世界最大海鸟如何辨别飞行方向?(1)（英语双语对照）

Imagine for a moment that you’re a very hungry bird soaring over 30-foot ocean swells in high winds, with no land for thousands of miles.

想象一下，如果你是一只饥肠辘辘的鸟，在狂风中飞越30英尺高的海浪，几千英里内没有陆地可供停留。

How do you know where you’re going?

你怎么知道要去哪里？

If you’re a wandering albatross, you listen.

如果你是一只漂泊信天翁(wandering albatross)，请听以下播客。

According to a new finding in October’s Proceedings of the National Association of Sciences USA, this seabird navigates using sounds below our thresholds for hearing.

根据10月份《美国国家科学协会学报》的一项新发现，这种海鸟利用低于我们听觉阈值的声音进行导航。

For Science, Quickly, I’m Joseph Polidoro.

欢迎收听《科学快播》，我是约瑟夫·波利多罗。

The wandering albatross thrives in the circumpolar band of ocean north of Antarctica—a windswept region that the world’s best sailors say has the most inhospitable seas on the planet.

漂泊信天翁在南极洲北部的环极带海洋中繁衍生息。这里是一个多风的区域，世界上最优秀的水手都说这里是地球上最不适宜居住的海洋区域。

On the Southern Ocean’s islands where they nest and brood, one wandering albatross parent tends the nest while its partner takes to the sea, traveling as much as 10,000 kilometers as it forages for scattered prey.

在漂泊信天翁筑巢和孵蛋的南大洋岛屿上，漂泊信天翁父母中的一方照看巢穴，而另一方则要出海，飞行多达1万公里，寻找零散的猎物。

The bird must eat enough to fuel its turn on the nest, which can be a long time ...

这种鸟必须吃够食物才能轮岗照看巢穴，这可能需要很长时间......

Birds might go for, perhaps, a minimum of four or five days, up to 30 days.

这种鸟可能飞行的时间少则四五天，多则三十天。

Samantha Patrick is a marine ecologist at the University of Liverpool in England and a co-author of the study.

萨曼莎·帕特里克是英国利物浦大学的海洋生态学家，也是这项研究的合著者。

Wandering albatrosses actually gain weight on these long trips because they’re extremely efficient flyers.

漂泊信天翁在长途跋涉中体重会增加，因为它们的飞行效率极高。

It almost never beats its wings. It’s quite fascinating to see them flying in the winds. When they’re flying, their heartbeat is the same as when they’re resting.

这种鸟几乎从不拍打翅膀。看到它们在风中飞翔，真是太神奇了。它们飞行时的心跳与休息时是一样的。

That’s Sophie de Grissac, an ornithologist and a researcher at the French National Museum of Natural History in Paris, who wasn’t involved in the study.

索菲·德·格里萨克是巴黎法国国家自然历史博物馆的鸟类学家和研究员，她没有参与这项研究。

With their long wingspan—the longest of any bird, maxing out at nearly 12 feet—wandering albatrosses use wind, air pressure gradients, and gravity above the swells and waves to soar for thousands of miles, reaching top speeds of 45 miles an hour.

漂泊信天翁的翼展是所有鸟类中最长的，最大翼展可达近12英尺。漂泊信天翁利用海浪上方的风、重力和气压梯度，可以翱翔数千英里，最高时速可达45英里。