All language subtitles for Attack and Defend Series 1 2of6 Sky Hunters 1080p

Owls...

Falcons...

Eagles

and hawks.

These hunters
use heightened senses

to spot their victims
from a distance,

seeing and hearing
what others can't.

Then, they attack with precision
and skill...

all from a birds eye view.

(♪♪♪)

(♪♪♪)

Stillness.

Quiet.

The coast is clear.

The perfect time
to forage for food.

Isn't it?

(Screech)

For the Great Horned Owl it is.

So the strategy of the great
horned owl when hunting

is they usually
sit stealthy in a tree.

They look like the
bark of a tree.

They blend right into the bark
of a tree, they sit there,

and when prey moves,
they'll try to dive down

and use their stealth
and their silent flight

to catch that rodent.

Owls are
familiar birds of prey,

but they have an unusual gift
for homing in on their quarry.

These specialized tools
give them an edge.

(Screech)

Many owl species around the
world have asymmetrical hearing,

so one
ear is above the other ear.

So what that does
is allows them

to have perfect depth
perception.

So they can actually
hear a mouse or rodent

either making noise
under the snow

or making noise in the grassland

or even making noise in the
forest,

so they can home in exactly

where that mouse is
only using hearing,

many times not even
using their eyesight.

The super hearing
ability of owls enables them

to pinpoint their prey with
incredible accuracy.

(Screech)

This super sense isn't just
dependent on their ears.

Almost every part of its body
has evolved to support

its hearing.

Owls seem to have large heads.

But it's just an illusion.

Their facial feathers make
their heads seem larger.

But they also grow in the
formation of a parabolic dish.

This shape helps focus the
sound waves onto their ears

and maximizes the volume
of audio information

they can collect.

Much like when you
put your hands up to your ears

to hear something
a long way away,

it makes your head look a lot
bigger, but in the owl's case,

it's only feathers that are
supporting that parabolic dish

so they can use their hearing
to find their dinner.

And the eyes...

Mesmerizing.

Haunting.

Like all birds of prey,
their eyeballs don't move.

They're locked in place.

Fixed eyeballs give owls
a much-needed constant

in a hunt filled with
constantly changing variables.

Owls don't have
the ability to move their eyes,

but they certainly have the
ability to move their head.

Owls can turn their head about
three quarters of a turn in

either direction.

As humans, we can only turn
about 70 degrees in each

direction.

But when their head moves,

their hearing and their eyesight
move together,

which allows them to
of course look around

and hear around
at the same time,

which gives them
a great advantage

when they're out hunting.

These fine tuned
and precise head movements

indicate a critical stage
in the hunt.

Audio and visual come together.

The target is set.

And it's time to move.

Even while in full flight,

owls continue to collect data

on the location of their prey.

Most owl species
are designed with silent flight,

so when they flap their wings,
they don't make any sound.

They have specially
designed flight feathers,

very loosely feathered
in the chest

so they can fly
through the air quietly.

A lot of people assume that's so
they can sneak up on their prey.

Absolutely not.

It's so they can actually
listen to their prey.

So if they made a lot of noise
with their flight feathers,

they'd be listening to
themselves and not their dinner,

so they fly silently so
they can use their hearing.

When the brains
have done their job,

brawn takes over.

So the great horned owls are
some of the strongest feet

in the world
for their size.

They've been measured
over 400 PSI.

That's pounds per square
inch of pressure

at the tips of the talons,
incredibly strong.

They even have the
talons a bit serrated,

which gives them the ability to
hold onto things

once they go in.

And the talons have
a narrow channel running along

them called a blood groove.

When the owl grabs
onto a rodent,

blood leaks out of the
puncture along the groove,

so the talons don't
seal up the wound.

And
their mouth of course,

is actually quite a bit wider

than a lot of other
birds of prey species

and the reason why
is it allows them

to be able to swallow many of
their prey completely whole.

They have a trachea under
their tongue like a snake,

so if they're swallowing
something too big,

they can actually breathe
under their tongue.

(♪♪♪)

(Screech)

Owls locate,

kill and consume
with mastery.

All in deadly silence.

