Planet of the Birds (2018) Movie Script
1
(whooping)
(whistling)
NARRATOR: Birds.
(chirping)
It takes all kinds
to survive in habitats the world over.
(squawking)
From pole to pole...
and all the spaces in between,
birds have range.
(chirping)
How do they thrive in
such different environments?
It's their genius of versatility.
(squawk)
In the way they dress...
the way they move...
(squawking)
the way they sing.
For birds, variety is not only
the spice of life...
(squawk)
it's the reason for life.
This is the Planet of the Birds.
(screech)
They are the nomads of the sky.
(screech)
Following ancient routes
that bring them to feed and breed.
(honking)
Extraordinary feats of flight
combined with unmatched
navigational skills
take birds to the farthest reaches,
some chasing the seasons.
Winter.
A tough time for some birds to find food.
Record snowfall along the banks
gives deep cover
for animals like the vole.
They can easily burrow down
in the snowpack
to nest and forage for food,
unseen by eagles above.
But some raptors use
more than eyes to find prey.
At almost 160 feet away,
this great gray owl may seem
an unlikely threat.
But if he listens carefully,
he may actually hear
the pitter-patter of little feet,
no matter how deep the snow.
(pitter-patter)
(clattering)
(wind whistling)
All winter long, great gray owls
hunt along the shores
using little more than acute hearing
to hone in on their prey.
Their unique feathers muffle flapping,
so they fly in total silence.
More stealth than a stealth bomber.
If prey isn't safe under the snow...
(crackling)
perhaps the ice.
The river's seasonal changes
sometimes come as a surprise
to ducks and coots.
(crackling)
Ice floes have surrounded a flock.
With a runway this frozen over,
takeoff for these coots
is nearly impossible.
So they huddle together
in tight rafts
for safety in numbers.
But this is a situation
not wasted on a hungry eagle.
(fluttering)
(fluttering)
Today's special: sitting duck.
A perfect execution.
But things go wrong.
Eagles fill the sky.
They're not here to hunt...
but to steal.
He's intimidated, and the coot escapes.
But not for long.
The battle isn't over.
Our proud hunter is determined
to win it back.
And he does.
Here it's every bird for himself.
(quacking)
But one way to avoid conflict
is to own your strategy.
On the other side of the world,
the dry season tightens
its grip on Gorongosa, Africa.
The river levels drop
to only a few inches.
And small fish
rocket from the water,
pursued by ravenous catfish.
But their acrobatic escape acts
only buy them little time.
For the skies darken above them.
(squawking)
(squawking)
Thousands of storks,
cranes and pelicans
arrive for the annual feast.
Each uses different technique
to get the job done.
Some stab and impale.
Some trawl.
Some hunt in packs.
Fights do arise, but mostly
it's just jealous eyes
focused on the African fish eagle.
Of all the fishing techniques
on display here,
none is more impressive
than this aerial ambush.
First, the fish eagle gets
rid of the competition
before the hunt.
Rivals spar in midair.
The victor wins fishing rights
to a buffet.
The fish eagle is part of that
elite group of flyers...
birds of prey and raptors.
Bursts of speed,
stealthy attacks,
and their keen eyesight make
them the perfect hunters.
And some of the deadliest
things on wings.
The unbroken landscape
of the Asian Steppe
looks quite colorful
to a golden eagle.
Some raptors see into
the ultraviolet part of the spectrum,
which is invisible to us.
Urine trails left by his favorite prey
glow under the sun's UV rays.
Mongolian marmots
are easy for him to spot,
but the fat rodents have
finely tuned defenses.
They're on the alert
for the beat of wings above.
(wings beating)
And their air defense system
sets off an alarm.
(chittering)
This one makes a run for her burrow.
(wings beating)
(squawk)
(squawking)
Marmots stay underground for hours.
They're masters of patience.
(wings flapping)
But two can play that game.
While he waits,
he settles on some scraps.
(thunder)
A sudden storm blasts the steppe,
and it washes away the urine trails.
(rainfall)
The eagle is thwarted,
still hungry and grounded
until his wing feathers dry.
