About The Life of Birds

Legendary broadcaster Sir David Attenborough writes and presents the natural history of birds, with an illuminating look at our feathered friends and their amazing ways.

David Attenborough

© BBC 1997

The Life of Birds reveals how birds have become sophisticated communicators, using colour and beautiful songs, how complex bird engineering constructs astonishing nests to protect their eggs and how some bizarre birds cope with living in some of the most extreme places on the planet.

We take a look at the remarkable variety seen in birds, from the aquatic species, such as ducks, kingfishers and penguins to the extraordinary displays and bizarre mating rituals of the birds of paradise.

An illustration of diversity, birds are an example of evolutionary excellence.

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The Life of Birds Episodes

  • To Fly or Not to Fly?
  • The Mastery of Flight
  • The Insatiable Appetite
  • Meat-Eaters
  • Fishing for a Living
  • Signals and Songs
  • Finding Partners
  • The Demands of the Egg
  • The Problems of Parenthood
  • The Limits of Endurance