Falcons
come in many sizes.

But when it comes to speed

there's only fast
and extra fast.

(Wings flapping)

Soaring at 500ft,

a falcon can detect
the tiniest motion far below.

It dives

at 60 mph

120...

240...

The tiny creature
never stood a chance.

All Falcons are
efficient predators.

But the peregrine falcon
is in a league of its own.

Reaching speeds of over
217 mph.

It's the fastest
animal on the planet.

At top speeds, one of the
greatest challenges

is simply breathing.

So you've
probably been at high speed,

maybe on a boat or
something like that,

you open your mouth
and all the air is rushing in

and its really hard to breath,

but you're gonna close your
mouth a little bit,

and allow a little bit less air
in cause air is coming in fast,

the same with the peregrine
falcon and their nostrils.

When they go into
a high speed dive,

they actually have a cone in
their beak

that raises a little bit,
allows less air in,

and of course allows them
to breath at high speed.

Without
these adaptations,

the peregrine falcon's lungs

would be flooded
with too much air.

These delicate organs
couldn't take it.

Tests by German scientists
using trained falcons

may have uncovered the secret
of the world's fastest animal.

The study captured high-speed
images of falcons diving.

Using these images, they
built model life-size falcons,

and tested them in wind tunnels

to measure the drag
and lift on the body.

They determined
that while diving,

small feathers pop up
on the falcon's upper back.

This increases speed
by reducing drag

and could be the reason this
winged daredevil

can move so fast
and live to tell the tale.

(Chirping)

This much smaller
falcon might not be able

to compete for speed, but its
eyesight is beyond compare.

The American kestrel is about
the size of a mourning dove.

It's the smallest
falcon in the Americas.

This diminutive cousin of
the peregrine falcon

has a formidable predatory
adaptation all its own.

Kestrels have been studied
extensively

for their great eyesight

and also they're known now

to see into
the infrared spectrum of light.

And they think kestrels use that
so when they fly over a field

they can see urine trails
for mice

and know its good
hunting grounds,

obviously the
more urine trails they see,

they know that there's
lots of mice available.

Once they narrow
down a key location for prey,

another skill kicks in.

Different kestrel
species worldwide

have the ability in most cases
to hover,

so they can sit in one place
almost like a kite on a string

and when their prey breaks cover

they'll dive down from the
height advantage

of being right over it
and be able to capture the prey

on the ground
or in the air.

The peregrine and the kestrel
have different approaches.

But when it's time to kill

these two falcons rely on the
same tools to finish the job.

All falcons
have a specially designed beak.

It has a 90 degree angle in it,

a little tooth that sticks
out, one on both sides,

so when they take their prey
down using their speed

and their feet,

they immediately go
right to the spinal column,

right to the neck and
will dislocate a backbone,

subduing their prey so the
prey doesn't fight back.

This powerful tool
gives both the peregrine falcon

and the American kestrel

the ability to take down prey
twice their size.

Sometimes their catch may be
too big to eat in one sitting

but, for falcons a big kill,
is an investment in the future.

Falcons
will cache prey,

so they'll leave it somewhere,

almost like a safety deposit
box,

and they'll
come back and eat it.

Particularly when
they're feeding young,

when their young have hatched.

Planning for the future is
just one of the many traits

that make
falcons successful.

Big or small, falcons
survive using speed,

control and precision.

(♪♪♪)

The bald
eagle is truly an icon.

With laser-sharp eyes and
deadly talons on powerful feet,

this bird of prey is
a phenomenal hunter.

Eagle eyes.

The cliché is so ubiquitous;

it's easy to forget
where it comes from.

Cruising at 40 mph

an eagle can spot prey from
up to 2 miles away.

He pinpoints his target with
predatory binocular vision...

Dives...

Accelerates to almost a
100 mph.

Seizes...

(Water splashes)

And crushes its victim with
razor-sharp talons

10 times stronger
than a human's grip.

Throughout the
history of civilization,

the eagle, in all of its
forms, has symbolized power.

In North America, the
symbolism lives on

in the bald eagle.

(Calling)

After a brush with
extinction in the 1980s,

this majestic animal now lives
in virtually

every part of North America.