For most winged predators,
grasslands stretch below them
like vast banquets.
(screeching)
Yet the strange secretary bird
chooses to hunt
keeping its feet on the ground,
sometimes stalking 20 miles a day.
She may look featherbrained,
but she's a skilled assassin
with a wicked arsenal.
Her powerful legs target
reptiles and rodents.
She's four-foot with an eagle's
body on powerful stilts.
Tough scales on her legs
protect her from snakebites.
Her wings also fend off snakes
and fluster prey.
Then, with her dreadful legs
and talons,
she stomps her victims to death.
This formidable hunter is
the only bird in the world
that hunts this way.
(stomping, crunching)
(swallows)
At the southernmost tip of Texas,
there's another bird
that also makes a killing
with some fancy footwork.
Only the reddish egret does it with a hop.
It looks like shameless exhibitionism.
But his frenetic moves are the key
to his clever hunting strategy.
His unpredictable gyrations
disturb the fish.
His wings create a shady spot
that draws the fish in.
It looks crazy, but it works.
Birds live in nearly every
kind of environment on the planet.
They've adapted to each place
with extraordinary quirks and characters.
In the New World forests,
a bird evolved to fly like an insect.
(tweeting)
It's all about the hover.
Hummingbirds flap their wings
around 50 times a second
allowing them to feed in place.
It's like treading water,
but in midair and at high speed.
Takes a lot of energy.
If they don't consume double
their body weight in calories
every day, they won't survive.
(thunder)
(rainfall)
Which is why,
as a massive storm approaches,
this hummer doesn't stop.
Most birds take cover in rain.
But hummers do the opposite.
(thunder)
(thunder)
The cooler temperatures
increase their metabolic rate,
and every drop of nectar
is a matter of life or death.
(wings fluttering)
As the storm clears,
another male horns in on his territory.
He defends it with all he's got.
(tweeting)
Success!
A good flower is worth fighting for.
Not just for food,
but for love.
(tweeting)
Nectar is a girl's best friend.
The gift of a flower will
make him very popular
with the ladies.
Exchange of gifts is an important part
of bird courtship.
Usually it's food.
But sometimes, it's purely decorative.
Gannets mate for life.
So, they better get it right
from the beginning.
Gannet breeding season is in full swing.
Some birds are here to find a mate.
(squawking)
While others are already
busy being parents.
From newly hatched chicks
to newly fledged fluff balls.
The colony is raucous
with the sounds of new life.
(squawking)
One gannet lands on
the outskirts of the colony.
(squawking)
At four years old, he's going
through a rite of passage:
his flight back to his birthplace
to find his first mate.
He's just arrived from
winter holiday in Australia,
and he's a bit late to the party.
With no nest or partner,
he has a lot of catching up to do.
He observes a curious ritual:
seaweed as a gift.
(squawking)
Seems to be a kind of foreplay.
Might as well give it a go.
(squawking)
He finds a piece of unclaimed seaweed
and drops it in front of a female.
She shows only a flicker of interest.
And then the moment passes.
Awkward!
When it comes to birds,
awkward finds many styles.
The kakapo being perhaps
the most expressive.
The heaviest parrot
in the world,
the nearly nine-pound kakapo
has to choose
his branches carefully.
(rustling)
This freak of the parrot family
is not obese;
he's in his prime.
But his wings aren't
strong enough to lift him,
so he can't fly.
Like so many others in
this world of walking birds,
the kakapo has to hike
for what he wants.
It's midnight, and he arrives
at the top of a hill
and chooses a site where
he makes himself comfortable
in what is call a bowl.
(rustling)
He is a newcomer
to the kakapo mating ritual,
where each male must display
his worth all night long
to attract a mate.
First, he sucks in air,
inflating himself like a balloon.
(puffing)
Then he begins his serenade.
(booming)
This low-frequency boom can be
heard just over three miles away.
(low booming)
Then he adds in a blast
of perfume for good measure.
All this noise and smell
would surely attract
stealthy nighttime predators,
but the kakapo shows no sign
of fear in the dark.
(low booming)
It's working.
A female draws close.
