All language subtitles for Best of Birds PBS Nature Special 720p HDTV EN Sub_Subtitles01.ENG

[ Squawking ]

Hi, I'm Fred Kaufman,

executive producer
of "Nature,"

and welcome to tonight's
special presentation.

Over the last few years,

we've had great success
with our bird shows,

as we featured the beauty
and grace

of these incredible creatures.

We've also shown you
the touching

and sometimes humorous side of
our feathered friends.

Well, tonight, we've put
together a collection

of the most compelling stories
from our "Nature" library.

Some scenes you'll remember,
and some will be new to you,

but there's no doubt that each
story will stay with you

well after this broadcast.

So enjoy "Nature's
Best of Birds,"

and I'll see you during
intermission,

when we'll show you ways
you can support

the quality programs
you see on "Nature"

and this public television
station.

NARRATOR: For 32 days,
they've been developing,

growing, transforming.

Now, their time has come.

Urgently, they begin knocking
on the door

to the outside world...

ready to break through.

[ Chirping ]

In their first moments of life,

you can tell that
they are ancient creatures.

There are shades of dinosaur

or miniature dragon about them.

But as soon as they've
had a chance to dry

and fluff up a little,

it's easy to see
what they really are.

Bright-eyed, downy ducklings.

It's just the second day
of her life.

She can't fly.

At this stage,
she doesn't really

have any wings to speak of.

[ Chirping softly ]

But she can see the ground
far below...

and hear
her mother's calls.

[ Duck calling ]

Maybe courage
comes from necessity...

Maybe it comes in knowing from
birth exactly what to do.

She weighs
less than an ounce

and lands softly and safely

in the leaf litter below.

And one by one,

ducklings rain down

from the tall oak tree.

MAN: And then suddenly,

the end of the egg fell away,

and this little poult fell out.

And he's wet, and he's confused,

and he's scrambling.

And it's obviously
a desperate time.

And I made my little
turkey sound

that I had been making
to these eggs.

And the little turkey
stopped immediately.

And his little shaking
wet head rotated,

and he looked me
square in the eyes.

And there was something
very unambiguous

transpired in that moment.

And he identified me
as the pair of eyes

belonging
to the correct voice.

And in his way,
he stumbled

and hopped across the floor
of the incubator

and joined me at the edge
of the shelf

and huddled up against
my face and went to sleep.

And something also
moved inside of me,

something very profound.

They're more alert,
sensitive, and aware.

They're, in many ways, in fact,
more intelligent.

Their understanding
of the forest

is beyond my ability
to comprehend.

They had a perfect memory

of what that entire forest
was supposed to look like.

If any object
was out of order,

if a new limb had
fallen out of a tree,

they would find that limb
very disturbing.

They would approach

a stump of a fallen tree
or a rotted tree,

and that was
a fascinating thing,

as most things are
to wild Turkeys.

But, interestingly,
when we approached

a very old stump,

of a tree that had been
sawn down by loggers,

something about that

was very disturbing
to a wild turkey.

I thought it was a fabulous
and interesting response,

but I don't know why.

But here was a stump
that had been cut

10, 15, 20 years before,

and yet there was something
not right about that,

and the turkeys would find it
very interesting

and actually disturbing.

NARRATOR: In a rainforest
in southeastern Australia,

the stillness of early morning
is broken

by a chorus of birdsong.

An assortment of calls
rings through the trees.

They're some of
Australia's finest.

The glossy black cockatoo.

[ Bird calling ]

The pied currawong.

[ Calling ]

The gray shrike-thrush.

[ Calling ]

Believe it or not,

every one of those calls
is being produced

by this bird.

[ Chirping ]

He's a male lyre bird --

a male superb lyre bird,
to be precise.

[ Producing various calls ]

His costume is as remarkable
as his voice.

But to attract a female's
attention,

to get her to notice
those feathers,

he uses his voice.

His impressions are good --

so good, they're a dead-ringer
for the genuine article.

[ Calling ]

This kookaburra
is completely taken in.

[ Calling ]

[ Returns call ]

And lyre birds don't just mimic
other birds --

they'll copy any sound
within earshot --

natural or manmade.

[ Clicking ]

A camera click with
the whir of a motor drive.

[ Click, whir ]

A set of human footsteps.

[ Thumping ]

The screech of a car's brakes.

