The Life of Birds
| The Life of Birds | |
|---|---|
Region 2 DVD cover
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| Genre | Nature documentary |
| Presented by | David Attenborough |
| Composer(s) | Ian Butcher Steven Faux |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Mike Salisbury |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
BBC Natural History Unit PBS |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Picture format | 4:3 (PAL) |
| Audio format | Stereophonic |
| Original release | 21 October – 23 December 1998 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Private Life of Plants |
| Followed by | The Life of Mammals |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Life of Birds is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the United Kingdom from 21 October 1998.
A study of the evolution and habits of birds, it was the third of Attenborough's specialised surveys following his major trilogy that began with Life on Earth. Each of the ten 50-minute episodes discusses how the huge variety of birds in the world deal with a different aspect of their day-to-day existence.
The series was produced in conjunction with BBC Worldwide Americas Inc. and PBS. The executive producer was Mike Salisbury and the music was composed by Ian Butcher and Steven Faux. It won a Peabody Award in 1999 for combining "spectacular imagery and impeccable science."
Part of Attenborough's 'Life' series of programmes, it was preceded by The Private Life of Plants (1995), and followed by The Life of Mammals (2002). Before the latter was transmitted, David Attenborough presented State of the Planet (2000) and narrated The Blue Planet (2001).
In common with Attenborough's previous productions, the programmes include sequences that were filmed in many locales. The series took three years to make, involving visits to 42 countries. The subject matter had been covered before by Attenborough within Life on Earth, in an episode entitled "Lords of the Air", but now he was free to expand on it. However, by his own confession, despite being especially fascinated by one family, the birds of paradise, Attenborough was not an expert in ornithology. Nevertheless, the notion of an entire series devoted to the creatures excited him, as he would be able to not only communicate his findings to the viewing audience, but further his own knowledge as well.
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 aeroplanes. 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.
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Wikipedia