He then changes his song
to high-pitched squeaks
known as chings.
(chirping)
They're supposed to produce
irresistible close-range vibes.
He waits.
He's young and inexperienced,
and doesn't know which techniques work,
and which don't.
It appears tonight's efforts don't.
As dawn approaches, the young
Romeo returns home alone.
While guys are singing
throughout the bird world,
there's another group that
relies on visual attraction.
The most fashionable
of them all:
India's national bird,
the peacock.
He's up for shaking a little tail feather.
(squawking)
(distant squawking)
And it seems to be working.
(squawking)
A peahen comes
to check him out.
She is looking for
the most impressive tail
and flamboyant display,
both unfakeable proof
of the bird's strength
and genetic vigor.
A far-off peacock call
warns of a predator.
(distant squawking)
And his flashy feathers are put away
for the next chance encounter.
Throughout the bird world
females have high standards
and often need more than
just fancy feathers.
What's left for a guy to do...
(screech)
but dance?!
(squawking)
(squawk)
In Brazil's Amazon Rain Forest,
colorful blue manakin males
have been practicing their dance routine.
(chirping)
Now they're putting it to the test.
A female has arrived.
(chirping)
The males quickly assemble.
There is a strict hierarchy
amongst the manakins,
and the alpha male
is often the oldest bird.
Only he has a chance of mating.
The others are just the support act.
So why do they dance when they
have little prospect of mating?
It's the female who calls the shots.
She won't mate with a lone dancer.
Apparently, she likes a crowd.
So, every male must join a group,
and wait his turn.
It may take as long as
ten years to become top bird.
And in that time,
a male will have danced
for thousands upon thousands
of exhausting hours.
(chirping)
The alpha male calls an end
to the display.
(chirping)
The others bow and
he goes to the mating perch.
(chirping)
This female is not impressed.
Obviously, more practice is required.
(chirping)
Back to the training ground.
(birds calling)
It's springtime in the United States,
and the male sage grouse
has just one thing on his mind.
No additional training needed here.
This guy's got the goods!
(warbling)
Early morning finds him
literally strutting his stuff.
(warbling)
The way to a grouse woman's heart
is through her eyes,
and her ears.
Males are uniquely endowed.
(warbling)
These are inflatable sacs.
(warbling)
(warbling)
They begin with a whistle,
then suck the air in and force it out.
The bigger the sacs, the louder the pop.
(warbling)
Surprisingly, she seems underwhelmed.
(warbling)
(warbling)
But love favors the persistent.
(warbling)
Eventually, he gets the girl.
With love in the air...
they slip behind a bush and get busy.
And when the honeymoon ends,
the real work begins.
Here off the coast of South America,
up and down the shores,
nests are being tended to,
bonds renewed and eggs laid.
For the next two months,
the couple has only one goal:
to keep the egg alive.
(squawking)
But someone else has his eye
on the eggs, too.
Johnny Rook, otherwise known
as the striated caracara,
has waited through
a brutal winter for this bounty.
An egg tumbled from a nest
is fair game for Johnny Rook.
He'll soon have his own
clamoring brood to look after.
(honking)
(squawking)
Already the albatross chicks are hatching
in staggering numbers,
downy and demanding.
With unending patience,
the new mother waits
for her mate to return
from his foraging,
until near starvation, if she must.
(squawking)
He, meanwhile, may be covering
thousands of miles on the wing,
simply to find food for his brood.
He returns, heavy with seafood.
After a brief greeting,
they transfer parental responsibilities.
He fills the chick's belly.
And the family is content.
(squawking)
But Johnny Rook is hungry, too.
(chirping)
Sometimes a parent never
returns from the sea.
And the raptor executes his cruel mercy.
But raptors have families to feed as well.
This adolescent bald eagle works its way
along the river bluffs in North America,
riding the thermals and updrafts.
And finds something worth investigating.
(chirping)
These peregrine nestlings
are exposed and vulnerable.
Their mother is out hunting...
but hasn't gone too far.
She's on to this one.
(squawking)
(chirping)
(chirping)
Gaping beaks demand up to
a dozen corpses a day.
