1 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:08,080 The sky is one of the most challenging places to live. 2 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:13,600 But all across the world, extraordinary animals do 3 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:15,800 something we can only dream of... 4 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:19,600 ..take to the air. 5 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,040 Some spend their whole lives up here. 6 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:32,840 Others only visit for a moment. 7 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,840 We'll discover how many incredible animals thrive in the sky... 8 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,480 ..and what clever tricks they use to get airborne. 9 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:50,960 With the help of some specially trained animals, 10 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:55,400 the latest technology and special effects techniques, 11 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:58,360 we'll reveal brand-new discoveries 12 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:02,080 that explain how animals take to the skies. 13 00:01:04,320 --> 00:01:07,120 This is Life In The Air. 14 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,520 Right now, there are billions of creatures 15 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,480 living in the three miles of air above our heads... 16 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:28,040 without us evening knowing they're up here. 17 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:31,840 They've overcome gravity, 18 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:36,000 they've mastered flight and now they live their lives up here, 19 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,480 making the most of the opportunities the skies have to offer. 20 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:43,960 There are over a thousand species of mammal 21 00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:47,120 and over tens of thousands of species of birds up here. 22 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,680 The biggest numbers are the smallest players. 23 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:58,240 And the closer you look, the more of them you see. 24 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,640 Insects, trillions of them, 25 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:07,560 so many that 98% of everything that flies is an insect, 26 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:10,120 and most of them don't even have names. 27 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:16,600 The air above us is more crowded and more dangerous than you might think. 28 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:22,840 Predators are everywhere. 29 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,680 At every level, the skies are teeming with life. 30 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:32,120 There are thousands of creatures using 31 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:34,040 the skies as super-highways, 32 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:35,960 travelling huge distances 33 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:37,680 to find food or to migrate. 34 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:44,600 Butterflies. 35 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:45,880 Even ladybirds. 36 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:56,280 Over a kilometre above our heads there are moths 37 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:58,960 speeding by at 80 kilometres an hour. 38 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:08,720 But what happens when so many lives collide? 39 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,200 How do animals compete with each other up here? 40 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:24,680 How do they win a mate? 41 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:29,680 How do they find food? 42 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:34,760 How do they hunt, and avoid being hunted? 43 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,760 Up here, animals are pushed to the limits of what's possible. 44 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:47,280 Welcome to another world, 45 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:49,600 a world of intense competition, 46 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,600 of extreme lives in crowded skies. 47 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,640 The coast of South Africa is home to one of the most extreme 48 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:14,440 fliers in the natural world. 49 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,960 The Cape gannet has a unique way of beating the competition 50 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:21,680 when it comes to finding food. 51 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:34,880 The size of this island breeding colony 52 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,520 shows the richness of the seas around them, 53 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,480 enough to supply the tonnes of fish caught by these birds every day. 54 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:49,480 But it's how they catch fish that's so remarkable. 55 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,840 Here, the competition from other sea birds is intense. 56 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:59,080 Most can only catch fish when they swim close to the surface. 57 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,440 But there are richer pickings deeper down. 58 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:08,840 And that's what the gannets are after. 59 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:14,600 It requires an extreme form of flying that would kill most 60 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:15,880 other creatures. 61 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:22,160 Several kilometres from the gannets' colony, 62 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:24,720 a vast shoal of sardines is massing. 63 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,360 And 20,000 gannets are heading out after them. 64 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:36,560 But most of the sardines are several metres below the surface, 65 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:39,400 completely out of reach for the other sea birds. 66 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,120 So the gannets prepare to perform 67 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,680 one of the most dangerous flying stunts in the animal kingdom. 68 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:54,280 Climbing 30 metres above the surface, 69 00:05:54,280 --> 00:05:57,360 they drop from the sky using gravity to accelerate... 70 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:14,960 Hitting the water at 100 kilometres an hour. 71 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:17,920 with the same force as a bullet fired from a handgun. 72 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:25,480 The impact should kill them. 73 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:29,160 At that speed, it's like hitting concrete. 74 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:39,280 So how can they possibly survive? 75 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:55,080 Less than a second before contact, they tuck in their wings and change 76 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:59,000 their shape, streamlining their body to slice through the water. 