[ Screeching ]

But even the most superb display

doesn't always pay off.

This female is not persuaded.

[ Various calls ]

He'll keep on calling,

even when breeding season
is over.

After all,
practice makes perfect.

Once an osprey spots
something swimming in the water,

its most exquisite act begins.

Sometimes, they fish along
the surface...

and it's all over in seconds,

like some sudden
smash-and-grab.

But osprey are best known
for their watery plunge.

As it catches sight of a fish,

there's a momentary hover.

Their focus can adjust

for the refraction effects
of the water.

The dive is nearly vertical.

Just before hitting the water,

its legs are thrown forward.

Their wings are the most
waterproof of any raptor.

Even more extraordinary is how
they manage

to helicopter back up
into the air.

Key to this feat
are the large flight muscles

centered in the chest

and their characteristic
v-shaped wings

bent at the wrist joint.

Even without a run-up
or a perch,

they can generate air flow
across their wings

to create lift.

Spearing and holding onto
a wriggling fish isn't easy.

These birds are equipped
for this, as well.

An osprey's feet are scaly,
for extra gripping power,

and unlike other birds of prey,
the outer toe is reversible

so they can grab with two toes
forward and two toes back.

Once the fish is firmly held
under wing,

the osprey heads to the nest.

The greatest angler on the river
has got to be the kingfisher.

They're just master fishermen --

and they've got to be,

because they can pretty much eat

their own body weight

in food every day.

Most of the time,
you just see

a flash of blue.

But to really see
how beautiful they are,

you've got to slow them down.

The male coyote
takes his to-go.

Now the eagle can move in.

But even he can't eat in peace.

The female coyote takes
a modest share

but keeps an eye out
for trouble.

When it strikes,

she can't see it coming.

Albatrosses are such huge birds,

they simply can't take off

without a strong headwind
or a very long runway.

The chicks practice along
the shore,

but, eventually,

their maiden flight

will have to be over open water.

This is not the place to linger.

Tiger sharks.

A dozen of them are drawn
to the island

purposely to prey
on the fledging chicks.

From the shore,
others look on...

waiting for their moment.

One chick builds up courage
and sets off.

No sooner is the youngster
airborne

than the wind drops.

Amazingly,

it escapes.

Others also get away.

Once on the wing,

they'll never look back,

leaving their misfit phase
behind them.

The party here on Lake Bogoria
in Tanzania

is perhaps the greatest
gathering of courting couples

in the animal world.

Thousands of flamingoes
dance together,

all looking for
Mr. or Mrs. Right.

Eye color and bright feathers
are important --

the redder the better.

Once you've caught
someone's eye,

it's about choosing a partner
who will be loyal,

who will stick around.

Flamingoes like partners
of their own age and size,

but the dance may reveal

much deeper insights
into each other.

Many animals find symmetry
attractive,

and the mirrored movements
and coordinated head turns

may help find a mate
that is more compatible.

They seem to prefer birds
like themselves.

It's vital to make
the right choice.

Flamingos nest

in the middle of
soda lakes.

They are swamps
of caustic mud

and among the hottest
places on Earth.

It's a trek to find
the nearest food and water,

and you can't
leave the nest

to bake in the sun.

That means raising the chick

is impossible
for a single parent,

and working together
is crucial.

It gets above 120 degrees
out here.

This is parenting
at its toughest,

so the choice of partner made
in the dance needs to be right.

Back with the rockhoppers,

the lonesome male is still
waiting for his mate,

but his eye soon begins
to wander.

Rockhopper cam
has found an admirer.

The penguin displays

to show he's keen.

She might be a robot,

but it's still
love at first sight.

Preening is a sign that
the male's getting serious.

It seems the perfect match.

But some romances
aren't meant to be.

The rockhopper's real mate
is coming home...

and she's in quite a hurry.

She's a jealous bird.

Penguin cam suffers
the consequences.

The couple reunite.

[ Squawking ]

They now only have eyes
for each other.

Rockhopper cam may have
been jilted,

but she picks herself
right back up again...

while the pair have some
catching up to do.

NARRATOR: In 1993, scientists
from the University of Auckland

discovered
that New Caledonian crows

had an ability
long-thought to be

the domain of humans
and great apes --

the ability to use tools.

Just how smart are these crows?

