate change, the local penguin population is further threatened because of proposals to open the area to the krill fishing industry.