Bird

VHS cover

*Bird* is the sixth episode of the first season of Eyewitness. The topic of the episode is about the diversity of birds and their lifestyles and life-cycles. The episode aired on 12th September 1994.

Bird is based on a book title that was first published in 1988, and has been republished in 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2008.

## Episode

### Introductory sequence

A chicken’s egg is shown; as the intro music reaches a crescendo, it explodes with a number of scarlet macaws flying out. The screen then fades to white.

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Bird.

The introduction talks about how birds have captured our imagination and reverence, and taught us the secret of flight. The hero of the episode, a hatching duck egg, is introduced. This hatching continues a cycle that has been repeating for millions of years.

Two hundred million years ago, insects were the only flying creatures. Birds evolved during the heyday of the pterosaurs. The feather was an elegant solution to the problems faced by the pterosaurs with their membrane wings. The first feathered creature was Archaeopteryx, which lived 150 million years ago and had reptilian teeth and tail bones. Today, there are around 8,500 bird species, and 5 billion individual birds, which all started life in the same way.

A single fertile cell surrounded by yolk divides and multiplies. After a few days, a heartbeat is visible. Halfway through development, limbs take shape. Before the chick can break the shell, it tears the air sac and calls to its mother to prepare her for the onset of hatching.

The communication of birds is explored, ranging from the cheep of a hatching chick to the song of the nightingale. Some birds have simple but loud calls like the bellbird, while the lyrebird sings a medley of borrowed tunes. Mythology is used to explain the harsh call of the raven, which also served as watchers for the god Odin. White birds were seen as an omen of death. The mournful cry of the swan led some to believe that the birds sang while they died. This gave rise to the term 'swan-song' for someone's final act.

Birds are able to fly through a combination of bone structure, metabolic rate, wing structure and the feather. Flying birds have light bones that are almost hollow and have small muscles. This can have costs, as some birds like the pheasant can become exhausted after taking off too many times.

Many birds can sustain long periods of hyperactivity, with hummingbirds one of the most frenetic. To fuel this activity they need vast amounts of food. Eating like a bird is actually having a voracious appetite, with many small birds eating their own weight in food each day. The high number of calories means that birds have a heart rate that would kill a person.

Once a bird gets off the ground, the wings allow it to stay aloft. Rising warm air or thermals can be used by many birds. Frigatebirds rely on thermals to keep them safe, as they feed on fish but lack waterproof feathers and would drown if they landed on the sea. So they use thermals to carry them up after making a catch. Birds also use the medium of air to end flight. While humans, through the use of machines, have got airborne the birds are able to perform self-repair.

Preening is the act of maintaining feathers. The feather needs to provide a smooth and streamlined surface, and any breaks between the feather barbs must be zipped up. Preening also allows the spreading of oil from preen glands that help keep feathers waterproof. The hatching duckling will be able to float at a day old but will not get waterproof feathers until it is three weeks old.

The duckling has broken through its shell with an egg-tooth and begun pushing itself out. The hatching of a chick has taken on great religious significance, with the ancient Egyptians using it to explain the birth of the universe and Christianity using the egg as a symbol of Christ's tomb that he emerged from at the resurrection.

Easter takes place in spring, when migrating birds travel to their breeding grounds. The champion migratory bird is the arctic tern, which flies from pole to pole each year. They experience almost perpetual daylight and will feed and even sleep on the wing. Migrating geese are also significant, with many cultures believing they brought the spring with them. This gave rise to folklore and ceremonies around the world. The eating of a bird on holidays harkens back to those beliefs. We still think a bird's collarbone, or wishbone, can fulfil our greatest longings.

The cuckoo is also married to our concept of time. The penguin has become associated with the winter season. These ice-bound waddlers truly come to life underwater, although some species like the Galapagos penguin live in warmer tropical waters. They fly underwater with their flipper-like wings.

Some birds are truly flightless, such as the ostrich. They are the heaviest birds on Earth and are the fastest two-legged animals on Earth. Ornithologists calculate that no bird heavier than eighteen kilograms would be capable of flight. Some birds, such as the snake-hunting secretary bird, prefer to hunt on the ground. They may have been named after the head feathers resembling secretarial quill pens, or alternatively be a corruption of saqr-et-tair, Arabic for hunter bird. Ostrich eggs have thick shells for protection, but the Egyptian vulture has bypassed these defences by using a stone as a tool. This makes the vulture one of the most intelligent birds.

The owl, by contrast, is one of the least intelligent birds. They have been associated with clairvoyance and death around the world. The owl has highly developed senses, with eyes adapted for night vision and sensitive talons to grab its prey. It is the owl's tools, rather than its wisdom, that account for its success.