In an experiment that has never
been tried before,

this crow will be challenged
to push its abilities

to the next level.

And we're looking to see if
the crow can act out

a three-step plan,

like think three chess moves
into the future,

and pull up the string to get
the short tool,

take the short tool
to get the long tool,

and then take the long tool
to get the food.

I'm really curious to see how
this is gonna go.

NARRATOR: This is the first time
this experiment

has ever been attempted,

and our cameras are there
to record what happens.

It's one thing to use a tool
to get food,

but to use a tool to get
another tool to get food

requires much more complex
cognitive powers.

This meta-tool use, as it's
called, is considered to be

crucial in the evolution
of humans.

In Latin America,

Kim Bostwick believes she has
discovered

a contender for
the kingbird's crown.

It's the manakin.

Kim's knowledge of the bird's
ritual is now so intimate,

she knows every move.

So first thing you do is,
you're sitting

on your perch,
and, click, you fly away.

Once you're out there,
you come swooping in,

do a loop-de-loo
in the air,

land on the perch,
and at the end of that,

what the males do is
they lean over,

lift up their tail,

quiver the tail
slightly,

and nail their feathers
against their sides.

And now you're
going to do

a moonwalk, and this is
the only known case

of birds moonwalking,
to my knowledge.

But they basically do
these little steps backwards.

And it looks like

a Michael Jackson slide,
it's very nice.

[ "Billie Jean" playing ]

JACKSON: ♪ Hee, hee, hee ♪

♪ Hee ♪

♪ Whoo ♪

NARRATOR: If Michael Jackson's
moonwalk

can be found in the jungles
of Central America,

then who knows
what we might find next?

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH:
Imagine creatures so beautiful

that people thought
they had come down

directly from heaven...

so striking

that the first Europeans
to see them

thought they could only have
escaped from the Garden of Eden.

They were birds,

but unlike birds that anyone
had ever seen before.

They brought the image of beauty
almost to the edge of absurdity.

They may not have come
from the Garden of Eden,

but they certainly deserve
the name

that the first European
scientists gave them --

the birds-of-paradise.

[ Bird calling ]
That's the call of the superb.

He's making an advertising call.

And there he is.

He's trying to entice a female
down from the canopy.

And there she is.

He transforms himself.

A black cape appears
behind his head.

Then he moves

into a trance-like state,
and he dances.

[Clicking]

All is not what it seems.

Those spots that look like eyes

are, in fact, feathers,
reflecting the dawn light.

That clicking noise is not
his wings striking the wood,

but quills flicking
against one another --

like the clicking of fingers.

Bizarre and beautiful.

NARRATOR: The choreography of
these tiny dancers

revolves around one talent
in particular --

they can hover.

That's why hummingbirds seem so
perfectly balanced in mid-air,

as if they were floating
rather than flying.

Their wings are unlike those
of any other birds.

With their flexible shoulders,

they can even move them
in a figure eight --

and they gain lift
from both sides.

The hummingbird's ability
to hover

evolved for a simple reason --

it enables them
to dine on nectar.

Since most flowers don't offer
a place to perch,

hovering is their
only alternative.

This unusual diet

has forged an evolutionary bond

between hummingbirds
and flowers.

In the mountain forests
of Ecuador,

there lives a hummingbird
that goes to great lengths

in order to feed.

The swordbill
lives up to its name.

Its four-inch bill is actually
longer than its body.

It's easy to see why...

when you look at the flower
on which it feeds.

The trumpet-like blossoms
of the datura

hang straight down.

And its nectar is tucked away
at the very top.

Because the nectar
is so hard to reach,

only those with the right
equipment can gain access.

Over time,
the blossoms have grown longer,

and swordbills have evolved
to keep up.

The datura has
an ulterior motive --

it's bribing the swordbill

to gain its help
in reproduction.

As the bird feeds,
it's dusted with pollen,

which it carries to
the next blossom.

The swordbill has become
a datura specialist,

and that makes it
the perfect pollinator.

This may be the ultimate
in "flower power" --

a plant remaking a bird
to do its bidding.

Getting up into the air
is a complicated exercise,

especially for ducks.

They have relatively small
and pointy wings

and two very different
flight plans.

Surface dabbling ducks,

with small, light bodies,

can rise straight up,

ascending almost vertically
into the air.

Heavier-bodied diving ducks

need a long watery runway

to get enough lift
to take off...

