The wings and tail of the pigeon are covered with long feathers, called quills. The quill-feathers of the winghelp the pigeon to fly, while the quills of the tail guide the bird and steady it in its flight.
鸽子的翅膀和尾巴都覆盖着长长的羽毛, 学名叫“飞翔羽”。翅膀上的飞翔羽是帮助鸽子飞的, 尾巴上的飞翔羽, 能在鸽子飞翔时帮助导向, 帮鸽子保持平衡。
The rest of the pigeon's body is covered with short feathers. Below these feathers it has a kind of soft hair,called down , which clothes the bare skin of the bird and keeps it warm.
鸽子身体其余的部分覆盖着短羽毛。这些羽毛下面长着一种软毛, 绒羽覆盖了鸽子赤裸的皮肤, 能让皮肤保暖。
Pigeons live in pairs, and the mates are very fond of each other. If one of a pair dies, the other will not eat for days, and may even die of grief.
鸽子是成双成对地生活的, 彼此非常恩爱。要是有一只死了, 另一只会好几天不吃东西, 甚至会伤心至死呢！
In summer, the mother pigeon lays two white eggs, and sits on them to keep them warm. The father pigeon, too, takes his turn at sitting on the eggs. In less than three weeks the young pigeons come out of the eggs. At first the young birds have no feathers to cover them; and for some weeks the parent birds have to feed them withseeds out of their own bills.
夏天, 鸽子妈妈会生下两个白色的鸽蛋, 坐在蛋上给蛋保暖。鸽子爸爸也会跟妈妈轮换着孵蛋。不到三个星期, 蛋里就会钻出小鸽子来。一开始, 小鸽子身上是光着的, 没有羽毛；有好几个星期的时间, 爸爸妈妈都得用喙衔着谷粒喂小鸽子。
Pigeons can fly very well. The carrier-pigeon sometimes flies a mile in a minute. These birds may be taken many, many miles from their home, and yet they will fly straight back again. They are used for carrying messages.The message is written on a small piece of paper, which is rolled up, and tied under the bird's wing.
鸽子非常善于飞翔。信鸽的速度有时候能达到一分钟一英里。把这些鸟儿带到离家成百上千英里远的地方, 它们还能径直地飞回家去。人们用信鸽来传信, 把信写在一小片纸上, 卷起来绑在信鸽的翅膀下面。