Life of Birds (Full Screen) [3 Discs]

While I loved the series and found Attenborough's commentary quite amusing, the transfer to DVD looks like it has been copied from my Dad's old VCR. BBC really needs to reissue this with a better transfer.

My wife and I bought The Life of Birds from Amazon without seeing a minute of it. We had seen The Life of Mammals and Blue Planet enough times that we both felt confident that we knew what we were getting. We were right. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is that I can't quite say it was as good as Blue Planet, which blew me away.

Based on our previous experience with The Life of Mammals and Blue Planet, what were we expecting, you might ask? Well, first of all, we knew we'd be getting an outstanding nature documentary series featuring a dizzying variety of animals. We were also expecting informative, yet not overly intrusive narration from David Attenborough. Last, we were expecting a series that our 2-year-old would be riveted to and want to watch over and over again, which is what happened with the first two series. As I said earlier, that's what we expected and that's what we got.

Don't get me wrong: I enjoyed Winged Migration. But as far as documentaries go, it really is a different bird (if you will). The Life of Birds is engaging in a way that Winged Migration is not - it strives to teach, not to create art. The footage may not inspire quite so many "How did they get that shot?" moments as Winged Migration, but there are plenty of scenes that make you wonder. Add to that the fact that there are so many bird species from all manner of habitat in this series that you'll lose count after the first installment.

The 3-disc set consists of 10 episodes:

TO FLY OR NOT TO FLY: Features computer animated sequences on the origins of flight and how birds evolved from pterasaurs - very similar to that in Walking With Dinosaurs. Also great footage of birds hunting insects, including a bee eaters, kiwis, and a hornbill.

THE MASTERY OF FLIGHT: An in-depth look at the anatomy of flight featuring albatrosses, pelicans, hummingbirds, snow geese and various birds of prey. There's a great scene where an osprey nabs a trout, picks it up and turns it head first in mid-flight to reduce drag.

THE INSATIABLE APPETITE: Deals with the constant search for food, largely as a result of flying being so energy-intensive. Features woodpeckers, sap suckers, geese, lorikeets, hornbills, crows, robins and macaws.

MEAT EATERS: Deals almost exclusively with birds of prey, such as owls, eagles, kestrels, shrikes, and hawks, as well as a few that you wouldn't expect (vultures and flamingos). Amazing flight footage in this episode, and very much feels the same as those documentaries of lions eating zebras in Africa.

FISHING FOR A LIVING: Pretty self-explanatory title, featuring dippers, ducks, skimmers, kingfishers, gulls, cormorants, herons, cranes, albatrosses and assorted shore birds.

SIGNALS AND SONGS: A detailed analysis of the reasons and ways that birds communicate. Features robins, blackbirds, finches, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, bell birds, toucans and a whole bunch of birds whose names I'd be sure to misspell if I tried.

FINDING PARTNERS: You can't talk about mating birds without talking about peacocks, right? Well, they did. However, there are grebes, Jamaican streamer-tailed hummingbirds, red-headed weavers, an odd-looking pheasant, a Scottish grouse, the calf bird (which moos to attract a mate) and hedge sparrows.

THE DEMANDS OF THE EGG: Looks at the hassles birds go through to protect their eggs, including a close look at nesting. Features terns, dippers, frigate birds, warblers, weaver birds, red-breasted toucan, cuckoos, and imperial pigeons.

THE PROBLEMS OF PARENTHOOD: Deals with the non-stop effort of feeding some demanding kids that bird parents seem to go through. The young bird footage is great. Features Australian Rosella parrots, coots, cuckoos, Andean torrent ducks, red geese, Arabian babblers, and open billed storks.

THE LIMITS OF ENDURANCE: Examines birds living in hostile environments, and co-existing with people. Also handles conservation efforts, as well as a brief recap of birds that have gone extinct in the last hundred years or so. Features penguins, sand grouse, crab plovers, Arctic gulls, vultures, crows in Japan (some amazing urban footage here), purple martens, and a host of endangered birds.

Excellent work! Excellent Narration! Excellent Picture Quality! Five Mega Stars!!!

David Attenborough's series, The Life of Birds, is quite simply the best documentary wildlife program I have ever seen. First, hats off to the photographers who spent countless hours patiently waiting for that one moment when, for example, a hawk plummets from the sky to capture its prey on the ground. We watch in wonder as this magnificent bird folds its wings and falls at speeds of 200 mph and more to the ground to stike and then lift quickly the unsuspecting animal in its talons. On the other end of the spectrum we observe a hummingbird remaining still in the air while its wings are beating a hundred times a second as it delicately licks nectar from a flower. Before television we have never had a chance to see these wonders so closely and so immediately. These great photographers reveal the mysteries of nature hidden from all but a very few naturalists.

David Attenborough is our guide in this wonderland and he treats us like a friend along for a walk in the woods or the frozen tundra of the North Pole, as well as the rest of the planet that he has wandered in his search for undiscovered truths about the habits of birds. Attenborough takes great risks on our behalf. With line and pulley his ascends to the tops of trees in the Amazon rain forest or the eagles nest high in the rocky mountains.

Not a moment is wasted. Each minute of every program is filled with sights and sounds, facts and figures, and thoughtful commentary about the life of birds. We think of ourselves as the masterbuilders of planet earth until we see the weaver birds using spiders' silk to sew a nest using the leaves of trees and thatch carefully gathered to make a home for the eggs that hatch into young as carefully tended as a mother tends her child.

Our DVD player gives us options no naturalist ever had. We are able to slow down and freeze frame extraordinary sights and study them carefully before we move on. Here is an education no book can match or field study replicate. When the last program ends we have the satisfaction of knowing that the whole show is available to us again and again to view at our leisure.

Great is the only word to describe The Life of Birds and first-time viewers will be delighted by all they see and hear. This is a program for everyone and a great investment for any home library.

I first watched this incredible documentary on PBS, video recorder running every single time. Eventually I decided to get the book that accompanies the series. What an understatement!--the book is a definite stand-alone for those of you who prefer to read. So here is what I recommend to anybody who is even remotely interested in nature documentaries: Buy and watch the DVD, and then, if you're as hooked as I was, do yourself a favor and buy the book. Sir David Attenborough's voice literally jumps off the pages with every single word, which makes for a very entertaining read. But I found that there was a lot of information that I had missed when I watched the series. Upon reading the book, I was amazed at how much I had learned without even realizing it. Little tidbits such as: what purpose do egg shapes serve, how does a mother bird know which squawker to feed next, etc., etc. Marvelous info, incredible photography, a must see/read for any bird enthusiast, and a treat for the rest of you who don't know as of yet that you may well become one... It doesn't matter that our garden bird varieties aren't mentioned in particular, because watching and reading about birds will open your eyes and ears to the birds around you and make you appreciate them for the biological wonders they truly are. -- Oh, and yes, I upgraded to the DVD and gave the tapes to a good friend.