Birds of Prey

VHS cover

Birds of Prey is the first episode of the second season of Amazing Animals. The plot revolves around Henry finding out about birds of prey as he tries to avoid a flock of vultures. It first aired on the Disney Channel on 15th April 1997.

## Episode

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Birds of Prey.

The narrator meets Henry in his garden, who is watching the birds he has fed. Suddenly, the birds are frightened away and Henry is scared by a giant shadow passing over him. He then sees various birds of prey on perches around him, and the narrator introduces this group of animals to Henry. Henry runs away, but the narrator asks Henry why he doesn’t want to learn more about these beautiful birds – Henry says he doesn’t want to get eaten by them. Over a montage of different birds of prey, the narrator defines these birds and highlights their main weapons – their talons and beaks.

#### First cartoon

* The smaller Eagle flies off to attack the Squirrels who retaliate with a slingshot full of acorns but the Eagle gets caught on the slingshot elastic and is fired back into the larger Eagle.

Henry is having a picnic, when he is joined by a group of vultures. He offers them a steak sandwich, and the narrator says they will appreciate it as they feed on anything so long as it is dead meat. Henry gets so scared he hides in the picnic hamper. The narrator explains that what birds of prey eat depends on their size and the shape of their beak. The pygmy falcon eats insects and lizards, snail kites feed only on snails while vultures eat carrion. Henry now does his Special Report, which is about secretary birds. Henry says they got their name from organising bird of prey conventions so that the other birds of prey get fair pay. The narrator corrects Henry’s report, explaining that secretary birds got their name for a crest of feathers that resemble secretary quill pens and hunt on foot for their prey which is killed with a flurry of kicks.

#### Second cartoon

* The big Eagle sends up the smaller Eagle to get pigeons to fly through jet engines and get plucked. When the smaller Eagle tries, Pigeon escapes and the smaller Eagle gets sucked through himself. Both Eagles go up but get distracted by a female eagle and both get sucked through another jet engine. The larger Eagle sets the smaller one the task of peeling hundreds of potatoes.

Henry has built himself a pair of wings, and throws himself off a cliff to test it. He immediately plummets and lands in water – the vultures start gathering again. The narrator recommends that Henry leave the flying to the birds. Birds of prey are expert fliers that can soar, hover or dive in the air, faster than any other animal. Vultures are experts at soaring on wind currents called thermals. Because they rely so much on flight, birds of prey must bathe regularly to keep their feathers clean. Henry now does the Golden Gecko Awards. The bronze medal goes to the Andean condor and the silver to the king vulture. The Golden Gecko Award is given to the lammergeier, which drop bones from a great height in order to smash them so they can swallow both the marrow and bone shards.

#### Third cartoon

* The bigger Eagle tries to train the smaller Eagle to catch airborne projectiles in a net but the smaller Eagle gets hit by it and fails. As the bigger Eagle tries to demonstrate the Squirrels swap out the training projectile with a bomb. The bigger Eagle catches the bomb and blows up. He puts the smaller Eagle in a cell.

Henry is gardening and still being bothered by the vultures. Suddenly, he finds his garden is full of holes and sets out to find the mole that caused the damage. Instead, he finds out that the holes were dug by a burrowing owl. Henry mistakes it for a baby but the narrator corrects him – the owl is fully-grown but still only about a foot tall. A young osprey is shown testing its wings – young birds of prey need to learn to fly just as other animals need to learn how to walk.

#### Fourth cartoon

* The Eagles plan a raid on the Pigeons after the poop all over the bigger Eagle. The smaller Eagle swoops into the tree but when the bigger Eagle investigates, he finds him playing cards with the Pigeons. The bigger Eagle swoops in to attack but the Pigeons push a lever that makes the tree bend over and the bigger Eagle flies into the ground. The smaller Eagle laughs at this but falls out of the tree and is put back into the cell.

Henry is still being followed by the vultures and tries a disguise – he puts on a falcon hood. The narrator explains how hoods are used by falconers to prevent their birds from being startled. The ancient sport of falconry is then shown, where a bird hunts for its human partner. Birds of prey will also hunt alongside other animals, like the chanting goshawk that hunts with a honey badger. Henry decides to try his hand at falconry himself, tying a lure to a hat and swinging it around. The bird of prey he is working with catches the lure and carries him away. The narrator tells Henry not to worry about falling, as he says that anything caught by a bird of prey stays caught. Henry shouts that this is what worries him as the bird flies past with Henry trailing behind it.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Harris’s hawk, *Parabuteo unicinctus*
* Northern goshawk, *Accipiter gentilis*
* Eurasian eagle owl, *Bubo bubo*
* Tawny eagle, *Aquila rapax*
* Laggar falcon, *Falco jugger*
* American black vulture, *Coragyps atratus*
* African white-backed vulture, *Gyps africanus*
* Black-headed gull, *Chroicocephalus ridibundus*
* Burrowing owl, *Athene cunicularia*