77 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:04,880 The gannets have air-filled pockets under the skin in their necks 78 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:07,600 and chests, thought to act like airbags to help 79 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:11,080 cushion their bodies from the impact of the water's surface. 80 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:18,720 But their technique must be precise. 81 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,400 If their shape isn't perfectly streamlined, 82 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,200 the impact of hitting the water would crush them. 83 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,560 The dive propels them down to where the fish are schooling 84 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:34,240 but they still have to catch them. 85 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:38,400 Exactly how they do that depends on a critical decision each bird 86 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:40,880 made the second before it dived. 87 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:55,120 In mid-air, the gannet has two choices - 88 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:57,760 to dive shallow or to dive deep. 89 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:03,600 A quick, shallow dive allows it to hit the water fast 90 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,320 and instantly snatch any fish near the surface. 91 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:10,440 But once under attack, 92 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:14,760 the sardines escape downwards, and the gannets must up their game. 93 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:23,160 ..diving almost vertically to give them 94 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,880 the speed to reach 10m underwater in a few seconds. 95 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:52,240 Their extreme dive has taken them to an alien world, 96 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:55,360 far away from the competition from the other sea birds. 97 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:01,040 A world where wings become fins, feet become paddles... 98 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,480 Even their eyes change shape so that they can see underwater, 99 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,040 and special eyelids act like goggles. 100 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:17,720 They are the only birds down here, and they reap the reward. 101 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:35,240 Running out of breath, they return to their sky world 102 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:37,640 using the air trapped in their feathers 103 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:39,560 to carry them back to the surface. 104 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:49,040 Risking death to dive deep allows gannets to escape the competition 105 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:51,000 and find food for their families. 106 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:55,000 But using extreme flying to catch 107 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:57,560 food is not just a survival trick for gannets. 108 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:01,600 There's plenty of food out there 109 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:04,480 for the animals who can fly well enough to catch it. 110 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:12,120 An African skimmer goes fishing too, flying with such precision that the 111 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:16,160 lower part of its beak can feel for fish just below the surface. 112 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,280 If it snaps shut, it's caught a fish. 113 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:29,000 There's a fishing bat that expertly deploys its enormous clawed 114 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:31,040 talons as trawling fish hooks. 115 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,400 But bats had better watch out or they might become food themselves. 116 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:43,120 Falcons use quick reactions 117 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,680 and extreme control to catch fast flying bats in mid-air. 118 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:07,400 Food is not the only thing animals in the skies compete for. 119 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:10,360 When it comes to finding a mate, there are some creatures 120 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,120 who've taken this to a record-breaking extreme. 121 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:17,680 Meet the Anna's hummingbird. 122 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:29,520 One of California's finest. 123 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:32,000 He's no bigger than a ping-pong ball, 124 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,720 no heavier than a 20-pence coin, 125 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:37,200 but he's a record-breaking flying machine. 126 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:46,680 His wings pump at 2,500 times a minute. 127 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:51,480 His heart beats at 1,200 times a minute 128 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:53,960 and he can hover for well over an hour. 129 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:02,560 He needs to mate, 130 00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:05,360 but he has to prove that he's fitter than the rest. 131 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,320 He has a problem. 132 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:13,720 There's another male vying for the female's attention, 133 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:16,400 and he's a record-breaking flying machine too. 134 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:23,960 Let the competition commence. 135 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:42,680 Aggression drives the intruder away. 136 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:48,800 But that in itself doesn't impress her enough. 137 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:53,280 Now he's going to have to pull off the flying stunt of his life. 138 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,920 First, he woos her to his performance arena with a song. 139 00:12:56,920 --> 00:12:58,960 IT CHIRPS 140 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:09,160 Now he's got her attention, 141 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:11,880 the stage is set for this tiny bird to perform 142 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:15,360 the fastest courtship display ever seen in the animal world. 143 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:22,720 He climbs 30m above her... 144 00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:35,840 Then for the grand finale, he dives straight at the ground. 145 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:49,560 That was it, over in a few hundredths of a second. 146 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:52,680 And again. 147 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:58,400 To see what he's doing, we need to slow things down. 148 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,160 This is much more than just high-speed flying. 