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Few things can be more wonderful
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than the gift of flight.
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We all dream of the freedom to soar over the landscape.
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It's unimaginable that if you could fly,
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you might choose to give it up.
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But that's exactly what some birds have chosen to do.
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The question is, why?
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(dramatic music)
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Whether it's to save energy,
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tap into new food resources,
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or invest in other skills,
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they all have their reasons.
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But it doesn't make this exclusive group of flightless birds
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any less weird and wonderful.
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Cranes.
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Giant birds standing taller than most kids
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and weighing more than a house cat.
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Proof that you don't need
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to be small and lightweight to fly.
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These heavy but elegant birds
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undertake huge annual migrations.
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They pass over other birds similar in size,
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but these ones can only reach for the stars.
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These are rheas,
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one of a small handful of birds
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that have abandoned the ability to fly.
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From flying ancestors, all have become grounded.
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But how, and why?
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60 species of bird have given up flight,
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but they are not all related.
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Each have taken their own evolutionary path.
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(gentle music)
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The Galapagos is a cluster of tiny islands
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out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
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They were thrown up by volcanoes
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just a few million years ago.
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Because of their remoteness,
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very few animals have managed to colonize the island.
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With the gift of flight, though,
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birds were able to make landfall after an ocean crossing.
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Those pioneers found a paradise,
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a landscape where there is little competition for food
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and no predators.
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Cormorants were among those early aeronauts
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arriving by wing.
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There are over 40 species of cormorants
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that have settled on most coastlines
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and waterways around the world.
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All are large, heavy seabirds,
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streamlined, and with oily, waterproof plumage.
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They are expert fisherman,
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diving to do most of their hunting.
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(calm music)
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But with powerful wings to transfer
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between different fishing grounds
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and their nesting and roosting sites,
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which thanks to their flight,
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can be in the trees and out of the reach of predators.
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(birds crying)
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Because fish shoals are always on the move,
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the birds needed the capacity for long-distance travel
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until they found Galapagos.
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Once they'd settled on the islands,
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they had everything they needed.
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There was no longer any need to make long journeys,
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and without mammalian predators,
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they no longer needed flight to escape danger.
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They didn't need to fly, so why bother?
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It saved energy not having to grow big, powerful wings,
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and so gradually, over thousands of years, they stopped.
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Today, their wings are tiny
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and totally incapable of getting them airborne.
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While size isn't everything,
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they have made up for their puny flappers with big flippers,
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improving their performance in the water.
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They are high-performance divers.
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Even a plunge in search of fish
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can take them to 10 or 15 meters,
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even 18 meters at a push.
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(upbeat music)
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Downsizing in the wing department
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creates the need to improvise in other areas of life.
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When looking for love,
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many birds show off with spectacular aerial displays
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to capture the attention of the opposite sex.
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Whether it's dancing cranes,
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eagles showing off their gift-passing skills,
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or wallcreepers flashing some color,
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wings come in handy.
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The grounded cormorant compensates for his shortcomings
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with flowers and chocolate,
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or at least a gift of seaweed.
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If his gifts are inventive enough,
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they move to second base, mimicking each other's movements.
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As long as the chemistry is right,
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she might be willing to go all the way.
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Which is another challenge.
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The balancing act might be easier
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with long, stabilizing wings to hold out.
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(passionate music)
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fortunately, he doesn't need to keep it up for long.
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Bird life abounds all over the Galapagos.
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Most species keep their aerial options open.
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The lava heron doesn't fly much.
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He's a stalker,
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but still maintains his wings to travel around the island.
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His favorite hunting ground is the tangled mass
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of roots in the mangrove forest.
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They make perfect handrails,
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allowing him to safely hang out over the water.
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The mangrove roots attract small fish.
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They're like a natural barrier,
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stopping large fish from chasing them.
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They don't expect attacks to come from above.
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But the heron can only reach so far.
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Long legs and neck help,
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but still, the fish can move deeper,
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staying out of reach from overhead strikes.
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But there are threats that come from underneath.
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(suspenseful music)
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There are about 20 species of penguin,
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all found in the southern hemisphere
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apart from these little pioneers,
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who have found their way north of the equator.
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Like their cousins,
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Galapagos penguins turned wings to paddles.