They are large
voracious carnivores.

Proficient aquatic predators.

They need meat.

And lots of it.

Bald eagles are
found near large bodies of water

for the simple fact they're
a large-bodied bird,

they hunt a lot of larger
things - waterfowl, ducks,

geese - and all those tend
to be at lot of open water.

(Wings flapping)

From beak to tail
they are 40 inches long.

Their wingspan is
much as 7 feet.

Males can be up to 8 pounds,

while females can be
25% bigger,

up to 14 pounds.

That size advantage
is unusual in the animal world

but not for birds of prey.

There are larger
birds out there.

But in the hearts and minds
of many wildlife enthusiasts,

the bald eagle soars
above all others.

Clearly this handsome
hunter is not bald at all.

The name comes from the old
English word "Balde"

meaning "white".

The eyes...

are almost as large
as a human's...

But our vision
pales in comparison.

Its vision is probably
between four and seven times

stronger than humans depending
on what expert you talk to.

Now you have to remember
they see faster than us,

so we see about 28 to 30 frames
per second--

they see over
100 frames per second.

So they can see
speed really easy.

Where we can move our
eyes side-to-side,

birds of prey can't.

They actually have to move their
head,

but it's advantageous that their
eyes are at a steady platform,

they're almost like a
gyroscope, their neck access,

and they can use that binocular
vision and pull focus,

which allows them to have almost
something called tunnel vision,

so they can see something
and focus on it,

be able to fly up and down.

They head stays still and
they can still hone in

on what they're trying to hunt.

They are fully
capable of hunting

a wide array of small animals

but they're designed
specifically to kill fish.

As they lock onto the target,

a nictitating membrane closes
over to protect the eyeballs.

It blinks every 3-4 seconds to
keep the eye moist and clean.

But because it's translucent,
vision is maintained.

Then the talons go to work.

Bald eagles
don't have as long talons

as some of the other birds
of prey or raptor species,

for the simple fact is
they are fish-catchers,

so they don't need the
big hook on their talons.

They do have slightly
curved talons,

but it makes it a bit easier if
they're not hooked

all the way around.

It makes it much easier to grab
into slippery things like fish,

but also on their feet

they have almost like sandpaper
or like treads on your shoes

that allows them to have grip
so they can hold on to fish

or other slippery things.

They have a hook on the end
of their beak

which acts just like us
using a fork,

so their feet do the killing,

and where their feet make
little holes in their food,

they can stick their beak in
that hole and pull little pieces

off because they're certainly
not going to be able to swallow

their food whole when they catch
something as large as, say,

a 2-kilo rainbow trout.

They're able to put their hook
in the beak in and pull it out

in little pieces, and they've
got perfect sashimi for the rest

of the day.

Eagles have been used as
symbols of power and integrity.

Perhaps because of their
reputation as great hunters

or because they look
intimidating.

But in the wild, eagles do what
needs to be done to survive.

And that means they're just as
happy feasting

on other animals' kills.

Bald eagles are considered to
be about a 50/50 predator,

so 50 percent of
their dinner is carrion,

50 percent is
they catch live,

so essentially they're
opportunistic.

Whatever presents them,

whatever the easiest food source
is at the time,

they'll
certainly consume it,

and if they don't
have to catch it,

if it's sitting laid out
for them dead on the shore,

perfect opportunity
to have a free meal.

And if they can't
fulfill their needs

through hunting and scavenging,

Bald eagles have another trick
up their sleeves.

When it's time to eat,
they're not above stealing.

Bald eagles are
kleptoparasitic.

They're food pirates.

If they see another eagle
with a fish

they have not problem swooping
down

to snatch it out
of its talons.

Many times
the other bird will drop it

and the bald eagle will
either catch it in the air

or catch it on the surface of
a lake.

If they see
a cormorant with a fish,

they're just going to snatch
the cormorant and the fish.

(Splash)

Whether they have
to beg, borrow or steal,

these birds of prey
will take any food.

They're savvy survivors with
a firm grip on their role

as America's icon.

Some
hawks hunt in packs,

eating prey twice their size,

while others search in solitude.