149 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,880 By folding his wings in tightly, he mimics a missile, 150 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:16,920 travelling 20m and 400 times his body length every second. 151 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:27,000 At the last moment, he pulls up sharply, 152 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,360 pulling more Gs than a jet fighter pilot. 153 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,480 But it's not just the speed, the height or 154 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:51,800 the angle of his flight, it's all about serenading on the wing. 155 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:57,760 His tail is singing a sweet song with jet-fighter force. 156 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,240 The air screaming through his spread-out tail feathers makes them 157 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:11,600 vibrate in a very special way. 158 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:15,920 BUZZING 159 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:19,120 Slowed down, this is the sound they make. 160 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:23,360 BUZZING 161 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:29,600 BUZZING 162 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,200 It's far louder than any of his singing. 163 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:35,760 And the faster he dives, the better it sounds. 164 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:39,600 BUZZING 165 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:44,600 Who'd have thought that a sound like this... 166 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:45,760 BRIEF CHIRP 167 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:47,560 ..or this... BRIEF CHIRP 168 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:50,640 ..would make all the difference and see off the competition? 169 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,480 To her, it proves he's fit. 170 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:59,680 This bird boy-racer has won himself a mate by pushing 171 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:03,280 himself to the limit and proving he's got what it takes. 172 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:08,000 But he's not the only one who knows that a little showing off 173 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:09,360 can go a long way. 174 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:16,480 Aerial displays are a serious business. 175 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:20,360 The greater the effort, the more lasting the impression. 176 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:24,840 Meet the male spatuletail hummingbird. 177 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,200 It has to be said, with a tail like that, 178 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,600 he's already making quite an impression. 179 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:45,880 But to win over his female, 180 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,080 he'll need to hover and wave his enormous tail flags 181 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:50,400 at the same time. 182 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:06,120 It's such an endurance test, 183 00:17:06,120 --> 00:17:09,400 every now and then, he needs to take a little rest. 184 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:17,280 With every leap, 185 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:19,800 this lesser florican is trying to prove he's fitter 186 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:21,880 than all the other males. 187 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:27,960 And today, just to make sure, he's going to do 500 of them. 188 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:38,760 In the dense jungles of Costa Rica, 189 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:41,400 there's little room for showing off. 190 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:43,520 So one amorous male woos a female 191 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:46,200 with an altogether more cunning tactic. 192 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:51,760 Meet the male glasswing butterfly. 193 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:58,120 He's got see-through wings precisely 194 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:00,760 because he doesn't want to stand out from the crowd. 195 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:08,520 There are just too many jungle predators around for that. 196 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:14,200 He too uses the air to show off, 197 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:16,600 but it's an aerial display like no other. 198 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:22,040 He's going to use the air to carry an irresistible message 199 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:25,400 to a female and to get her to come to him. 200 00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:32,560 On his wings, he has little bunches of hair 201 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,600 loaded with his own distinctive pheromone perfume. 202 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:45,920 The perfume wafts through the trees carrying a specially coded message 203 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:47,400 invisible to others. 204 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:54,360 It tells the female who he is and how many poisonous plants 205 00:18:54,360 --> 00:18:55,800 he's managed to eat. 206 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:01,120 Because he stores the poisons in his body 207 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:04,800 and uses them to show how distasteful he is to predators. 208 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:12,960 So, to a female checking out the males in the jungle, 209 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:15,720 it's good to have bad taste. 210 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:22,760 The secret message wafting invisibly through the jungle says, 211 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:27,400 "I'm here, I'm male and I taste worse than all the others." 212 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:36,200 She's hooked and follows the trail of his irresistible odour. 213 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:48,320 It's a clever trick, 214 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:51,680 the male attracts a female without attracting predators. 215 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:56,600 When it comes to finding a mate, 216 00:19:56,600 --> 00:20:00,280 males will try anything that works to give them an edge. 217 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:03,000 And with the skies so full of competition, 218 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,520 it pays to be cunning like the glasswing. 219 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:11,440 But once animals have paired up, 220 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:13,920 it's not long before offspring arrive, 221 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:16,360 and they need looking after. 222 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:21,040 This is Oregon, USA. 223 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:24,360 Home to the kingbirds. 