The Life of Birds is a scientific show about the evolution of birds and the habits of different species. This program is directed by David Attenborough and it has been broadcasted on the BBC since 1998. These series belong to the trilogy The Life on Earth presented by David Attenborough which consists of The Private Life of Plants presented in 1995, The Life of Mammals broadcasted in 2002 and The State of the Planet showed in 2000.
Let’s have a closer look at The Life of Birds namely the first episode under the title To Fly or Not to Fly? David Attenborough casts light upon the evolution of birds presenting in a ten-part insight. The program is devoted to the depiction of the period 150 million years ago and presents the dinosaurs, the process of feathering and their first attempts to fly into the air. More than that, David Attenborough highlights those species of birds that don’t have the necessity to fly and they don’t fly at all. Nevertheless, these species belong to the family of birds.
The program begins with the description of pterosaurs who are the forerunners of birds. Archaeopteryx is considered to be the first dinosaur which had feathers for the flight. Reptiles are the ancestors of birds and the intermediate member between them is probably the flying lizard. David Attenborough describes the process of evolution and then casts light upon the diversity of birds inhabited New Zealand.
The Life of Birds is very interesting and educational program. In the episode To Fly or Not to Fly David Attenborough presents the development of flying and non-flying birds. He presents a lot of facts and fossils explaining the process of changes of reptiles into birds. Why did reptiles begin to fly? He provides the probable reasons of flying. One of the main reasons is searching for food on the different territories.
The program attracts the spectator’s interest. There are a lot of beautiful sceneries and presentation of different species of birds. The shots are changed one by one and the spectator doesn’t be bored. Music and David Attenborough’s commentaries make the program more interesting. The presenter talks about very serious scientific facts in a captivating way.
More than that, the presenter demonstrates all evidences of the bird development. The fossils of dinosaurs, reptiles and the process of their transference into birds are observed by David Attenborough. Nevertheless, if the reptiles transferred into the birds, why does not this process repeat nowadays? What was the cause of such transferences million years ago? David Attenborough explains some of the reasons. He presupposes that the main one was the food. He presents the process of feathering when the skin of reptiles changed into feathers which were necessary for flights. Nevertheless, some birds having feathers don’t fly. What’s for the feathers for such birds? David Attenborough provides different reasons for this fact. Some species have feathers to keep them warm in the water. More than that, this episode provides the differences between the birds that fly and that cannot fly. It is pointed out that a lot of birds which cannot fly are not survived. There are some little species observed by the presenter in his program.
The demonstration of facts and evidences proves all David Attenborough’s presuppositions scientifically. More than that, we can observe the wealth and diversity of the nature in this program. Millions of species amaze with its beauty. The presenter touches upon some of the species inhabited New Zealand. We may observe the great diversity of the surrounding world sitting in front of our TVs. This program attracts my attention as far as it is more interesting to travel around the world and know something new watching amusing and colorful programs than reading books.
On the other hand, this program is considered to be unrealistic by many spectators. They believe that these evidences are not enough to prove things which happened million years ago. Many people don’t believe that the reptiles changed into the birds. It is quite difficult to imagine such transferences and great changes. Although, many people dispute David Attenborough’s rightness there are a lot of interesting scientific facts about the Earth and the wealth of its flora and fauna presented in the program which attract the spectators’ attention.
The Life of Birds is an interesting program which may be used with educational purposes. A captivating and amazing plot supporting with music and commentaries plunge us into the wealth and beauty of the nature. We have such a great possibility to observe the diversity of flora and fauna sitting in front of the screens. Nevertheless, this program is considered to be unrealistic by some people who argue some facts provided in the program. There are a lot of scientific presuppositions about the existence of flying and non-flying birds. David Attenborough presents his theory on this subject. It is your right whether to believe this theory or not but the wide range of evidences provided by David Attenborough in his program make the spectators believe that animals are our ancestors.