Up here,
this solitary Harris hawk

looks like
it doesn't need any help.

With its razor-sharp vision,
prey hardly stands a chance.

Now, it's just a waiting game.

And when it finally zeroes in on
its target -

it rarely misses.

But, if it does,
it's no big deal.

Because there's always another
hawk right behind

to pick up the slack.

Harris hawks are one of the
few birds of prey

that hunt in packs.

Their pack
is called the family unit,

very well organized,
they're essentially all related

with each other, so it
could be mum and dad,

siblings from the year before or
it could be uncles and aunts

all working together as a team,

very similar to how wolves
would hunt together.

Hunting as a group
means that a Harris hawk

has a better chance
of getting a meal--

a strategy that evolved

because they mostly
live in deserts,

where food is scarce.

The group dynamic increases
their chances of finding food

where there is little.

The strategy is for this hawk
to work in groups of 2 to 6.

Each has a specific job.

It might be to flush
out prey from the bush,

while others wait
to make the kill.

The best view is
always from high up.

The thermal breezes from below
allow them to gain altitude.

They do
soar quite a bit too,

making use of the thermal heat
currents coming off the earth

and they can sit on those and
that's like a hot-air balloon

pushing them in the air...

All hawks
have incredible eyesight.

They see in color as humans do.

Also they can see in
the ultraviolet range,

which allows them to
spot prey at dusk.

And the position
of their eyes

gives them an additional
advantage.

Hawks, just
like the other birds of prey,

have fully binocular vision, so
they can actually adjust focus

as they go.

This is very beneficial when
you're pursuing an animal

that's quite fast,
they can adjust,

naturally within their eye,
to be able to spot something,

look at it, and be able to
pursue it

without taking their eyes
off it.

What allows hawks to
continue that pursuit

at high speed

is the same type of
semi-transparent membrane

that protects eagles' eyes.

It moves across from side to
side like a windshield wiper.

It moistens the eye

and allows them to be able
to see at fairly high speeds,

and this is a great advantage
over humans

because we have to blink
all the time

and by blinking we take our
vision away.

Basically we're shutting our
eyes for a split second

where hawks don't have that.

The see-through
membrane allows the hawk

to never lose sight
of its quarry.

To make
the perfect kill,

Harris hawks rely on brute
strength--

using particularly large and
powerful beaks and talons.

Hawks vary in size from
species to species.

The Harris hawk has an average
wingspan of 45 inches.

They're experts at taking
prey in mid flight.

They can grab a bird at high
speed using ratchet-like tendons

in their toes.

Once they grab on,
they don't let go.

The more the prey moves...

the tighter they grip.

They grab onto their prey
and they will squeeze,

some squeeze multiple
times

and put multiple holes
in their prey,

some will squeeze
once and hold on for dear life,

and hopefully their prey will
die just from the pressure

and from being bludgeoned to
death.

For hawks, patience
and position lead to a kill.

They'll sit on a
telephone pole, sit in a tree,

they'll look over a field and
when they see prey move

they will watch it and watch it
until it breaks cover

and then they they will dive
down using that height advantage

and speed and slow sort of glide

and then grab their
prey right on the ground.

Hawks vary their food
according to where they live

and what's in season.

For instance, red-tailed
hawks in North America

eat a lot of mice and
snakes in the summertime

when they're available.

We have Swainson's hawks of the
Canadian prairies

and bad lands that eat
a lot of grasshoppers

in the summer months.

We have goshawks in the forests
of the northern hemisphere,

North America, Asia, in Europe.

They eat a lot of grouse;

they eat a lot of
crows and rooks,

also very dependent on where
they are but a lot of cottontail

rabbits and a lot
of jackrabbits.

Hawks it seems are
happy to go with the flow

when it comes to eating

and accept
whatever's on the menu.

With binocular vision,
vice grip-like feet,

and the ability
to hunt in packs,

these feathered assassins have
become masters of air and land.

Seeing the world from
above gives birds of prey

a huge advantage.

With impeccable eyesight, sharp
beaks and powerful talons,

these predators are precise,
efficient and deadly.

(♪♪♪)

(♪♪♪)