She returns with songbirds.
It's a tough job.
She's got to make sure her
chicks eat and are not eaten.
Today, she pulls it off.
(squawking)
But when it comes to parental pair work,
there are no tougher parents
than the emperor penguins.
Every breeding season,
for millions of years,
this is what they must contend with.
Bringing up baby,
in one of the harshest
environments on the planet.
Antarctica in winter takes guts.
And a lot of feathers.
These wings and torpedo-shaped bodies,
don't allow them to fly.
(chirping)
Over many months,
both parents will come close
to paying the ultimate price
in order to provide enough
for their offspring.
(chirping)
It is continuous feeding,
feeding, feeding.
Mom and dad must rotate
fishing expeditions
until their babies are old
enough to fend for themselves.
(squawk)
A snowstorm puts fishing on hold.
This time, mom and dad let their chick
weather it out on his own,
a valuable lesson.
(rumbling)
It's nearly time for all
of them to march to the sea.
And junior needs to put some
muscles and flexibility
into those wings.
Soon they will propel him
through the water
as he learns to hunt
for food on his own.
Underneath the downy surface,
adult feathers are growing
and arranging themselves
for life in the water.
The kids don't know it yet,
but the adults are pretty much finished.
They've done their job.
Drawn to the sea, the chicks
keep on trucking toward
this forbidden zone...
the water.
But it's not easy to tell
if you're going the right way.
(squawk)
There it is!
The dark, mysterious place
where mom and dad get all that food.
Somehow instinct tells these chicks
their destiny lies in the ocean.
But right now, it's a terrifying prospect.
There go the adults.
(honk)
Thanks for everything.
Once the chicks jump in,
they'll head out in
the direction of New Zealand,
then catch a current
toward South America.
They will spend the next three years or so
maturing and waiting their turn
for those hard months on the ice.
Finally, instinct wins out over fear.
Sometimes there's nothing to do
but go for it!
It's a big leap into the unknown,
and fortune favors the bold.
These wings sure are great
in the water...
but sometimes you just can't
help wishing you could fly.
Captioned by Point.360
(whooping)
(whistling)
NARRATOR: Birds.
(chirping)
It takes all kinds
to survive in habitats the world over.
(squawking)
From pole to pole...
and all the spaces in between,
birds have range.
(chirping)
How do they thrive in
such different environments?
It's their genius of versatility.
(squawk)
In the way they dress...
the way they move...
(squawking)
the way they sing.
For birds, variety is not only
the spice of life...
(squawk)
it's the reason for life.
This is the Planet of the Birds.
(screech)
They are the nomads of the sky.
(screech)
Following ancient routes
that bring them to feed and breed.
(honking)
Extraordinary feats of flight
combined with unmatched
navigational skills
take birds to the farthest reaches,
some chasing the seasons.
Winter.
A tough time for some birds to find food.
Record snowfall along the banks
gives deep cover
for animals like the vole.
They can easily burrow down
in the snowpack
to nest and forage for food,
unseen by eagles above.
But some raptors use
more than eyes to find prey.
At almost 160 feet away,
this great gray owl may seem
an unlikely threat.
But if he listens carefully,
he may actually hear
the pitter-patter of little feet,
no matter how deep the snow.
(pitter-patter)
(clattering)
(wind whistling)
All winter long, great gray owls
hunt along the shores
using little more than acute hearing
to hone in on their prey.
Their unique feathers muffle flapping,
so they fly in total silence.
More stealth than a stealth bomber.
If prey isn't safe under the snow...
(crackling)
perhaps the ice.
The river's seasonal changes
sometimes come as a surprise
to ducks and coots.
(crackling)
Ice floes have surrounded a flock.
With a runway this frozen over,
takeoff for these coots
is nearly impossible.
So they huddle together
in tight rafts
for safety in numbers.
But this is a situation
not wasted on a hungry eagle.
(fluttering)
(fluttering)
Today's special: sitting duck.
A perfect execution.
But things go wrong.
Eagles fill the sky.
They're not here to hunt...
but to steal.
He's intimidated, and the coot escapes.
But not for long.