224 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:30,840 They're an ordinary looking couple working hard to raise a family. 225 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:34,560 But don't be deceived, 226 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:37,720 these birds are remarkable. 227 00:20:40,120 --> 00:20:42,440 The male has picked the perfect home, 228 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:44,920 the air is thick with insects to eat, 229 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,080 but he'll have to work hard to catch them for his family. 230 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:53,920 He's agile enough to take insects on the wing, and that's no mean feat. 231 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:25,040 The top prize for a kingbird is this. 232 00:21:26,360 --> 00:21:28,960 A big, juicy dragonfly. 233 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:35,600 They're more manoeuvrable than him, 234 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,840 and they're one of the fastest insects in the world, 235 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:40,880 topping 50 kilometres an hour. 236 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:48,440 But the kingbird is faster. 237 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:51,240 This is speed versus agility. 238 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:03,440 He'll work hard like this to feed his chicks 239 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:05,360 for nearly for nearly two months. 240 00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:07,240 His commitment is total. 241 00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:12,160 But his true colours are about to be revealed. 242 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:14,360 He's spotted danger in his neighbourhood. 243 00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:17,240 CROWING 244 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:21,120 Ravens. 245 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,240 They'd kill his whole family in minutes given the chance. 246 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:31,920 He's going to have to defend his offspring. 247 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:41,240 Ravens are clever, and they're four times bigger than him. 248 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:50,280 But no-one is going to hurt his family. 249 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:58,560 As formidable as the ravens are, 250 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,880 the kingbird has an unexpected side to his character. 251 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:07,120 Sheer. Obsessive. Belligerence. 252 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,600 What he's about to do seems almost suicidal. 253 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:23,200 He manoeuvres into the raven's blind spot. 254 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:32,520 He hassles it, landing on its back, even stabs at its neck. 255 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:34,120 The raven could kill him. 256 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,800 But as long as he holds this position, he's in control. 257 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:47,520 Those superb acrobatic skills that helped him 258 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:52,200 chase down dragonflies are now being used to help keep his family safe. 259 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:09,360 Kingbirds will take on anything, 260 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:11,400 including large birds of prey. 261 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:19,040 They've even been seen having a go at low-flying aircraft. 262 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:35,360 A combination of spectacular flying agility and an almost 263 00:24:35,360 --> 00:24:39,280 psychopathic attitude makes the skies above a kingbird nest 264 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:42,000 a little less crowded than they might be, 265 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,560 and the chicks, a little safer. 266 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:47,840 That's dedication. 267 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:59,240 The kingbird takes huge risks to give his young a flying start 268 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:00,640 in this competitive world. 269 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:06,880 But there's a tiny animal from Texas that takes parenthood 270 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:08,800 to an even greater extreme. 271 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:16,440 The phorid fly. 272 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:19,440 Smaller than a pin's head, she's a mother. 273 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:23,200 And right now, she needs to lay her eggs and secure a safe future 274 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:24,480 for her offspring. 275 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:30,960 But to do this, 276 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:34,280 she must face one of the most feared animals in Texas. 277 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:37,800 Fire ants. 278 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:40,360 In their thousands. 279 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:45,600 They have a vicious bite and a venomous sting. 280 00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:49,880 They'll kill any insect that crosses their path. 281 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,880 But incredibly, these vicious predators aren't going to eat 282 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:02,120 the phorid fly's young, 283 00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:05,080 the young phorid flies are going to eat them. 284 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:11,320 First, the mother must pull off one of the greatest daredevil 285 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:14,000 flying missions in the natural world - 286 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:17,800 she's going to lay her eggs on living fire ants. 287 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:24,680 She's going to have to do some serious precision flying, 288 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:26,520 or she'll be killed herself. 289 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:30,160 How she does it can only be fully understood 290 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:31,640 by watching in slow motion. 291 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:39,880 First, she hovers as close as possible to her victim 292 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:42,280 but just out of reach of the ants' jaws. 293 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:48,200 The risk is finely balanced, just a breath of wind and she's dinner. 294 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:10,800 Now she's ready to quickly deposit an egg in a chink 295 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:12,800 in the ant's armour, at a leg joint. 296 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,560 From start to finish, it takes just one sixtieth of a second. 297 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:41,160 Once attacked, the ants send out a chemical alarm to warn the others. 