Vogelkop Bowerbirds

[HRH Di]

Has anyone else been watching Life on the Discovery channel? The cinematography is amazing along with the information, however, Oprah's a terrible narrator.

Anyway, on the Avian episode they showed the Vogelkop Bowerbirds. They are the coolest birds I've every seen. The nests are amazing! I'm so often awe-struck by the diversity of Nature.

The link for the clip is about half-way down the page. LIFE - The Series : Videos : Discovery Channel

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Here are some of my favorites:

Kim Bostwick talking about one of her manakin species: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDYpW3zyXqQ]YouTube - Manakin's moonwalk dance[/ame]

The Superb Bird of Paradise doing it's ballerina dance and display: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyvxlUpEjgI]YouTube - Superb Bird of Paradise - courtship dance[/ame]

The Club Winged Manakin using its wing feathers to make a high pitched beep:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMetl4ekRIQ]YouTube - Club-winged Manakin - Machaeropterus deliciosus[/ame]

And some high speed video of this same bird making that sound from Kim Bostwick's
work: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ-Ec4GYHVY]YouTube - High-speed Video of Male Club-winged Manakin[/ame]

 

[Spiritbird]

I watched this show with awe for sure. There are so many things in nature that we have not seen yet. This part about birds was full of the unusual.

 

[parrotqueen]

I love that show too, and I also agree that Oprah is a bad narrator. The avian one is awesome! My second favorite is the reptiles.

This isn't the 'Life' show you're talking about, but I wanted to share it with you guys anyway.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y&feature=fvw"]YouTube - Amazing! Bird sounds from the lyre bird - David Attenborough - BBC wildlife[/ame]

David Attenborough is my hero. I wish I could go to Australia, and I've always wanted to see Papua New Guinea. Those are some of the top birding spots.

 

[HRH Di]

You all are lots better at linking videos than I am...

How cool would it be to be part of the crew with this sort of research!

We never watch the standard network channels at our house - unless some sporting event is on. It's straight to the "nerd" channels...History, Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet, etc. I've never seen an episode of American Idol.

 

[parrotqueen]

Lol, I'm the same way. I love that sort of thing. Animal Plant has been disappointing me lately, though...

Unless you have a good sense of humor, 'nerd' sounds a tad too negative. So I call myself a geek instead.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

How cool would it be to be part of the crew with this sort of research!

It's very cool. Except the pay sucks, nothing like living JUST above the poverty line and having to decide whether to invest in research materials or lunch. So donate to grant agencies so I can stay employed!