The battle isn't over.
Our proud hunter is determined
to win it back.
And he does.
Here it's every bird for himself.
(quacking)
But one way to avoid conflict
is to own your strategy.
On the other side of the world,
the dry season tightens
its grip on Gorongosa, Africa.
The river levels drop
to only a few inches.
And small fish
rocket from the water,
pursued by ravenous catfish.
But their acrobatic escape acts
only buy them little time.
For the skies darken above them.
(squawking)
(squawking)
Thousands of storks,
cranes and pelicans
arrive for the annual feast.
Each uses different technique
to get the job done.
Some stab and impale.
Some trawl.
Some hunt in packs.
Fights do arise, but mostly
it's just jealous eyes
focused on the African fish eagle.
Of all the fishing techniques
on display here,
none is more impressive
than this aerial ambush.
First, the fish eagle gets
rid of the competition
before the hunt.
Rivals spar in midair.
The victor wins fishing rights
to a buffet.
The fish eagle is part of that
elite group of flyers...
birds of prey and raptors.
Bursts of speed,
stealthy attacks,
and their keen eyesight make
them the perfect hunters.
And some of the deadliest
things on wings.
The unbroken landscape
of the Asian Steppe
looks quite colorful
to a golden eagle.
Some raptors see into
the ultraviolet part of the spectrum,
which is invisible to us.
Urine trails left by his favorite prey
glow under the sun's UV rays.
Mongolian marmots
are easy for him to spot,
but the fat rodents have
finely tuned defenses.
They're on the alert
for the beat of wings above.
(wings beating)
And their air defense system
sets off an alarm.
(chittering)
This one makes a run for her burrow.
(wings beating)
(squawk)
(squawking)
Marmots stay underground for hours.
They're masters of patience.
(wings flapping)
But two can play that game.
While he waits,
he settles on some scraps.
(thunder)
A sudden storm blasts the steppe,
and it washes away the urine trails.
(rainfall)
The eagle is thwarted,
still hungry and grounded
until his wing feathers dry.
For most winged predators,
grasslands stretch below them
like vast banquets.
(screeching)
Yet the strange secretary bird
chooses to hunt
keeping its feet on the ground,
sometimes stalking 20 miles a day.
She may look featherbrained,
but she's a skilled assassin
with a wicked arsenal.
Her powerful legs target
reptiles and rodents.
She's four-foot with an eagle's
body on powerful stilts.
Tough scales on her legs
protect her from snakebites.
Her wings also fend off snakes
and fluster prey.
Then, with her dreadful legs
and talons,
she stomps her victims to death.
This formidable hunter is
the only bird in the world
that hunts this way.
(stomping, crunching)
(swallows)
At the southernmost tip of Texas,
there's another bird
that also makes a killing
with some fancy footwork.
Only the reddish egret does it with a hop.
It looks like shameless exhibitionism.
But his frenetic moves are the key
to his clever hunting strategy.
His unpredictable gyrations
disturb the fish.
His wings create a shady spot
that draws the fish in.
It looks crazy, but it works.
Birds live in nearly every
kind of environment on the planet.
They've adapted to each place
with extraordinary quirks and characters.
In the New World forests,
a bird evolved to fly like an insect.
(tweeting)
It's all about the hover.
Hummingbirds flap their wings
around 50 times a second
allowing them to feed in place.
It's like treading water,
but in midair and at high speed.
Takes a lot of energy.
If they don't consume double
their body weight in calories
every day, they won't survive.
(thunder)
(rainfall)
Which is why,
as a massive storm approaches,
this hummer doesn't stop.
Most birds take cover in rain.
But hummers do the opposite.
(thunder)
(thunder)
The cooler temperatures
increase their metabolic rate,
and every drop of nectar
is a matter of life or death.
(wings fluttering)
As the storm clears,
another male horns in on his territory.
He defends it with all he's got.
(tweeting)
Success!
A good flower is worth fighting for.
Not just for food,
but for love.
(tweeting)
Nectar is a girl's best friend.
The gift of a flower will
make him very popular
with the ladies.
Exchange of gifts is an important part
of bird courtship.