Bird beaks perform a variety of tasks. Woodpeckers have chisel-like beaks to excavate nest holes and bore for food, while the macaw uses its beak as a pick to mine kaolin. Waterbirds have a variety of beaks including tweezers, harpoons, spoons, the pelican's pouch and the flamingo's sieve-like beak. The skimmer bird has a lower bill longer than the upper to help it skim for food, while the toucan has a large beak and requires a wire-like tongue for flicking food down the throat.

The duckling finally hatches out and begins the process of straightening its body. Its feathers start drying immediately. All birds have feathers and no other creatures possess them. Many cultures saw power in the bird's feathers and used them in ceremonial headdresses. Birds use their feathers during courtship, which can result in quite a performance.

Courtship is followed by nest-building. The weaverbird sews its nest with a long entrance tube to deter intruders. Basketry and pottery may have been inspired by copying bird nests. Cliff swallows build their nests from mud. The golden bowerbird may have introduced us to interior design, as the male finishes off his nest with flowers and feathers. Bird nests also have a culinary use, with the Chinese making bird-nest soup for centuries. The key ingredient is the nest of a swiftlet from the caves of Borneo. The nests are made from saliva, so while rare and expensive, the soup has little nutritional value or taste.

Ground-nesting birds hatch in a more developed state than most birds. The duckling starts learning to stand up, but finds it an exhausting business. Birds have to learn how to fly just as we have to learn to walk. The duckling makes its first unsteady steps out on life's journey. Soon it will achieve the perfection of flight, first mastered by its ancestor Archaeopteryx. As long as birds reach for the heavens, our imaginations will soar along with them.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Scarlet macaw, *Ara macao*
* European robin, *Erithacus rubecula*
* Harris’s hawk, *Parabuteo unicinctus*
* Common raven, *Corvus corax*
* Mallard, *Anas platyrhynchos*
* Ring-necked pheasant, *Phasianus colchicus*
* European goldfinch, *Carduelis carduelis*
* Domestic dog, *Canis familiaris*
* Red fox, *Vulpes vulpes*
* Bank vole, *Myodes glareolus*
* Secretary bird, *Sagittarius serpentarius*
* Toco toucan, *Ramphastos toco*

### Stock footage

* Indian peafowl, *Pavo cristatus*
* Toco toucan, *Ramphastos toco*
* Temminck’s tragopan, *Tragopan temminckii*
* Bald eagle, *Haliaeetus leucocephalus*
* Pink-footed goose, *Anser brachyrhynchus*
* Common nightingale, *Luscinia megarhynchos*
* Domestic chicken, *Gallus domesticus*
* Three-wattled bellbird, Procnias tricarunculatus
* Superb lyrebird, *Menura novaehollandiae*
* Whooper swan, *Cygnus cygnus*
* Mute swan, *Cygnus olor*
* Red knot, *Calidris canutus*
* Eurasian oystercatcher, *Haematopus ostralegus*
* Lammergeier, *Gypaetus barbatus*
* Costa’s hummingbird, *Calypte costae*
* African fish eagle, *Haliaeetus vocifer*
* White stork, *Ciconia ciconia*
* Fischer’s lovebird, *Agapornis fischeri*
* Pied kingfisher, *Ceryle rudis*
* Magnificent frigatebird, *Fregata magnificens*
* Red-footed booby, *Sula sula*
* Grey heron, *Ardea cinerea*
* Arctic tern, *Sterna paradisaea*
* Greylag goose, *Anser anser*
* Emperor penguin, *Aptenodytes forsteri*
* Galapagos penguin, *Spheniscus mendiculus*
* Common ostrich, *Struthio camelus*
* Secretary bird, *Sagittarius serpentarius*
* Puff adder, *Bitis arietans*
* Egyptian vulture, *Neophron percnopterus*
* Eurasian eagle owl, *Bubo bubo*
* Pel’s fishing owl, *Scotopelia peli*
* Downy woodpecker, *Picoides pubescens*
* Green-winged macaw, *Ara chloropterus*
* Intermediate egret, *Ardea intermedia*
* Pied heron, *Egretta picata*
* Australian white ibis, *Threskiornis molucca*
* Australian pelican, *Pelecanus conspicillatus*
* Roseate spoonbill, *Platalea ajaja*
* Lesser flamingo, *Phoeniconaias minor*
* African skimmer, *Rynchops flavirostris*
* Victoria’s riflebird, *Lophorina victoriae*
* Long-tailed widowbird, *Euplectes progne*
* Western grebe, *Aechmophorus occidentalis*
* Lesser florican, *Sypheotides indicus*
* Red-tailed tropicbird, *Phaethon rubricauda*
* Wire-tailed manakin, *Pipra filicauda*
* Long-tailed manakin, *Chiroxiphia linearis*
* Jackson’s widowbird, *Euplectes jacksoni*
* Waved albatross, *Phoebastria irrorata*
* Baya weaverbird, *Ploceus philippinus*
* American cliff swallow, *Petrochelidon pyrrhonota*
* Golden bowerbird, *Prionodura newtoniana*
* Edible-nest swiftlet, *Aerodramus fuciphagus*
* Wood duck, *Aix sponsa*
* White tern, *Gygis alba*