298 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:47,240 They hide, crowding under any available cover, 299 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:50,320 making it much harder for the phorid fly to get at them. 300 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:55,320 But she has over 100 eggs still to lay. 301 00:27:56,600 --> 00:27:59,720 She's going to have to up her game and test her hovering skills 302 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:03,160 to the max if she's going to deliver her cargo successfully. 303 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:38,840 Her daredevil mission is accomplished. 304 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:43,400 But the story isn't over for the ants. 305 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:47,720 Inside each ant, 306 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:51,200 the fly larva has taken over the ant's mind, 307 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:53,720 reprogramming it to walk off like a zombie. 308 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:59,360 The ant finally dies safely away from its colony 309 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:01,640 where the fly larva can grow up in peace. 310 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:09,640 The ant's zombie body now becomes perfect phorid fly baby food. 311 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:19,280 For two weeks, the fly larva eats the ant from the inside. 312 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:29,760 A tiny new phorid fly stretches her wings for the first time. 313 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:40,120 Soon, like her mother, she'll fly her own mission impossible, 314 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:42,800 a hair's breadth from a fire ant's jaws. 315 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,320 At every stage of their lives, animals are doing what it 316 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:57,760 takes to stay ahead of the rest 317 00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:00,280 to survive and raise a family. 318 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:02,120 But in our crowded skies, 319 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:05,520 they face competition from others at every turn. 320 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:09,400 With so many lives interacting, colliding and competing 321 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:11,640 and so much pressure to succeed, 322 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:15,560 animals have had to push their flying abilities to the extreme, 323 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:18,200 taking huge risks with their own lives. 324 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:33,360 Up here, it can be tough to find food... 325 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:39,640 ..win a mate... 326 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:42,200 or secure a future for your offspring. 327 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:49,680 Life in the air is a life of intense competition. 328 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:54,760 And where there's competition, 329 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:58,480 there are animals who choose not to play by the rules. 330 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:03,920 Few are sneakier than an inhabitant of tropical seas 331 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:06,680 and islands around the world - 332 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:08,080 the frigate bird. 333 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:16,720 This pterodactyl-shaped bird has a curious problem. 334 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:21,480 Remarkably for a sea bird, its feathers aren't waterproof. 335 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:25,040 If it gets too wet, it'll sink and drown. 336 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:35,040 That's obviously not good for a bird that needs to catch fish. 337 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,840 So the frigate bird uses its unique flying speed 338 00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:42,160 and agility to catch fish another, less honest, way. 339 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:47,680 It steals fish from others. 340 00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:50,480 It's a flying pirate. 341 00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:57,000 This time, its victim is a red-billed tropic bird. 342 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:05,360 The frigate bird is going to force it to give up its last meal, 343 00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:08,240 and that means putting it under serious pressure. 344 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:40,480 The tropic bird is a superb flier, 345 00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:42,960 but the frigate bird pirate is better. 346 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:48,800 His wings are unusually large, but his body remains light. 347 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:52,040 These two things combined deliver the most extraordinary 348 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:53,280 agility in the air. 349 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:56,960 The frigate bird can, in theory, 350 00:32:56,960 --> 00:32:59,800 out manoeuvre any other sea bird in the world. 351 00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:04,120 Perfect skills for a pirate of the skies. 352 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:21,520 But the tropic bird isn't going to give up its hard-earned meal easily. 353 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:56,120 When the tropic bird finally gives up its dinner, 354 00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:59,600 the frigate bird is in precisely the right spot for the catch. 355 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:09,000 When it comes to aerial combat, 356 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,800 it takes a lot to beat this thieving pirate. 357 00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:24,200 Our crowded skies are a competitive battle zone, 358 00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:28,160 with tussles between species going on all the time, 359 00:34:28,160 --> 00:34:30,640 as they've done for millions of years. 360 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:38,440 But just occasionally, the underdog fights back 361 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:40,400 and outsmarts its attacker. 362 00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:46,240 Take this moth. 363 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:49,800 It can seem pretty incompetent in the air, 364 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:53,560 with weak and fluttery flight and a bad sense of direction. 365 00:34:56,480 --> 00:34:58,480 It can blame that on its ancestors. 366 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:06,960 100 million years ago, insects had the night sky to themselves. 367 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:08,880 They didn't need to be strong fliers 368 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:11,440 because there wasn't much out there to get them. 369 00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:16,240 But then along came new, intelligent, 370 00:35:16,240 --> 00:35:19,880 highly-equipped creatures that could hunt them down easily. 