And farming fuelled the growth of another habitat, one that would become an even bigger challenge to North America's wildlife. The modern city was born. The city is an artificial environment, built around the needs of millions of people, and yet it also offers unexpected opportunities for wildlife.
农耕推动了另一个种族栖息地的发展，这个栖息地对于北美野生动物来说是一个更大的挑战，这就是现代都市。城市是由人类创作的一种环境，这种环境能够满足几百万人的生活需要，然而它也为野生动物提供了一些意想不到的生存机会。
This burrowing owl lives in one of the biggest high-tech urban sprawls of North America. It maintains a tenacious foothold in Silicon Valley. Burrowing owls originally lived on open prairies, but they've been forced to adapt to city life because the urban environment has grown around them. They survive by occupying any tiny sliver of grassland that remains. Like many city animals, they take advantage of the darkness to protect them and move around mostly at night. These adaptable birds traditionally nest in the burrows of prairie dogs. But in the city, a piece of old pipe will do. The parents split their duties. The father does much of the hunting. But in this case, it's the mother that actually feeds the chicks. The burrowing owl's ability to hover gives it time to judge an attack before pouncing on its prey.
这只穴鴞生活在北美最大的高科技现代都市之一。在硅谷中有着适合他们的落脚点。穴鴞原本生活在开阔的大草原上，但是由于城市在它们身边拔地而起，它们不得不适应城市生活。它们依靠城市中仅存的草地生存。和许多城市动物一样，它们利用黑暗保护自己并大多时候于夜晚行动。这些适应了新环境的鸟儿原本将巢穴驻在草原犬鼠的洞穴中。但是在城市中，一根陈旧的管道就足够它们栖息。鸟儿父母分工行动。父亲主要工作是捕食。但在这种情况，真正喂食小鸟的确是母亲。穴鴞盘旋的能力使它可以在扑向猎物前做出准确判断。
英文文本来自普特英语，译文属秀哈原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可不得转载。