Usually it's food.
But sometimes, it's purely decorative.
Gannets mate for life.
So, they better get it right
from the beginning.
Gannet breeding season is in full swing.
Some birds are here to find a mate.
(squawking)
While others are already
busy being parents.
From newly hatched chicks
to newly fledged fluff balls.
The colony is raucous
with the sounds of new life.
(squawking)
One gannet lands on
the outskirts of the colony.
(squawking)
At four years old, he's going
through a rite of passage:
his flight back to his birthplace
to find his first mate.
He's just arrived from
winter holiday in Australia,
and he's a bit late to the party.
With no nest or partner,
he has a lot of catching up to do.
He observes a curious ritual:
seaweed as a gift.
(squawking)
Seems to be a kind of foreplay.
Might as well give it a go.
(squawking)
He finds a piece of unclaimed seaweed
and drops it in front of a female.
She shows only a flicker of interest.
And then the moment passes.
Awkward!
When it comes to birds,
awkward finds many styles.
The kakapo being perhaps
the most expressive.
The heaviest parrot
in the world,
the nearly nine-pound kakapo
has to choose
his branches carefully.
(rustling)
This freak of the parrot family
is not obese;
he's in his prime.
But his wings aren't
strong enough to lift him,
so he can't fly.
Like so many others in
this world of walking birds,
the kakapo has to hike
for what he wants.
It's midnight, and he arrives
at the top of a hill
and chooses a site where
he makes himself comfortable
in what is call a bowl.
(rustling)
He is a newcomer
to the kakapo mating ritual,
where each male must display
his worth all night long
to attract a mate.
First, he sucks in air,
inflating himself like a balloon.
(puffing)
Then he begins his serenade.
(booming)
This low-frequency boom can be
heard just over three miles away.
(low booming)
Then he adds in a blast
of perfume for good measure.
All this noise and smell
would surely attract
stealthy nighttime predators,
but the kakapo shows no sign
of fear in the dark.
(low booming)
It's working.
A female draws close.
He then changes his song
to high-pitched squeaks
known as chings.
(chirping)
They're supposed to produce
irresistible close-range vibes.
He waits.
He's young and inexperienced,
and doesn't know which techniques work,
and which don't.
It appears tonight's efforts don't.
As dawn approaches, the young
Romeo returns home alone.
While guys are singing
throughout the bird world,
there's another group that
relies on visual attraction.
The most fashionable
of them all:
India's national bird,
the peacock.
He's up for shaking a little tail feather.
(squawking)
(distant squawking)
And it seems to be working.
(squawking)
A peahen comes
to check him out.
She is looking for
the most impressive tail
and flamboyant display,
both unfakeable proof
of the bird's strength
and genetic vigor.
A far-off peacock call
warns of a predator.
(distant squawking)
And his flashy feathers are put away
for the next chance encounter.
Throughout the bird world
females have high standards
and often need more than
just fancy feathers.
What's left for a guy to do...
(screech)
but dance?!
(squawking)
(squawk)
In Brazil's Amazon Rain Forest,
colorful blue manakin males
have been practicing their dance routine.
(chirping)
Now they're putting it to the test.
A female has arrived.
(chirping)
The males quickly assemble.
There is a strict hierarchy
amongst the manakins,
and the alpha male
is often the oldest bird.
Only he has a chance of mating.
The others are just the support act.
So why do they dance when they
have little prospect of mating?
It's the female who calls the shots.
She won't mate with a lone dancer.
Apparently, she likes a crowd.
So, every male must join a group,
and wait his turn.
It may take as long as
ten years to become top bird.
And in that time,
a male will have danced
for thousands upon thousands
of exhausting hours.
(chirping)
The alpha male calls an end
to the display.
(chirping)
The others bow and
he goes to the mating perch.
(chirping)
This female is not impressed.
Obviously, more practice is required.
(chirping)
Back to the training ground.
(birds calling)
It's springtime in the United States,
and the male sage grouse
has just one thing on his mind.
No additional training needed here.
This guy's got the goods!
(warbling)
Early morning finds him
literally strutting his stuff.