371 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:30,120 They are the only mammals that have ever learnt to fly, 372 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:32,000 and many could see in the dark. 373 00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:53,240 Bats. 374 00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:57,320 Bats were onto something. 375 00:35:57,320 --> 00:35:59,960 There was a great feast to be had in the night. 376 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:05,800 To a moth, this is a sophisticated, highly dangerous enemy. 377 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:10,520 A bat finds its prey using echolocation. 378 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:17,840 Literally, it locates using echoes. 379 00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:20,880 You could say it sees using sound. 380 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:27,560 It sends out clicks into the air, as many as 200 a second. 381 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:31,400 If the clicks hit anything, they bounce back as echoes. 382 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:36,480 It's by listening to those echoes in the darkness a bat can pick 383 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:39,760 out its surroundings, even a moth. 384 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:47,680 As the bat approaches its victim, the clicks get faster, 385 00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:51,280 creating a buzz of sound that helps it home in on its target. 386 00:36:56,720 --> 00:36:59,520 These sounds all happen beyond our human hearing. 387 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:03,280 But we can see them as sound waves. 388 00:37:05,240 --> 00:37:06,640 First searching. 389 00:37:08,720 --> 00:37:09,960 Then approaching. 390 00:37:11,240 --> 00:37:14,120 And then finally, the attack. 391 00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:23,760 So a bat is a super flyer with added superpowers, 392 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:25,440 and that's hard to beat. 393 00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:32,760 If they were going to survive, moths had to raise their own game. 394 00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:37,400 Some of them began to hear the bats coming. 395 00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:42,600 When they hear the buzz of an attacking bat, 396 00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:45,120 these moths take evasive action. 397 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:47,680 They drop out of the sky. 398 00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:53,200 Simple, but effective. 399 00:37:57,280 --> 00:38:00,840 An arms race had begun between bats and moths, 400 00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:04,400 each trying to out compete each other in the night sky. 401 00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:09,960 Eventually, a race of super moths emerged. 402 00:38:12,720 --> 00:38:15,880 Super moths like this tiger moth. 403 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:18,920 Its superpowers have only recently been explained. 404 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:30,920 The tiger moth can vibrate a tiny membrane under its wing. 405 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:41,440 This produces a special high-frequency sound 406 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:43,520 to confuse bats. 407 00:38:43,520 --> 00:38:45,360 When a bat attacks, 408 00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:47,160 the secret weapon is deployed. 409 00:38:54,280 --> 00:38:56,480 The moth's special sound jams 410 00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:58,920 the bat's echolocation system, 411 00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:01,080 so it can't see with sound properly. 412 00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:03,880 It's enough of a smokescreen 413 00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:05,480 to allow the moth to escape, 414 00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:08,280 leaving the confused bat to try and find another. 415 00:39:13,720 --> 00:39:17,560 Every night, around the world, hi-tech aerial battles like this 416 00:39:17,560 --> 00:39:20,040 take place with sophisticated weaponry, 417 00:39:20,040 --> 00:39:23,920 changing the odds, as predator is pitched against prey. 418 00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:14,520 Bat versus moth, 419 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:17,400 aerial competition that's been played out over millions 420 00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:21,160 of years between billions of rivals, 421 00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:23,120 where the tiniest advantage may make 422 00:40:23,120 --> 00:40:27,080 all the difference in the fierce battles that rage in the skies. 423 00:40:30,680 --> 00:40:34,760 If you're caught in a one-on-one life or death battle in the sky 424 00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:38,040 and you don't have a secret weapon up your sleeve, 425 00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:41,440 you'd better be able to out-fly your assailant. 426 00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:44,720 As a lone flyer, you have few other options. 427 00:40:45,720 --> 00:40:48,800 But there is one way to beat even the best aerial hunter. 428 00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:51,680 And that's teamwork. 429 00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:03,120 A group is almost impossible to sneak up on without being noticed. 430 00:41:08,640 --> 00:41:12,400 But there are other reasons that animals move together like this. 431 00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:19,440 Predators can only chase one of you at a time. 432 00:41:21,440 --> 00:41:25,520 The way they see has evolved to focus on just one animal. 433 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:33,120 Faced with a swirling flock, they struggle to focus. 434 00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:35,440 It's information overload. 435 00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:49,840 Flocking is a really effective strategy, 436 00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:52,400 and many birds do this all over the world. 437 00:41:53,720 --> 00:41:55,680 But how can they fly so fast 438 00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:58,960 and so close to each other without colliding? 439 00:41:58,960 --> 00:42:02,120 And who is deciding where to go? 440 00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:04,520 Take starlings. 441 00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:07,480 Their flocking behaviour is world-famous, 442 00:42:07,480 --> 00:42:11,520 it even has a special name - a murmuration. 443 00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:17,520 Confusing to a predator, 444 00:42:17,520 --> 00:42:20,480 it's one of the most breathtaking sights in nature. 445 00:42:48,480 --> 00:42:52,680 Hundreds of thousands of individual birds are moving as one, 446 00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:57,720 and amazingly, there's no single bird in charge of the plan. 447 00:42:57,720 --> 00:43:01,520 Just how these complex aerial displays work has baffled us 448 00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:05,080 for centuries and has only just recently been explained. 449 00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:10,160 Remarkably, the truth about their complexity is rather simple. 450 00:43:10,160 --> 00:43:13,560 To understand how it works, imagine you could fly 451 00:43:13,560 --> 00:43:16,760 into a giant flock alongside one single starling. 