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The Life of Birds

“A natural history of bird life narrated by David Attenborough.”

199849m / epDocumentary

First aired

October 21, 1998

8.2

TMDB Score

82% match · 42 votes

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S01 · E02

The Mastery of Flight

Miniseries · Oct 28, 1998 · 50m

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E01▶

To Fly or Not to Fly?

Oct 21, 1998 · 50m

E02Playing

The Mastery of Flight

Oct 28, 1998 · 50m

E03▶

The Insatiable Appetite

Nov 4, 1998 · 50m

E04▶

Meat-Eaters

Nov 11, 1998 · 50m

E05▶

Fishing for a Living

Nov 18, 1998 · 50m

E06▶

Signals and Songs

Nov 25, 1998 · 50m

E07▶

Finding Partners

Dec 2, 1998 · 50m

E08▶

The Demands of the Egg

Dec 9, 1998 · 50m

E09▶

The Problems of Parenthood

Dec 16, 1998 · 50m

E10▶

The Limits of Endurance

Dec 23, 1998 · 50m

The second programme deals with the mechanics of flight. Getting into the air is by far the most exhausting of a bird's activities, and Attenborough observes shearwaters in Japan that have taken to climbing trees to give them a good jumping-off point.

About the Series

Documentary

Synopsis

In the documentary series produced by the BBC, The Life of Birds, Sir David Attenborough unveils a new investigation into the behaviour of birds, perfectly adapted animals that conquer the air. This ten-part series reveals the secret of the birds' great success, their remarkable strategies for finding food, their complex social systems, and their ingenious and often bizarre ways of mating and breeding. From the high speed of large airborne hunters to long distance migrations or the bright colors of nectar feeding hummingbirds, this is the ultimate bird series that every ornithologist should not miss.

First aired: October 21, 1998
Last aired: December 23, 1998
Seasons: 1 season · 10 episodes
Status: Ended
Original language: English
Network: BBC One