BBC Life of Birds Disc 1: The Insatiable Appetite (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.

Birds have an amazing range of bill shapes and sizes, allowing birds to hammer grubs from tree trunks, search out the tiniest seeds, tear meat and sip nectar. And if they can't reach what they're seeking, some of them use tools to help get a meal.
Peter's DVD rating: 4.5 stars
1:30 Eurasian Jay feeds on acorns 2:25 European Goldfinch feeds on Common Teasel seeds 2:40 Blue Tit cracks small seeds
2:50 Greenfinch can remove outer shell of rose hips with tongue 3:10 Hawfinch eats cherry stone: cracks shell, then removes papery husk 3:55 Common Crossbill opens green pine cones, swallows clay to absorb resin (California)
6:12 Eurasian Jay stores up to 9 acorns in crop, buries up to 3,000 a month. 7:35 Acorn Woodpecker stores up to 60,000 acorns in tree - constant maintenance (north America) 10:20 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drills holes and sips pine sap
12:10 Yellow-rumped Warbler drinks from Sapsucker wells on aspen 12:40 Bullock's Oriole and Ruby-throated Hummingbird drink from Sapsucker wells on birches 13:45 Scale Insect drinks tree sap, hummer and warblers drinks from honeydew (Mexico)
16:00Cows chew on leaves 16:20 Barnacle Goose feeds on grass and poops undigested parts; can fly straight up. 17:35 Speckled Mousebird feeds on Acacia leaves, digests in sunlight (South Africa)
18:30 Hoatzin has bacteria in 2nd stomach to ferment leaves (South America) 19:15Plants attract birds with nectar 19:30 Rainbow Lorikeet has brushy tongue to lap nectar (Australia)
21:00 Orange-breasted Sunbird pollinates Heather plant (South Africa) 21:50 Golden-winged Sunbird pollinats Lion's-Claw flower (Mount Kenya) 23:10 Black Flower Piercer steals nectar from hole in trumpet of Datura flower (South America)
24:20Hummingbird drinks from hole made by Flower Piercer 24:50 Sword-billed Hummingbird pollinates long trumpet of Datura plant and Banana Passion Flower flowers 25:30Hummingbird tongue adapted for nectar feeding
26:10 Purple Coral Tree attracts many birds (Thailand) 27:30 Knobbed Hornbill disperses seeds (Indonesia) 28:05 Bohemian Waxwing disperses berries (northern Europe)
28:30 Kokako disperse berries (New Zealand) 28:40 Resplendent Quetzal dosperses avocado seeds (South America) 29:35 Rufous-tailed Jacamar catches Peleides Blue Morpho Butterfly
30:15 Rufous Woodpecker eats ants, has stiff tail feathers (southern India) 31:45 Eurasian Nuthatch picks insects out of bark (Europe) 32:25 Greater Spotted Woodpecker chisels for grubs in bark, has harpoon at tip of tongue
33:30 Woodpecker Finch uses cactus spine to dig grubs from trunk (Galapagos) 36:05 New Caledonian Crow uses stick to irritate huge grub from log 40:45 European Robin finds grubs rooted out by Wild Boar and humans
42:20 Seychelles Magpie finds grubs kicked up by Seychelles Giant Tortoise (Seychelles) 43:45 Cattle Tyrant follows Capybara (South America) 45:35 Red-billed Oxpeckers feed on ticks on Hippopotamus : 2 toes forward and 2 back for clinging
46:40Oxpeckers eat earwax and dandruff on Zebras and Giraffes, and drink blood from Impala 49:10Giant crane used to study canopy of tropical rainforest (Venezuela) 49:30 Emerald Toucanet disperses avocado seeds; Red-and-green Macaw eats the seeds
51:00 Hyacinth Macaw eats palm seeds 51:40 Yellow-crowned Parrot and various parrots ingest clay to counteract poison in seeds   
Garrulus_glandarius.jpg
1:30 Eurasian Jay
Carduelis_carduelis.jpg
2:25 European Goldfinch
Dipsacus_fullonum.jpg
2:25 Common Teasel
Cyanistes_caeruleus.jpg
2:40 Blue Tit
Carduelis_chloris.jpg
2:50 Greenfinch
Coccothraustes_coccothraustes.jpg
3:10 Hawfinch
Loxia_curvirostra.jpg
3:55 Common Crossbill
Garrulus_glandarius-crop.jpg
6:12 Eurasian Jay
Melanerpes_formicivorus.jpg
7:35 Acorn Woodpecker
Sphyrapicus_varius.jpg
10:20 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Dendroica_coronata.jpg
12:10 Yellow-rumped Warbler
Icterus_bullockii.jpg
12:40 Bullock's Oriole
Archilochus_colubris.jpg
12:40 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Coccoidea.jpg
13:45 Scale Insect
Branta_leucopsis.jpg
16:20 Barnacle Goose
Colius_striatus.jpg
17:35 Speckled Mousebird
Opisthocomus_hoazin.jpg
18:30 Hoatzin
Trichoglossus_haematodus.jpg
19:30 Rainbow Lorikeet
Anthobaphes_violacea.jpg
21:00 Orange-breasted Sunbird
Nectarinia_reichenowi.jpg
21:50 Golden-winged Sunbird
Leontochir_Ovallei.jpg
21:50 Lion's-Claw flower
Diglossa_humeralis.jpg
23:10 Black Flower Piercer
Datura.jpg
23:10 Datura flower
Ensifera_ensifera.jpg
24:50 Sword-billed Hummingbird
Passiflora_mixta.jpg
24:50 Banana Passion Flower
Erythrina_fusca.jpg
26:10 Purple Coral Tree
Aceros_cassidix.jpg
27:30 Knobbed Hornbill
Bombycilla_garrulus.jpg
28:05 Bohemian Waxwing
Callaeas_Cinerea.jpg
28:30 Kokako
Pharomachrus_mocinno.jpg
28:40 Resplendent Quetzal
Galbula_ruficauda.jpg
29:35 Rufous-tailed Jacamar
Morpho_peleides.jpg
29:35 Peleides Blue Morpho Butterfly
Micropternus_brachyurus.jpg
30:15 Rufous Woodpecker
Sitta_europaea.jpg
31:45 Eurasian Nuthatch
Dendrocopos_major.jpg
32:25 Greater Spotted Woodpecker
Camarhynchus_pallidus.jpg
33:30 Woodpecker Finch
Corvus_moneduloides.jpg
36:05 New Caledonian Crow
Erithacus_rubecula.jpg
40:45 European Robin
Sus_scrofa.jpg
40:45 Wild Boar
Copsychus_sechellarum.jpg
42:20 Seychelles Magpie
Dipsochelys_hololissa.jpg
42:20 Seychelles Giant Tortoise
Machetornis_rixosa.jpg
43:45 Cattle Tyrant
Hydrochoerus_hydrochaeris.jpg
43:45 Capybara
Buphagus_erythrorhynchus.jpg
45:35 Red-billed Oxpeckers
Hippopotamus_amphibius.jpg
45:35 Hippopotamus
Aepyceros_melampus.jpg
46:40 Impala
Aulacorhynchus_prasinus.jpg
49:30 Emerald Toucanet
Ara_chloropterus.jpg
49:30 Red-and-green Macaw
Anodorhynchus_hyacinthinus.jpg
51:00 Hyacinth Macaw
Amazona_ochrocephala.jpg
51:40 Yellow-crowned Parrot
 
Index Jan 17, 2010 copyleft Peter Chen