452 00:43:23,240 --> 00:43:24,680 How she flies is all to do 453 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:27,640 with what her seven closest neighbours are up to. 454 00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:34,800 As the flock moves, 455 00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:36,800 those seven might change, 456 00:43:36,800 --> 00:43:39,200 but the principle stays the same. 457 00:43:40,600 --> 00:43:44,080 Every starling in the flock is following three simple rules. 458 00:43:47,640 --> 00:43:51,160 Firstly, as you fly, steer towards each other. 459 00:43:55,600 --> 00:44:00,040 Secondly, if any of your seven neighbours turn, then you turn. 460 00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:06,880 Finally, don't crowd each other. 461 00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:15,640 Amazingly, that's all there is to it. 462 00:44:22,280 --> 00:44:26,320 Inside a flock, individual birds are making these simple decisions 463 00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:29,880 in hundredths of a second, again and again. 464 00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:33,400 It's enough to confuse a predator. 465 00:44:33,400 --> 00:44:36,600 And when half a million birds do it altogether, 466 00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:39,080 the results are spectacular. 467 00:45:04,800 --> 00:45:08,280 So how do we know precisely that this incredible spectacle is 468 00:45:08,280 --> 00:45:12,440 the result of just three simple rules and seven near neighbours? 469 00:45:13,960 --> 00:45:16,440 The answer lies in what you see here. 470 00:45:17,680 --> 00:45:21,600 This swirling mass of birds doesn't actually exist in the natural 471 00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:24,680 world, it exists inside a computer. 472 00:45:26,920 --> 00:45:30,040 It's a computer simulation, with virtual birds 473 00:45:30,040 --> 00:45:34,040 created by scientists trying to work out how flocks work. 474 00:45:40,640 --> 00:45:44,320 Incredibly, this computer-generated flock looks 475 00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:46,640 and behaves exactly like the real thing. 476 00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:50,760 Each bird is following its seven neighbours 477 00:45:50,760 --> 00:45:52,760 and using the same three rules. 478 00:45:54,600 --> 00:45:56,680 Watch a real flock anywhere on earth... 479 00:45:57,880 --> 00:46:00,840 ..and it will be working in exactly the same way. 480 00:46:29,680 --> 00:46:32,280 In our crowded and competitive skies, 481 00:46:32,280 --> 00:46:36,440 this surely is the ultimate defence against an airborne predator 482 00:46:36,440 --> 00:46:40,000 and one of nature's greatest flying stunts. 483 00:46:44,120 --> 00:46:46,680 Our skies are teeming with life, 484 00:46:46,680 --> 00:46:50,520 every creature trying to find its way and to survive. 485 00:46:53,440 --> 00:46:56,160 If you can overcome the challenges of life in the air, 486 00:46:56,160 --> 00:46:59,080 there are great opportunities to be had. 487 00:46:59,080 --> 00:47:01,920 It's all about finding your place in the sky 488 00:47:01,920 --> 00:47:04,480 and picking a winning strategy. 489 00:47:04,480 --> 00:47:09,960 For some, it's enough just to beat gravity for a few seconds. 490 00:47:09,960 --> 00:47:13,240 For others, it means taking a leap of faith. 491 00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:19,200 Extraordinary specialist techniques might just give you an edge. 492 00:47:21,760 --> 00:47:25,680 All these animals have skills we humans can only wonder at. 493 00:47:26,880 --> 00:47:29,640 Every time an animal takes to the air, 494 00:47:29,640 --> 00:47:32,880 it seems to be performing its own personal miracle. 495 00:47:36,560 --> 00:47:39,720 Defying gravity to live in a world 496 00:47:39,720 --> 00:47:42,880 that we are only just beginning to understand. 497 00:48:03,720 --> 00:48:06,960 In Life In The Air, the team's mission was to reveal the incredible 498 00:48:06,960 --> 00:48:11,040 abilities of airborne animals in more detail than ever before. 499 00:48:11,040 --> 00:48:14,320 To do it required some extreme perseverance 500 00:48:14,320 --> 00:48:16,800 and a range of approaches. 501 00:48:16,800 --> 00:48:19,920 Some animal stars could be filmed in controlled conditions, 502 00:48:19,920 --> 00:48:23,320 allowing the team to move their cameras alongside them. 503 00:48:23,320 --> 00:48:27,000 Others could only be filmed on their own terms out in the wild. 504 00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:28,040 Blimey! 505 00:48:29,760 --> 00:48:33,040 The most challenging filming in the wild involved the smallest 506 00:48:33,040 --> 00:48:36,400 and fastest of flyers - the Anna's hummingbird. 507 00:48:38,920 --> 00:48:41,120 To film their record-breaking dive, 508 00:48:41,120 --> 00:48:45,040 the team needed a secret weapon - cameraman Barrie Britton. 509 00:48:50,360 --> 00:48:53,400 Filming birds requires keeping them in shot 510 00:48:53,400 --> 00:48:56,080 and in focus from great distances. 511 00:48:56,080 --> 00:49:00,400 Few people on the planet can do it, and Barrie is one of the best. 512 00:49:05,320 --> 00:49:07,800 But this was the first time he'd attempted to film 513 00:49:07,800 --> 00:49:09,960 the legendary Anna's hummingbird. 514 00:49:14,440 --> 00:49:17,480 On the edge of a university campus in California, 515 00:49:17,480 --> 00:49:19,960 he has his first view of the male's display. 516 00:49:24,120 --> 00:49:27,520 The hummingbird has gone really high in the sky, 517 00:49:27,520 --> 00:49:29,720 and it's coming in. Whoa! 518 00:49:32,120 --> 00:49:34,960 He's so small and he's just moving so quickly. 519 00:49:36,600 --> 00:49:39,640 I think it's going to be a real challenge to film it. 520 00:49:39,640 --> 00:49:41,680 Hummingbird scientist Christopher Clark 521 00:49:41,680 --> 00:49:43,720 knows a trick that might help. 522 00:49:43,720 --> 00:49:46,800 He uses a stand-in female bird to attract the males. 523 00:49:46,800 --> 00:49:49,120 The birds are going at the speed of freeway traffic. 524 00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:51,680 Barrie is able to piggyback on Chris's studies 525 00:49:51,680 --> 00:49:52,880 to give him a chance. 526 00:49:54,520 --> 00:49:57,360 And as backup, the team have brought their own range 527 00:49:57,360 --> 00:49:59,160 of stand-in models. 528 00:49:59,160 --> 00:50:02,920 First up, a slightly moth-eaten stuffed bird. 529 00:50:02,920 --> 00:50:05,880 According to the scientists, 530 00:50:05,880 --> 00:50:08,360 this female, the way her tail is, 531 00:50:08,360 --> 00:50:09,840 means that she's a bit... 532 00:50:09,840 --> 00:50:12,760 she looks a bit more up for it than the others. 533 00:50:12,760 --> 00:50:17,120 The model is so enticing, the male skips courtship altogether. 534 00:50:19,640 --> 00:50:21,440 Onto model number two. 535 00:50:21,440 --> 00:50:23,520 A more modest embroidered female. 536 00:50:25,480 --> 00:50:27,160 Playing hard to get, 537 00:50:27,160 --> 00:50:30,240 she's perfect for encouraging the males to perform 538 00:50:30,240 --> 00:50:31,840 their courtship display. 539 00:50:31,840 --> 00:50:35,160 In fact, they're so keen to show off to her, the crew need to cover 540 00:50:35,160 --> 00:50:37,640 her up while Barrie prepares. 541 00:50:37,640 --> 00:50:39,160 I'm ready. 542 00:50:39,160 --> 00:50:42,800 With the set-up sorted, it's now down to Barrie versus the birds. 543 00:50:47,080 --> 00:50:48,200 Oh, here he is. 544 00:50:50,760 --> 00:50:53,080 Whoa! HE LAUGHS 545 00:50:53,080 --> 00:50:54,480 That's really quick. 546 00:50:56,800 --> 00:50:58,400 You think you're so clever! 547 00:51:08,440 --> 00:51:09,480 Blimey! 548 00:51:10,800 --> 00:51:13,560 I'm not sure this is going to work, I'm just trying. 