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Back in the days of the dinosaurs,
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the penguins' earliest cousins could fly,
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but there were a lot of birds around at the time
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all competing for food.
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But few of them were capable of diving deep
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to exploit the riches of the sea.
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Penguins seem to see the gap in the market
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and move into this territory.
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As evolution gradually carved their bodies
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for maximum performance,
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feathers became short and stiff for streamlining
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and wing bends were flattened and reinforced
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for better upstroke underwater.
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Penguins now fly only beneath the waves.
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The Galapagos penguins,
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among the rarest of their clan, are experts,
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reaching hunting speeds
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of 35 kilometers per hour underwater.
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They exploit the frigid Humboldt Current
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that brings plenty of nutrients, and therefore fish,
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from the Antarctic.
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So, although they live in the tropics,
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the feisty birds are still taking advantage of polar seas.
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There might only be 2000 of these little swimmers left,
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one of the greatest treasures of Galapagos.
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The Galapagos is a weird place
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where evolution had space to experiment.
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These two flightless birds have carved out niches,
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and to do so, have sacrificed flight.
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But it's the biggest birds that took the weirdest route
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to a life on the run.
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While dinosaurs were roaming the Earth,
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some medium-sized, heavy-bodied,
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long-legged birds known as ratites
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foraged in their shadows.
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Those ancient ancestors are long gone,
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but they probably looked something like the modern bustard.
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They were omnivores,
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eating seeds, leaves, fruits, and small animals,
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but were able to find all that they needed
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strutting around on the ground.
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This lifestyle enabled them to develop
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heavier bodies and longer, stronger legs
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to carry them across the plains.
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But despite their weight,
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they still retained powerful wing muscles,
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enough to get airborne should danger threaten.
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(suspenseful music)
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They were a successful family of birds
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living in many parts of the globe.
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When they first appeared,
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the Earth had just one vast landmass,
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but over time, the land broke apart,
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making the continents we know today.
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The early species of ratites were separated by oceans.
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At this point, all of them could fly.
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But the desire for a firm footing
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must have been deeply ingrained in their genetic makeup.
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Over time, all of the different species
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in different parts of the world gave up flight.
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It was a dramatic transformation,
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but one that happened again and again
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in different species in different parts of the world.
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And not only did they all ground out,
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but most of them got big.
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In fact, they include the largest birds on Earth.
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They are supersized.
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But there are pros and cons to their life at ground level.
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Now, for example, they have to sleep on the ground
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at the mercy of predators.
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But thanks to their size,
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they can also be intimidating
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and able to stand up for themselves.
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They have carved out their own unique rules for survival,
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an unusual lifestyle with many bizarre behaviors,
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especially when it comes to mating.
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While the Galapagos cormorant
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offers gifts of seaweed or rocks,
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rheas have found new ways to flirt.
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Rheas are the largest birds in the Americas.
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Though having escaped from captivity,
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this flock has made itself at home in European farmland.
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Wing feathers, once long and stiff,
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have become ornate fans,
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and like a French can-can lineup, can be strutted.
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The fluffed up males charge each other
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and use their wings to try and steer
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groups of females together.
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Competition can be fierce.
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(cheerful music)
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Eventually, the victor will lead away a harem
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of impressed potential mates.
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He has a cousin on the other side of the world
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who uses color to impress.
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The pristine tropical beaches of Eastern Australia
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make the perfect stomping ground.
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The cassowary,
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often considered the most dangerous bird on the planet.
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If you have any doubt that birds
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are descended from dinosaurs,
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look no further.
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With huge thumb claws,
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a cassowary is a modern velociraptor.
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They barely have any wings at all,
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and what's left of flight feathers
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are bald, claw-like quills.
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(tense music)
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There's nothing to fan and flirt with,
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so the cassowary uses color.
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It's the larger females that have the brightest makeup,
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but the bright hues of red and purple
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are not picked for aesthetics,
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but because they resemble the cassowary's food.
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(fruit thudding)
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They specialize in eating fruit,
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and the fruit trees here
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obligingly add bright pigments to their fruits,
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making them easier for the birds to spot in the leaf litter.
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The colors attract cassowaries to berries
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and to each other.
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After the fun of flirting comes the burden of parenthood.
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But it's a duty that the father shoulders alone.
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Among the biggest grounded birds, like the rhea,
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all males are stay-at-home dads.
