BuzzFlash Reviews

BUZZFLASH REVIEWS

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"The definitive series on the most colorful, popular and perfectly adapted creatures on earth, The Life of Birds traverses the globe, covering 42 countries and examining over 300 different species. Calling upon the immense skills of many of the world's top wildlife cameramen and women, and pushing filming technology to the limits, new behavior is brought to the screen in staggering detail. Infra-red cameras find oilbirds deep in pitch black caves. Ultra slow motion film unravels the complexities of bird flight and ultraviolet cameras reveal the world from a bird's point of view."

From an online reviewer:

I'll start with these words: I was not a bird watcher. I was not into bird watching at all. My hobbies mainly involved computers. I graduated in Computer Engineering.

So why my 5-star rating on this piece of work? Well, it is simply the most enjoyable long running documentary I have ever seen.

David Attenborough:

"Birds were flying from continent to continent long before we were. They reached the coldest place on Earth, Antarctica, long before we did. They can survive in the hottest of deserts. Some can remain on the wing for years at a time. They can girdle the globe. Now, we have taken over the earth and the sea and the sky, but with skill and care and knowledge, we can ensure that there is still a place on Earth for birds - in all their beauty and variety... if we want to... and surely, we should."


You can read about "The Life of Birds" on PBS

On the making of "The Life of Birds":

From the outset, the production team were determined that the sound of birds calling and singing would not be dubbed on to the filmed pictures afterwards: it would be recorded simultaneously. To that end, meticulous care was taken not to include man-made 'noises off' from the likes of cars and airplanes. For one particular sequence, Britain's dawn chorus, it was important that the movement of the beak and the expelled warm air was synchronous with the accompanying song.

A trick used to entice some of the animals near the camera was to play a recording of the same species in the hope that the target would not only answer back, but investigate its source as well. This was employed in the episode "Signals and Songs", where Attenborough encouraged a superb lyrebird — one of nature's best mimics — to perform on cue. Despite such fortuity, filming on the series was not all plain sailing: in "Finding Partners", Attenborough was chased by a capercaillie, which didn't even stop when the presenter fell over.


BUZZFLASH REVIEWS