Nature's Best of Birds Collection

Nature's Best of Birds Collection includes:

A Murder of Crows
Crows do not have the best of reputations. They are generally dismissed as spooky - Hitchcock used them quite successfully to frighten moviegoers, or as a general nuisance - scarecrows were after all invented to scare crows away from crops. But their image is about to take a real turn. New research has shown they are among the most intelligent animals in the world, able to use tools as only elephants and chimpanzees do, able to recognize each other's voices and 250 distinct calls. They are very social, mate for life, and raise their young for up to five years. And they are able to recognize individual humans and pick them out of a crowd up to two years later. Crow experts from around the world sing their praises, and present us with captivating new footage of crows as we have never seen them before. This DVD features subtitles in English (SDH),

Hummingbirds Magic in the Air
Hummingbirds represent one of nature's most interesting paradoxes – they are the tiniest of birds, yet they qualify as some of the toughest and most energetic creatures on the planet.  New knowledge gained from scientists currently making great breakthroughs in hummingbird biology makes this a perfect time to focus on these shimmering, flashing jewels of the natural world.  Stunningly beautiful high-definition, high-speed footage of hummingbirds in the wild combined with high-tech presentations of their remarkable abilities help us to understand the world of hummingbirds as we never have before  Narrated by F. MURRAY ABRAHAM.

Ravens
Ravens have always been birds with a reputation. Pestilence and death attract them, so they are feared as harbingers of all that is dark and sinister. Yet to the native tribes of the Pacific Northwest they are celebrated as givers of light and life, inventors of the world. They have many identities: thieves, clowns, tricksters, scavengers, companions, holders of supernatural powers. On the basis of their colorful character, sheer nerve and intelligence, these clever birds have earned an enduring place in stories, myths and legends, everywhere in the world where they are found. Legend has it that England will never fall while there are ravens at the Tower of London, so, even today, a minimum of six lucky birds get full honors as guardians of a nation, under the protection of the Crown -- room and board, and a special Tower Ravenmaster to tend to their every need. Not bad for a misbehaving black bird with a reputation!

Raptor Force
Armed with powerful beaks and razor-sharp talons, raptors are nature's elite killing force -- winged predators whose graceful beauty belies their stunning speed, acrobatics and precision. Dramatic original footage from cameras mounted on their backs shows why falcons, owls, eagles and hawks are masters of the sky, and why aeronautics engineers use their unique abilities and body designs as the basis of new aircraft technology.

American Eagle
Unique to North America, the bald eagle is the continent’s most recognizable aerial predator, with a shocking white head, electric yellow beak, and penetrating eyes. In the 1960s, this symbol of the United States became an emblem of environmental degradation as the pesticide DDT and other human pressures brought it to the brink of extinction. But following their protection as an endangered species, bald eagles have come roaring back. Photographed by three-time Emmy-winning cinematographer Neil Rettig, this first-ever HD hour on bald eagles is an intimate portrait of these majestic raptors’ lives in the wild.