549 00:51:15,760 --> 00:51:18,120 Things are starting to come together. 550 00:51:18,120 --> 00:51:21,480 That's got to be good, it's got to be good. 551 00:51:24,280 --> 00:51:28,560 Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the cloud forests of Ecuador, 552 00:51:28,560 --> 00:51:31,280 another team are also challenged with filming a small, 553 00:51:31,280 --> 00:51:32,440 fast-moving animal. 554 00:51:35,880 --> 00:51:38,720 Their mission is to fly alongside wild bats 555 00:51:38,720 --> 00:51:40,520 hunting in complete darkness. 556 00:51:47,120 --> 00:51:50,880 Scientist Nick Dowdy is taking the crew to his study site within 557 00:51:50,880 --> 00:51:54,040 the forest, where he carries out research on how wild bats 558 00:51:54,040 --> 00:51:55,240 hunt tiger moths. 559 00:51:57,720 --> 00:52:00,760 Huge amounts of specialist equipment are required. 560 00:52:00,760 --> 00:52:03,400 And unable to get this deep into the jungle, 561 00:52:03,400 --> 00:52:06,360 the team's first task is to bring the jungle to them. 562 00:52:11,400 --> 00:52:15,240 A studio within the forest will be a temporary new home for the bats. 563 00:52:17,400 --> 00:52:19,200 It'll replicate the jungle 564 00:52:19,200 --> 00:52:22,480 but will also be rigged with kit by cameraman Rob Drewett. 565 00:52:27,000 --> 00:52:30,280 It takes five days to get everything just right before switching 566 00:52:30,280 --> 00:52:33,560 to night shifts, entering the world of the bats. 567 00:52:35,720 --> 00:52:38,240 Challenged with flying his camera alongside them, 568 00:52:38,240 --> 00:52:40,720 Rob has a stabilising pulley system. 569 00:52:44,280 --> 00:52:46,240 And his state-of-the-art infrared camera 570 00:52:46,240 --> 00:52:49,080 is able to slow down the images over 40 times. 571 00:52:52,640 --> 00:52:56,880 Rob's also relying on some rather less technical equipment. 572 00:52:56,880 --> 00:52:59,400 I'm having to go around and just make sure there's no 573 00:52:59,400 --> 00:53:01,840 holes for them to get out of the enclosure. 574 00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:07,120 Fingers crossed we've got it sorted. 575 00:53:10,160 --> 00:53:13,320 I think we have, it looks pretty good. 576 00:53:13,320 --> 00:53:16,560 So even like that, they're going to get out, aren't they? 577 00:53:16,560 --> 00:53:19,880 While Rob double checks, there's also time for final kit tests 578 00:53:19,880 --> 00:53:21,720 before everything is bat-ready. 579 00:53:21,720 --> 00:53:24,080 You're flapping! HE LAUGHS 580 00:53:27,640 --> 00:53:29,760 Nick is trained to safely capture 581 00:53:29,760 --> 00:53:32,560 and release wild bats for use in his studies. 582 00:53:32,560 --> 00:53:36,400 This expertise ensures the welfare of the animals during filming. 583 00:53:37,960 --> 00:53:43,000 It's also an opportunity for Nick to gain insights into their behaviour. 584 00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:46,000 CLICKING 585 00:53:46,000 --> 00:53:48,680 Echolocation clicks from a bat detector show 586 00:53:48,680 --> 00:53:51,480 the occupants are getting to know their new home. 587 00:53:54,400 --> 00:53:56,200 Now filming can finally begin. 588 00:54:00,640 --> 00:54:03,680 Night after night, Rob starts to get the shots he needs. 589 00:54:05,520 --> 00:54:09,280 And the controlled conditions of the forest studio come into their own. 590 00:54:09,280 --> 00:54:11,040 Oh, here we go. Here we go. 591 00:54:12,280 --> 00:54:15,280 Yes, it's pretty good. Yeah. 592 00:54:15,280 --> 00:54:20,000 But Rob's greatest challenge is yet to come - filming the bats hunting. 593 00:54:25,800 --> 00:54:29,640 Back in California, the hummingbird crew have hit a problem. 594 00:54:29,640 --> 00:54:32,200 The star model has lost its appeal 595 00:54:32,200 --> 00:54:35,200 and instead of diving, the males are now attacking. 596 00:54:38,120 --> 00:54:40,760 There's no option but to turn to the real deal, 597 00:54:40,760 --> 00:54:43,640 a female Anna's hummingbird. 598 00:54:43,640 --> 00:54:45,320 For these shy creatures, 599 00:54:45,320 --> 00:54:48,480 Barrie has to rely on more traditional techniques. 600 00:54:48,480 --> 00:54:50,440 We just need everything to kind of line up. 601 00:54:50,440 --> 00:54:53,000 We need the females to come, land on the perch 602 00:54:53,000 --> 00:54:56,320 and the male has to be looking the right way. 603 00:54:56,320 --> 00:54:58,240 It's going to be a test of patience, 604 00:54:58,240 --> 00:55:01,760 filming all day, every day, in a hide in the Californian heat. 605 00:55:05,360 --> 00:55:07,280 The shoot is in its last few days, 606 00:55:07,280 --> 00:55:09,960 and finally, everything is falling into place. 607 00:55:09,960 --> 00:55:13,200 Barrie's able to capture interactions between the male 608 00:55:13,200 --> 00:55:16,160 and a real female, and reveal the world's fastest courtship 609 00:55:16,160 --> 00:55:17,960 display in incredible detail. 610 00:55:22,960 --> 00:55:25,000 That's really nice, really good. 611 00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:32,240 Back in Ecuador, Rob also faces a waiting game. 612 00:55:32,240 --> 00:55:34,680 He's truly immersed in the bat's world, 613 00:55:34,680 --> 00:55:36,360 becoming nocturnal himself 614 00:55:36,360 --> 00:55:39,240 as he strives to capture their hunting behaviour. 615 00:55:40,240 --> 00:55:43,160 There's no way of knowing exactly when the bats will strike. 616 00:55:43,160 --> 00:55:45,120 And once triggered, the camera needs 617 00:55:45,120 --> 00:55:47,280 at least seven seconds to save the shot. 618 00:55:47,280 --> 00:55:50,080 Oh, that was close. 619 00:55:50,080 --> 00:55:51,520 It's frustrating for Rob 620 00:55:51,520 --> 00:55:54,320 if the action happens before the camera re-arms. 621 00:55:55,640 --> 00:55:56,680 And then... 622 00:55:56,680 --> 00:55:58,200 Ah, no. Not now, though. 623 00:55:58,200 --> 00:56:00,080 ..catastrophe. No, armed? 624 00:56:00,080 --> 00:56:01,480 Armed. 625 00:56:01,480 --> 00:56:02,920 Ah! 626 00:56:02,920 --> 00:56:04,800 Look at this. 627 00:56:04,800 --> 00:56:06,880 Ah! Oh, my God. 628 00:56:10,000 --> 00:56:11,640 This is disastrous. 629 00:56:11,640 --> 00:56:14,000 I'm a bit nervous about using this camera - 630 00:56:14,000 --> 00:56:17,000 it crashed and we lost a whole night's footage. 631 00:56:17,000 --> 00:56:21,880 So fingers crossed it doesn't do that again. 632 00:56:21,880 --> 00:56:25,120 Having worked through the night for over two whole weeks, Rob's spirits 633 00:56:25,120 --> 00:56:29,480 are low, and he only has a few days left. 634 00:56:29,480 --> 00:56:31,200 But he's not one for quitting. 635 00:56:31,200 --> 00:56:33,280 Am I armed? 636 00:56:33,280 --> 00:56:35,000 Yep. 637 00:56:35,000 --> 00:56:37,200 Oh, that was in frame! 638 00:56:38,280 --> 00:56:41,200 OK, let's have a look at that one. 639 00:56:41,200 --> 00:56:43,560 I think we might have got that. Yes! 640 00:56:43,560 --> 00:56:46,040 Ah, that's nice. 641 00:56:46,040 --> 00:56:47,720 Great, we got one. 642 00:56:47,720 --> 00:56:49,400 Yes! Well done, good work. 643 00:56:49,400 --> 00:56:52,760 After many sleepless nights, Rob's perseverance pays off, 644 00:56:52,760 --> 00:56:55,760 helped by a successful partnership with science, a little 645 00:56:55,760 --> 00:56:59,720 technology and a great performance from the masters of the night sky. 646 00:57:04,240 --> 00:57:08,480 In total, crews have worked over 300 days on location 647 00:57:08,480 --> 00:57:12,200 to film incredible animals in action in the skies. 648 00:57:16,800 --> 00:57:19,080 Life in the air has been captured 649 00:57:19,080 --> 00:57:22,080 in greater detail than ever before. 650 00:57:22,080 --> 00:57:24,160 Seeing how animals survive 651 00:57:24,160 --> 00:57:29,400 and thrive up here has revealed just what it takes to master the skies.