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The male made the nest,
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and once he's mated with a few females,
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they laid their eggs in it.
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But they have left him with full custody.
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Depending on how successful he was with the ladies,
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there could be up to 80 eggs in this nest,
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and he's stuck sitting on them for over a month.
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He can't drop his guard.
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In his native South America,
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he might be threatened by pumas or jaguars.
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But even here in Germany,
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there are harriers and other birds of prey
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that would relish an egg.
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Duties don't stop when eggs hatch.
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Some baby birds are helpless to begin with.
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Fortunately for the cormorants,
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both parents stay around to help raise the chicks.
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They need to be sheltered and kept warm during the night,
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and shaded from the hot equatorial sun during the day.
270
00:17:18,750 --> 00:17:21,030
Their down feathers are not waterproof,
271
00:17:21,030 --> 00:17:23,430
so until adult plumage develops,
272
00:17:23,430 --> 00:17:26,750
all food will have to be brought to them at the nest.
273
00:17:26,750 --> 00:17:28,243
The begging never stops.
274
00:17:37,500 --> 00:17:39,350
Once nest watch is over,
275
00:17:39,350 --> 00:17:41,903
the rhea dad has it comparatively easy.
276
00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:45,460
His chicks are ready to run around and look for food
277
00:17:45,460 --> 00:17:46,883
within hours of hatching.
278
00:17:52,670 --> 00:17:56,093
They have an instant instinct to peck at seeds and bugs.
279
00:17:58,750 --> 00:18:01,340
But although they can fend for themselves,
280
00:18:01,340 --> 00:18:03,530
they are ankle height to their father,
281
00:18:03,530 --> 00:18:05,700
and vulnerable to predators,
282
00:18:05,700 --> 00:18:07,703
so the proud parent stands guard.
283
00:18:10,190 --> 00:18:12,760
He's so protective that other rheas,
284
00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:14,913
even the chicks' mothers, are driven away.
285
00:18:18,140 --> 00:18:20,920
After using them in his defensive displays,
286
00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,053
he preens his magnificent feathers.
287
00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:31,480
And his doting checks copy his every move.
288
00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:33,743
They want to grow up to be just like dad.
289
00:18:36,890 --> 00:18:38,473
It seems to get them excited.
290
00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:42,363
Playtime is all about racing games,
291
00:18:45,650 --> 00:18:48,120
training the long legs that will eventually carry them
292
00:18:48,120 --> 00:18:50,756
at 65 kilometers per hour.
293
00:18:50,756 --> 00:18:53,339
(bright music)
294
00:18:57,310 --> 00:19:00,633
The cassowary family prefers a more leisurely stroll.
295
00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:12,340
Again, it's dad on duty.
296
00:19:12,340 --> 00:19:13,823
Mom didn't stick around.
297
00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:20,030
Everything the kids need has to come from him.
298
00:19:20,030 --> 00:19:22,280
It's not easy going through the thick jungle.
299
00:19:23,990 --> 00:19:25,983
Streams create easy natural paths.
300
00:19:31,914 --> 00:19:35,600
Like the rheas, his chicks were able-bodied from the start,
301
00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:37,500
but they need a bit more guidance from him
302
00:19:37,500 --> 00:19:39,870
to identify which fruits are ripe
303
00:19:39,870 --> 00:19:41,470
and to avoid the poisonous ones.
304
00:19:50,250 --> 00:19:51,860
With sensitive ears,
305
00:19:51,860 --> 00:19:54,913
dad can detect the distinctive thud of falling fruit,
306
00:19:57,300 --> 00:19:58,213
a dinner gong.
307
00:19:59,610 --> 00:20:02,070
He leads the family to their meal
308
00:20:02,070 --> 00:20:03,813
and shows them how it's done.
309
00:20:04,854 --> 00:20:07,604
(cheerful music)
310
00:20:16,020 --> 00:20:17,560
But the chicks still need to learn
311
00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:19,560
not to bite off more than they can chew.
312
00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:27,193
Dad tenderly shows them how to deal with a challenging meal.
313
00:20:40,070 --> 00:20:43,720
This family of big flightless birds known as ratites
314
00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:45,123
make wonderful dads.