## Stock footage sources

The Flying Deuces (1939) – Laurel and Hardy scene

Wildlife on One

* The Impossible Bird (1980) - Ostrich (nest-eye view), ostrich running
* Serpents, Swiftlets and the Chasm of Gloom (1987) – Edible-nest swiftlet

The Natural World: Okavango: Jewel of the Kalahari – The Living Jewel (1988) – African fish eagle, skimmer

The Trials of Life:

* Arrival (1990) – Developing chick
* Finding Food (1990) – Macaws at clay lick, knot and oystercatcher
* Finding the Way (1990) – Arctic tern at sea
* Courting (1990) - Temminck's tragopan

The Living Isles: Island Waters (1986) – Arctic terns

## Credits

* Producer - Justine Kershaw
* Graphics Designer - Alisa Robbins
* Writer - Brian Meehl
* Camera - Dominique Grosz and Mark Payne-Gill
	+ Assistant - Andy Shillabeer
* Set Design - Ben Scott
* Production Manager - Peter Thornton
* Production Assistant - Louise Dawe-Lane
* Production Secretaries - Cathy Wilkin and Caroline Elston
* Unit Manager - Grant Dean
* Researcher - Anthony Lee
* Picture Researcher - Martin Willis
* Graphic Design - Adrian Woodward and Kate Boulton
* Editors
	+ Offline - Chris Godden
	+ Online - Sharon Stiles
* Dubbing Editor - Julie Mitchell
* Dubbing Mixer - Andrew Wilson
* Music - Guy Michelmore
* Executive Producer - Michael Bright,

## Making this programme

For the opening of Bird, something special was planned. First, an ostrich egg was exploded with compressed air and filmed at high speed before it was electronically cleaned up. Next, macaws were filmed against a neutral background of a different colour to the plumage – difficult with such colourful birds. Once the macaws were separated from the background, they could be placed anywhere and multiplied until they filled the egg. Filming in the Eyewitness studio was more straightforward. The art department built a realistic forest set, which was revealed by tracking the camera across it. The set had to convince both the viewer and the animals placed within it, in this case a pheasant and a fox from an animal sanctuary. The fox wasn’t allowed to get as close to the pheasant as he might have liked. The hatching duck egg took twelve hours to film. It was delivered to the studio ready to hatch and the cameraman simply had to wait. All that was needed to film the hatching was the cameraman’s patience and the hard work of the duckling. The crew also made use of footage shot by specialists who trained geese for many months to obtain close-ups of them in flight. With their dedication, we really were able to fly with the birds.

## Home media releases

As well as being released on VHS, Bird was also released as part of the DVD release in the USA.

Bird America-release DVD cover

**Writing staff**: Anne MacLeod • Ben Southwell • Ben Steiner • Brian Meehl • David Hanson • David Stafford • David Helton • George Bloom • Lynette Singer • Mike Tomlinson • Paul Thomas • Stan Cullimore
**Directors**: Gavin Maxwell • Justine Kershaw • David Hutt • Andrew Jackson • Justin Hardy • Ludo Graham • Jerry Foulkes • Derek Hall • Sanjida O'Connell • Caius Julyan • Bonni Cohen • Leanne Pooley • Edwina Vardey • Alexandra Beazley • Sam Hodgkin • Karen Walsh • Jack Weber • Richard Simkin • Alex Hearle • Brian Cummins • Ben Southwell
**Composers**: Guy Michelmore (season one) • Guy Dagul (seasons two and three)

**Season One**: Cat • Fish • Horse • Dog • Jungle • **Bird** • Amphibian • Insect • Shark • Elephant • Reptile • Dinosaur • Skeleton
**Season Two**: Desert • Tree • Ape • Mammal • Butterfly and Moth • Volcano • Rock and Mineral • Seashore • Pond and River • Weather • Arctic and Antarctic • Prehistoric Life • Shell
**Season Three**: Flight • Bear • Sight • Island • Survival • Mountain • Monster • Human Machine - Plant • Ocean • Planets • Life • Natural Disasters