### Stock footage

* Coal tit, *Periparus ater*
* Great tit, *Parus major*
* Bateleur eagle, *Terathopius ecaudatus*
* Tawny eagle, *Aquila rapax*
* White-tailed eagle, *Haliaeetus albicilla*
* White hawk, *Pseudastur albicollis*
* King vulture, *Sarcoramphus papa*
* Pel’s fishing owl, *Scotopelia peli*
* Barn owl, *Tyto alba*
* Verreaux’s eagle owl, *Bubo lacteus*
* Tawny owl, *Strix aluco*
* Little owl, *Athene noctua*
* Andean condor, *Vultur gryphus*
* African pygmy falcon, *Polihierax semitorquatus*
* Common kestrel, *Falco tinnunculus*
* Martial eagle, *Polemaetus bellicosus*
* African white-backed vulture, *Gyps africanus*
* Egyptian vulture, *Neophron percnopterus*
* White-faced scops owl, *Ptilopsis granti*
* African fish eagle, *Haliaeetus vocifer*
* Snail kite, *Rostrhamus sociabilis*
* Great pond snail, *Lymnaea stagnalis*
* Blue wildebeest, *Connochaetes taurinus*
* Ruppell’s griffon vulture, *Gyps rueppellii*
* Marabou stork, *Leptoptilos crumenifer*
* Lappet-faced vulture, *Torgos tracheliotos*
* Secretary bird, *Sagittarius serpentarius*
* Hen harrier, *Circus cyaneus*
* Yellow-billed kite, *Milvus aegyptius*
* Northern spotted owl, *Strix occidentalis caurina*
* Augur buzzard, *Buteo augur*
* Lammergeier, *Gypaetus barbatus*
* Burrowing owl, *Athene cunicularia*
* Osprey, *Pandion haliaetus*
* Peregrine falcon, *Falco peregrinus*
* Pale chanting-goshawk, *Melierax canorus*
* Honey badger, *Mellivora capensis*

## Credits

* Henry - Eric Meyers
* Narrator - Tom Clarke-Hill
* Writer - Alastair Swinnerton
* Script Editor - Jennifer Lupinacci
* Music - David Poore
* Director - Anne Neale
* Graphic Designer - Kate Beldon
* Graphic Design Assistant - Emma Rigney
* Researcher - Helen Exton
* Production Co-ordinator - Esta Porter
* Post-Production Co-ordinator - Liz Lewin
* Production Secretary - Vivienne Mackay
* Production Team - Steve Cronick, Pauline Davis, Sam Evans and Dominic Weston
* Camera - Andy Shillabeer
* 3-D Animation - Ricochet 4 and Daniel Pearson
* Computer Animation Director - Henry Lutman
* Cell Animation - A for Animation
* Cell Animation Director - Mark Taylor
* Sound Editor - Paul Fisher
* Dubbing Mixer - Andrew Wilson
* Editors
	+ Offline - John Wabe and Richard Atherton
	+ Graphics - Sue Land
	+ Online - Sharon Stiles
* Producer - Jessica Wootton

## Home media releases

The VHS for Birds of Prey released on 10th November 1997. The cover shows Henry looking up with a frightened look on his face, and he is accompanied by a Harris’s hawk, a lanner falcon and a snowy owl.

The spine of the VHS has a photograph of an Egyptian vulture, while the back cover has a photograph of a secretary bird.

The blurb on the back cover of the VHS reads:

Where does the secretary bird get its name? How does an owl hunt at night?

**“I’M GOING TO SOAR LIKE AN EAGLE!”**

Henry takes to the air to soar with the fiercest, fastest and deadliest birds in the sky. From the sharp-eyed eagle to the scavenging vulture, Henry learns valuable lessons in hunting from BIRDS OF PREY.

**Cartoon Characters**: \* Eagles • Tyrannosaurus • Rattlesnake • Tiger • Squirrel • Lizards • Elephant • Bat • Fish • Camel • Gorilla • Caveman • Mole • Bear • Stickman • Chicks • Hen • Rooster • Owl • Chameleon • Tortoise • Crocodile • Frog and Toad •
• Parrot • Porcupine • Mouse • Whale • Rhinoceros • Beavers • Snail • Rabbit • Dog • Skunk • Spider • Octopus • Vulture • Woodpecker • Flea • Dung Beetle • Butterfly • Gibbon • Fly • Mosquito • Bee • Beetles • Crab • Pigeon • Carnivorous Plant • Lamb

**Voice Actors**: Eric Meyers • Tom Clarke-Hill
**Season One**: Tropical Birds • Animal Disguises • Nighttime Animals • Animal Appetites • Animal Survivors • Animal Senses • Animal Weapons • Animal Builders • Armoured Animals • Mini-Beasts • Animal Babies • Poisonous Animals • Animal Journeys
**Season Two**: **Birds of Prey** • Desert Animals (Amazing Animals) • Scary Animals • Animal Records • Animal Colors • Animal Mothers • Animal Pets • Seashore Animals • Animal Families • Endangered Animals • An Animal Year • Prehistoric Animals • Monkeys and Apes
**Season Three**: Animal Hunters • Animal Talk • Slimy Animals • Rainforest Animals • Animal Acrobats • Underwater Animals • Animal Neighbors • Giant Animals - Creepy Crawly Animals • Farm Animals (Amazing Animals) • Animal Changes • Extinct Animals • Animal Eggs
**Season Four**: Around the World • Polar Animals • Clever Animals • Underground Animals • Animal Helpers • Woodland Animals (Amazing Animals) • Mountain Animals • Backyard Animals • Tiny Animals • Animal Partners • Scaly Animals • River Animals • Animal Flight