Posts tagged 'David Attenborough'

The Vogelkop Bowerbird

“The bower is a cone-shaped hut-like structure some 100 cm high and 160 cm in diameter, with an entrance usually propped up by two column-like sticks. A front “lawn” of some square meters area is cleaned of debris and laid out with moss. On this, and in the entrance of the bower, decorations such as colourful flowers or fruit, shining beetle elytra, dead leaves and other conspicuous objects are collected and artistically arranged. Males go to great lengths to ensure that their displays are in prime condition, replacing old items as needed, as well as trying to outdo their neighbours by finding more spectacular decorations, and arranging them appropriately…more on wikipedia

Nature can, at times, be terrible and unforgiving but it is also the source of such intriguing, complex and beautiful mysteries like the Vogelkop bowerbird. As I was watching the attached video, lulled into peaceful contentedness by the reassuring narration of Sir David Attenborough, I kept thinking to myself, “how, little bird, did you come to be?”

This particular clip is from the BBC produced series ‘Life’ which I highly recommend watching in it’s entirety. See/watch/learn more about the Vogelkop bowerbird on the BBC’s Nature website and on wikipedia.

[ Life - The Vogelkop Bowerbird: Nature's Great Seducer - BBC One ]

The Fungus Among Us

Thought you folks would enjoy some gorgeous HD goodness from Planet Earth about jungle fungus. The main star of the show is the uber-spooky cordyceps which seems as if it was invented for an episode of X-Files. Other than that it’s Sir David Attenborough doing his thing alongside beautifully captured time-lapse footage. You can’t go wrong, really.

[ Cordyceps Fungi - BBC Planet Earth HD ]

Sexy Orchids All Up Ons

Those orchids are sexy, tricksy little minxes, I tell you.

Did you know that vanilla comes from orchids?  Or that orchids are virtually immortal?  It’s true (providing you take good care of them, of course).  There are individual plants that are still alive today that were first brought to England in the 1800s. Whoa.

The above video is from the excellent BBC produced series ‘The Private Life of Plants’ hosted by none other than Sir David Attenborough.

[ Sexual Tricks of Orchid Plants ]

The Persistence Hunt

My favorite moment from the excellent ‘Life of Mammals’ series presented by Sir David Attenborough. It shows how the San people of the Kalahari desert overtake their prey by out-running them down to complete exhaustion.  The San are the last people on earth who still hunt this way.  Enjoy.

You can read more about persistence hunting in the excellent ‘Born to Run’ by Christopher McDougall.

[ BBC: The Life of Mammals / Human Mammal, Human Hunter - David Attenborough ]