And it takes a lot
of flapping

to get a chubby little
bufflehead airborne.

Once in the air,

ducks maintain
a fast pace.

They don't have
the wings for soaring.

A bald eagle looks effortless
alongside hardworking pintails.

But even for an eagle,

ducks are hard
to keep up with.

Given their body-to-wing ratio,
ducks need to fly

at high speeds to fly at all.

Remarkably, delicate little
green-winged teals

have been clocked
at almost

100 miles an hour.

The two creatures work together.

The gannets are
the dolphins' eyes in the sky.

From their high vantage point,

the gannets can see
what the dolphins can't.

One finally spots what they're
looking for.

He dives --

a signal to all his followers

that they've finally arrived.

60 feet down,
they reach their target --

the great sardine run,

the biggest fish migration
in the world.

But at this depth, the sardines
are quite a challenge.

He comes up with nothing.

But guiding the dolphins here
is about to pay off.

They attack from below,
breaking up the shoals,

and driving them to the surface.

Now the sardines
are much easier to catch.

But the commotion also attracts
bronze whaler sharks.

At every dive, the birds
now dice with death.

And some hunters could swallow
a dozen gannets

in just one gulp.

The victors return to
Bird Island,

the biggest Cape gannet colony
in the world.

These are greylag geese,

the same species that
Konrad Lorenz worked with.

And they are following me

because, like his geese,

they've been imprinted on
a human being.

And that human being, of course,

is Rose.

See, they're all flying
straight in line

behind one another,

just as they do in the wild,

because there's

a little turbulence from the end
of the wing there,

which makes it easier
for that one to get lift.

So they save energy by flying
in this way.

But who could have dreamt that
it would have been possible

to be sitting alongside one

as they do that?!

Look at them!

Isn't it wonderful?!

NARRATOR: For people who dream
of flight,

the closest they can come
to being a bird of prey

is to pilot one of the most
nimble jets

in the U.S. military --

the F-22,

nicknamed the Raptor.

None of its predecessors
has such a large percentage

of its surface that's adjustable
for flight control.

MAN: The aircraft's controlled

by a whole lot of movable
surfaces.

And if you noticed as you walked
around this aircraft,

they're very large.

NARRATOR: A living raptor's
wings and tail

are far more adjustable
than any airplane's.

They can move through
greater angles

and curve rather than merely
swing like a door on a hinge,

and even fan out
to change shape --

all of which adds up to more
flight control.

MAN: The most G's I've ever
pulled in a Raptor

is nine and a half.

Feels like a large weight
just sitting on your lap,

but the problem is it's not just
one section of your body --

it's all along your arms,
in your face, in your neck.

It's every piece of your body.

Fighter pilots build up
an addiction.

In a strange kind of way,

fighter pilots love to pull
G forces.

NARRATOR: If fighter pilots
could choose

their reincarnations,
they'd come back as falcons.

They experience maximum G's

in one of the greatest
demonstrations

of flight control in any bird.

Their signature attack --
the stoop.

When a peregrine
locks onto a target,

it rolls, pulls its wings in,
and plunges.

Coming out of a stoop,

the peregrine feels the highest
forces known for large animals,

up to 25 G's.

It's in the hunt
that peregrine falcons

show off an adjustability
of flight surfaces

far beyond that of any aircraft.

It takes more than
an adjustable tail

and wings to make the peregrine
such a deadly hunter.

Almost every part of its body
is tuned for high air speed.

At the speed of the stoop,
a grain of sand

can strike the eye
like a bullet.

So an extra eyelid,
the nictitating membrane,

can be deployed
to protect the eyeball.

And an unusual breathing system

keeps the lungs working
at over 200 miles an hour.

Falcons have a tiny cone
that's thought to keep air

from flowing around the nostrils
and instead draws it in.

From nose to eyes
to wings,

all parts
of the peregrine's body

seem to contribute
to its deadly attack.

MAN: Sometimes you'll see
the falcon move its head a bit,

and then a half a second later,
its body will follow.

Something traveling at
that speed, you just don't see

these subtle moves
that allow the peregrine falcon

to do what no other bird
in the world can do.

NARRATOR: Ever since
we've looked to the skies,

we've wanted to fly
like the raptors.

And, step by humble step,

we're doing our best
to make the dream of Icarus

a reality.