315
00:20:53,220 --> 00:20:56,460
Cassowaries rule the tropical forests of Australia,
316
00:20:56,460 --> 00:20:58,290
but on the open plains,
317
00:20:58,290 --> 00:21:00,893
another feathered father is schooling his brood.
318
00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:05,440
The emu is Australia's biggest bird,
319
00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:07,003
but they don't start out big.
320
00:21:09,020 --> 00:21:12,610
The camo stripes help hide his babies from predators,
321
00:21:12,610 --> 00:21:14,610
but still, he keeps a close eye on them.
322
00:21:17,810 --> 00:21:19,720
But in the desert landscape,
323
00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:22,640
the biggest life skill he needs to pass down
324
00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:24,503
is the ability to find water.
325
00:21:30,403 --> 00:21:33,320
(birds chittering)
326
00:21:36,380 --> 00:21:39,320
Emu don't lap up or sip water.
327
00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:40,333
They scoop it up,
328
00:21:45,510 --> 00:21:47,640
then raise their heads to let the liquid
329
00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:49,013
run down their throats.
330
00:21:53,268 --> 00:21:56,101
(water splashing)
331
00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:02,840
Because water's scarce and not available every day,
332
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,780
when they find it, they make the most of it.
333
00:22:05,780 --> 00:22:08,393
Dad can gulp down up to 18 liters.
334
00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:14,020
And why not take the chance
335
00:22:14,020 --> 00:22:15,970
for a cooling bath while they're at it?
336
00:22:17,733 --> 00:22:19,413
But dad never drops his guard.
337
00:22:20,780 --> 00:22:23,673
Movement draws his big and eager eyes.
338
00:22:25,900 --> 00:22:28,610
A dingo, one of the few animals
339
00:22:28,610 --> 00:22:30,183
that represents a real threat.
340
00:22:33,990 --> 00:22:36,340
Their time at the pool is done for now.
341
00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:56,010
For most birds,
342
00:22:56,010 --> 00:22:58,150
the biggest educational breakthrough
343
00:22:58,150 --> 00:22:59,743
comes when they learn to fly.
344
00:23:05,090 --> 00:23:07,740
Not a skill the young flightless cormorant will need.
345
00:23:09,090 --> 00:23:11,623
His challenge is to learn to swim.
346
00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:16,563
Dad goes first and tries to coax him out.
347
00:23:20,130 --> 00:23:22,813
His entry isn't exactly graceful.
348
00:23:26,890 --> 00:23:30,153
Dad has food in his throat and uses it as a lure.
349
00:23:31,330 --> 00:23:33,870
The chick's desire for food is so great
350
00:23:33,870 --> 00:23:35,670
that he pursues his father,
351
00:23:35,670 --> 00:23:37,683
learning to swim without even trying.
352
00:23:41,220 --> 00:23:43,563
He even tries following on short dives.
353
00:23:47,266 --> 00:23:49,766
(tense music)
354
00:23:56,345 --> 00:23:59,345
(cormorants crying)
355
00:24:08,190 --> 00:24:09,510
He's getting good at keeping his head
356
00:24:09,510 --> 00:24:11,570
above water when he wants to,
357
00:24:11,570 --> 00:24:14,600
but he has other lessons to learn about life at sea,
358
00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:16,423
like trying to avoid pirates.
359
00:24:19,730 --> 00:24:22,000
Frigate birds are masters of the air,
360
00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,393
among the most acrobatic of all fliers.
361
00:24:26,110 --> 00:24:27,570
They live along the coast,
362
00:24:27,570 --> 00:24:29,853
but are not waterproof, and cannot swim.
363
00:24:30,690 --> 00:24:32,960
Instead of diving for fish themselves,
364
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:35,400
they wait for other birds to hunt for them
365
00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:37,413
and then swoop in to steal the catch.
366
00:24:43,270 --> 00:24:46,600
At least the frigate birds are only after stolen property,
367
00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:49,250
and are not trying to kill the cormorants themselves.
368
00:24:50,190 --> 00:24:53,420
But one of the greatest threats to a flightless lifestyle
369
00:24:53,420 --> 00:24:55,333
is the risk of predator attack.
370
00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:59,413
Ostriches are not only the biggest flightless birds,
371
00:24:59,413 --> 00:25:01,493
they're the biggest birds of all,
372
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:04,533
and famously, the fastest.