(warbling)
The way to a grouse woman's heart
is through her eyes,
and her ears.
Males are uniquely endowed.
(warbling)
These are inflatable sacs.
(warbling)
(warbling)
They begin with a whistle,
then suck the air in and force it out.
The bigger the sacs, the louder the pop.
(warbling)
Surprisingly, she seems underwhelmed.
(warbling)
(warbling)
But love favors the persistent.
(warbling)
Eventually, he gets the girl.
With love in the air...
they slip behind a bush and get busy.
And when the honeymoon ends,
the real work begins.
Here off the coast of South America,
up and down the shores,
nests are being tended to,
bonds renewed and eggs laid.
For the next two months,
the couple has only one goal:
to keep the egg alive.
(squawking)
But someone else has his eye
on the eggs, too.
Johnny Rook, otherwise known
as the striated caracara,
has waited through
a brutal winter for this bounty.
An egg tumbled from a nest
is fair game for Johnny Rook.
He'll soon have his own
clamoring brood to look after.
(honking)
(squawking)
Already the albatross chicks are hatching
in staggering numbers,
downy and demanding.
With unending patience,
the new mother waits
for her mate to return
from his foraging,
until near starvation, if she must.
(squawking)
He, meanwhile, may be covering
thousands of miles on the wing,
simply to find food for his brood.
He returns, heavy with seafood.
After a brief greeting,
they transfer parental responsibilities.
He fills the chick's belly.
And the family is content.
(squawking)
But Johnny Rook is hungry, too.
(chirping)
Sometimes a parent never
returns from the sea.
And the raptor executes his cruel mercy.
But raptors have families to feed as well.
This adolescent bald eagle works its way
along the river bluffs in North America,
riding the thermals and updrafts.
And finds something worth investigating.
(chirping)
These peregrine nestlings
are exposed and vulnerable.
Their mother is out hunting...
but hasn't gone too far.
She's on to this one.
(squawking)
(chirping)
(chirping)
Gaping beaks demand up to
a dozen corpses a day.
She returns with songbirds.
It's a tough job.
She's got to make sure her
chicks eat and are not eaten.
Today, she pulls it off.
(squawking)
But when it comes to parental pair work,
there are no tougher parents
than the emperor penguins.
Every breeding season,
for millions of years,
this is what they must contend with.
Bringing up baby,
in one of the harshest
environments on the planet.
Antarctica in winter takes guts.
And a lot of feathers.
These wings and torpedo-shaped bodies,
don't allow them to fly.
(chirping)
Over many months,
both parents will come close
to paying the ultimate price
in order to provide enough
for their offspring.
(chirping)
It is continuous feeding,
feeding, feeding.
Mom and dad must rotate
fishing expeditions
until their babies are old
enough to fend for themselves.
(squawk)
A snowstorm puts fishing on hold.
This time, mom and dad let their chick
weather it out on his own,
a valuable lesson.
(rumbling)
It's nearly time for all
of them to march to the sea.
And junior needs to put some
muscles and flexibility
into those wings.
Soon they will propel him
through the water
as he learns to hunt
for food on his own.
Underneath the downy surface,
adult feathers are growing
and arranging themselves
for life in the water.
The kids don't know it yet,
but the adults are pretty much finished.
They've done their job.
Drawn to the sea, the chicks
keep on trucking toward
this forbidden zone...
the water.
But it's not easy to tell
if you're going the right way.
(squawk)
There it is!
The dark, mysterious place
where mom and dad get all that food.
Somehow instinct tells these chicks
their destiny lies in the ocean.
But right now, it's a terrifying prospect.
There go the adults.
(honk)
Thanks for everything.
Once the chicks jump in,
they'll head out in
the direction of New Zealand,
then catch a current
toward South America.
They will spend the next three years or so
maturing and waiting their turn
for those hard months on the ice.
Finally, instinct wins out over fear.
Sometimes there's nothing to do
but go for it!
It's a big leap into the unknown,
and fortune favors the bold.
These wings sure are great
in the water...
but sometimes you just can't
help wishing you could fly.
Captioned by Point.360