BBC Life of Birds Disc 1: To Fly Or Not To Fly (2000)

Index
Naturalist Sir David Attenborough presents a ten part study of "the life of birds," beginning with their origins and evolution and covering their life histories and abilities to adapt to nearly every environment. As is usual with Mr. Attenborough's productions, camera work is ground-breaking, and every continent is visited.

The history of birds, from the first flying reptiles to today's consummate navigators. From giant extinct flightless birds to modern ostriches and emus, see how birds have made a claim to populate not only the air but also the land.
Peter's DVD rating: 4.0 stars
This episode drags a bit towards the end, just listing many birds unique to New Zealand.
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0:00 Sooty Tern (Seychelles) 2:50 Red-tailed Hawk catches bats (Texas) 4:20 Prairie Falcon eats on the wing
5:50 White-fronted Bee-eater 7:00 Pterosaur launches from cliffs like Gannets 9:30 Archaeopteryx had feathers, teeth, tail
11:00 Frilled Lizard (Australia) 11:45 Flying Lizard (Borneo) 12:40 Hoatzin chick uses claws on wings to climb out of water (Suth America)
15:30 Jacana 16:20 Andean Condor 17:30 Terror Bird
18:10 Ostrich toes reduced to 2, vestigial filaments, grazes with beak, swallows pebbles to grind food 23:15 Flightless Cormorant swims underwater (Galapagos) 25:15 Kagu flightless, probably related to heron (New Caledonia)
26:10 Weka flightless rail (New Zealand)27:50 New Zealand Pigeon Saddleback , Tui , Kaka , New Zealand Robin are unafraid of mammals 29:30New Zealand bird analogs of mammals: Kokako like squirrels: glides among trees, jump back up
31:30 Kiwi like a badger: digs for insects by smell at night, no tail 32:50Kiwi feeds on Sandhoppers at night 35:40 Moa had 3 toes, hunted by extinct Haast's Eagle
38:45 Takahe recovered from near extinction, feeds on tussock grass 42:00 Kakapo near extinction from cats in 1985 43:40Kakapo courtship ritual at night
47:55 Spotted Shag 49:20 Wandering Albatross , Royal Albatross (New Zealand) 50:25 Cape Gannet colony of 6,000 nests on cliff (New Zealand)
50:45 Little Blue Penguin 51:10Volcanoes, hot springs: Welcome Swallow 51:45 Blue Duck
52:15 Wrybill probes beneath pebbles 52:30 Black Stilt 52:50 Kea
Onychoprion_fuscatus.jpg
0:00 Sooty Tern
Buteo_jamaicensis.jpg
2:50 Red-tailed Hawk
Falco_mexicanus.jpg
4:20 Prairie Falcon
Merops_bullockoides.jpg
5:50 White-fronted Bee-eater
Pterosauria.jpg
7:00 Pterosaur
Archaeopteryx.jpg
9:30 Archaeopteryx
Chlamydosaurus_kingii.jpg
11:00 Frilled Lizard
Draco.jpg
11:45 Flying Lizard
Opisthocomus_hoazin.jpg
12:40 Hoatzin
Jacana_spinosa.jpg
15:30 Jacana
Vultur_gryphus.jpg
16:20 Andean Condor
Phorusrhacidae.jpg
17:30 Terror Bird
Struthio_camelus.jpg
18:10 Ostrich
Nannopterum_harrisi.jpg
23:15 Flightless Cormorant
Rhynochetos_jubatus.jpg
25:15 Kagu
Gallirallus_australis.jpg
26:10 Weka
Hemiphaga_novaeseelandiae.jpg
27:50 New Zealand Pigeon
Philesturnus_carunculatus.jpg
27:50 Saddleback
Prosthemadera_novaeseelandiae.jpg
27:50 Tui
Nestor_Meridionalis.jpg
27:50 Kaka
Petroica_australis.jpg
27:50 New Zealand Robin
Callaeas_Cinerea.jpg
29:30 Kokako
Apteryx.jpg
31:30 Kiwi
Dinornithidae.jpg
35:40 Moa
Porphyrio_hochstetteri.jpg
38:45 Takahe
Strigops_habroptila.jpg
42:00 Kakapo
Stictocarbo_punctatus.jpg
47:55 Spotted Shag
Diomedea_exulans.jpg
49:20 Wandering Albatross
Diomedea_epomophora.jpg
49:20 Royal Albatross
Morus_capensis.jpg
50:25 Cape Gannet
Eudyptula_minor.jpg
50:45 Little Blue Penguin
Hirundo_neoxena.jpg
51:10 Welcome Swallow
Hymenolaimus_malacorhynchos.jpg
51:45 Blue Duck
Anarhynchus_frontali.jpg
52:15 Wrybill
Himantopus_novaezelandiae.jpg
52:30 Black Stilt
Nestor_notabilis.jpg
52:50 Kea
Index Dec 03, 2005 copyleft Peter Chen