373
00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:07,540
But on the African plains,
374
00:25:07,540 --> 00:25:09,373
they're also one of the most useful.
375
00:25:10,420 --> 00:25:12,620
Standing nearly three meters tall
376
00:25:12,620 --> 00:25:14,750
and with tennis-ball-sized eyes,
377
00:25:14,750 --> 00:25:16,750
ostriches are living watchtowers,
378
00:25:16,750 --> 00:25:20,400
and other animals like gazelles, zebra, and wildebeest
379
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:22,100
like to hang out around them,
380
00:25:22,100 --> 00:25:24,233
using the giant birds as lookouts.
381
00:25:25,660 --> 00:25:28,310
It can be difficult to spot danger in the long grass.
382
00:25:30,109 --> 00:25:32,859
(sinister music)
383
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:40,340
A cheetah sets its sights on the gazelle,
384
00:25:40,340 --> 00:25:42,480
its favorite prey.
385
00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:46,760
It can run fast, but only for a short distance.
386
00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:50,160
So, if it's to carry out a successful strike,
387
00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:52,723
it needs first to stalk in close.
388
00:25:54,450 --> 00:25:58,563
But an ostrich spots the spots and sounds the alarm,
389
00:26:06,060 --> 00:26:07,920
giving the gazelle a head start
390
00:26:14,970 --> 00:26:17,177
that ultimately saves its life.
391
00:26:17,177 --> 00:26:19,620
(cheetah panting)
392
00:26:19,620 --> 00:26:21,870
Weighing three times more than a cheetah,
393
00:26:21,870 --> 00:26:24,743
the adult birds rarely have anything to worry about.
394
00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:31,003
But it's not only gazelles that draw the cheetah's glare.
395
00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:36,063
Male cheetahs often form groups, or coalitions.
396
00:26:38,230 --> 00:26:39,780
By working together,
397
00:26:39,780 --> 00:26:42,433
they can try and distract the aggressive babysitter.
398
00:26:43,857 --> 00:26:46,607
(sinister music)
399
00:27:02,890 --> 00:27:04,633
And with dad out of the way,
400
00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:19,513
they strike.
401
00:27:32,460 --> 00:27:36,993
Predators are the one big drawback to flightlessness.
402
00:27:44,300 --> 00:27:47,450
But these birds are grounded, big, and tough,
403
00:27:47,450 --> 00:27:49,497
and ready to defend their own.
404
00:28:01,420 --> 00:28:05,323
Under the care of diligent fathers, many young will survive.
405
00:28:08,900 --> 00:28:10,883
Dinosaurs stalk the forest.
406
00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:17,580
Under the protection of a velociraptor-clawed dad,
407
00:28:17,580 --> 00:28:20,273
the cassowary chicks have doubled in size.
408
00:28:23,770 --> 00:28:26,360
They are big enough to take care of themselves,
409
00:28:26,360 --> 00:28:28,570
though dad will keep up his field training
410
00:28:28,570 --> 00:28:30,470
and protection racket for nine months.
411
00:28:33,470 --> 00:28:37,460
Giving up flight might seem like an evolutionary mistake,
412
00:28:37,460 --> 00:28:39,510
but it's opened up new lifestyles
413
00:28:39,510 --> 00:28:41,210
for the birds who have chanced it.
414
00:28:42,206 --> 00:28:44,956
(dramatic music)
415
00:28:55,350 --> 00:28:58,930
Sometimes the non-fliers are the source of ridicule,
416
00:28:58,930 --> 00:29:02,223
but really, they should be seen as a story of success.
417
00:29:03,180 --> 00:29:05,450
They have conquered diverse habitats
418
00:29:05,450 --> 00:29:07,930
from the Great Plains and deserts
419
00:29:07,930 --> 00:29:11,653
to rainforests, islands, and even oceans.
420
00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:15,930
They include the biggest birds, the fastest,
421
00:29:15,930 --> 00:29:19,270
the deepest-diving, and the most dangerous.
422
00:29:19,270 --> 00:29:20,250
There's a lot to be said
423
00:29:20,250 --> 00:29:23,100
for putting one foot in front of the other.
424
00:29:23,100 --> 00:29:25,350
One small step for a bird
425
00:29:25,350 --> 00:29:28,423
was a giant leap for flightless birdkind.
32387
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