All language subtitles for Water.Birds.1952.WEB-DL.DSNP

NARRATOR:
Since the beginning of time, the bird

has been an inspiration to the artist,
the scientist and the poet.

In almost infinite variety,

nature has scattered these colorful
creatures across the face of the Earth.

Each species has a long
and interesting history,

but none more fascinating
than the story to be found

in the habits and customs
of the water birds.

In ancient times, water birds
were a source of great mystery to man,

for they would appear out of nowhere,

sweeping across the tract of seas

to disappear again
into the great unknown.

Sometimes primitive man
worshiped the water birds as gods.

More often he viewed them with envy

and longed for the miracle
of winged flight

and the freedom of the skies.

"Free as a bird"
is a familiar expression.

And yet a bird isn't really free at all.

He rarely makes a flight
without a definite purpose,

and he has but one full-time job,
simply to stay alive.

Nature, however, lends a helping hand.

And in this True-Life Adventure,

we will discover
how she's adapted the water bird

to meet the problems of survival.

Many species of water birds
are migratory,

like these gannets,

who each year migrate
from the equator

to Bonaventure Island
in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence,

for in these northern latitudes,

18 hours of daylight
permit intensive fishing.

To the gannets, the island
is one enormous apartment house.

Accommodations in the sky room are,
of course, preferred.

But space is so very limited

that even the narrowest ledges
are overcrowded

and territorial rights
are jealously guarded.

Fishing patrols are constantly leaving
and returning to the island.

To make a landing
in these crowded areas,

the webbed feet as well as the wings

combine for maximum
braking efficiency.

With each arrival,
cordial greetings are exchanged.

But to the question,
"Was the fishing good?"

the answer is, "No."

Actually, through these
strange noddings and bobbings,

the gannets communicate
with each other

and identify their mates.

Nests are constructed
almost entirely of seaweed.

But there's such a shortage
of even this material

that the gannets
often steal each other's nests

when they're left unguarded.

This particular thief
was caught in the act,

which naturally leads to
some embarrassment.

In spite of the many problems,

homes are completed
and eggs are laid,

only one to a nest.

And now the struggle
for survival begins.

Breaking through a tough eggshell
is an exhausting job.

The youngsters develop rapidly,

and in a few weeks,
here he is in his first new suit.

Keeping young appetites satisfied
is a tremendous task.

When three months old,
the young outweigh their parents.

This youngster doesn't know it,
but he'll soon have his last free meal.

Then for 10 days
he'll live on his reserve fat

while he's learning to swim, fly,
and most important of all, to fish.

Oftentimes, the gannet appears
to go into a trance

and search the heavens
for some mysterious sign.

And that usually means
that a school of herring

has appeared in the depths below.

The fish sometimes move
at great depths,

but the gannet will begin its dive
as much as 100 feet above the water.

To cushion the impact
as they smack into the water,

nature has equipped them
with pneumatic cells,

shock absorbers
that protect their chest area.

They never seem
to have an accident or a collision.

Their timing is uncanny.

The Gulf of Mexico is far distant
from Bonaventure Island,

but here, too, the struggle
for territorial rights continues.

In this colony of terns,

two mothers argue bitterly
over a mix-up in children.

It seems the chicks have wandered
into the wrong backyards.

A few pecks and a scolding, however,
soon sets things straight again.

(PEEPING)

As an inducement
to stay home and behave,

one mother offers her youngster
a tasty surprise.

Her neighbor, on the other hand,

believes the best way
to keep children out of mischief

is to see that they're fully occupied.

This is a mated pair of fairy terns.

To escape the nesting competition
on the ground,

this species long ago
took to the bushes.

Actually, the fairy tern has no nest.

It simply lays its egg on a bare branch.

The parents share the task
of incubating the egg.

By some miracle it stays put.

Even more amazing is the tiny chick,

who stays glued to his perilous perch
until he's old enough to fly.

The pompous pelican
looks like one of nature's mistakes,

but only on the ground.

In the air,
he's a masterpiece of functional design

and a fisherman without equal.

His dive is a study
in perfect coordination.

At lunchtime, the pelican's pouch
serves as a bowl for fish chowder.

But the first one to find a prize
isn't always the one to keep it.

When a battle royal develops,
everyone enjoys the fun.

All except gloomy Gus,

who looks down his nose
at the whole affair.

(SWALLOWING)

In spite of his size,

the pelican is often annoyed
by troublesome neighbors.

The thieving gulls
are a constant headache.

White pelicans prefer the shores
and islands of inland lakes.

Their nests are simply hollows
scooped in the sand.

The newly-hatched are exposed
not only to the elements,

but also to the jealous wrath
of their older brothers.

These naked chicks will have
no protective coat for several weeks.

It's a wonder that any reach maturity.

But in nature
the will to survive is strong.

And what a pelican lacks
in poise and grace,

he more than makes up for
in determination.

The young are independent
and adventuresome,

which creates a problem
in a crowded community.

The parents are constantly re-sorting
and reshuffling the children.

Each parent knows its own,

and a trespasser
is soon put in his place.

Sometimes when a youngster dips
into the food locker,

he goes a bit too far.

Whatever he found down there
certainly packs a wallop.

To ensure the reproduction
of her many children,

nature devises
many different forms of courtship.

The male wood duck, for instance,
in dazzling plumage,

need only sit quietly to decoy his mate.

The man-o'-war bird also uses
fancy dress to help him win a bride.

On his throat he carries
a large, inflated sac.

For some strange reason,

this makes him quite irresistible
to the opposite sex.

When the family arrives

and Father becomes
thoroughly domesticated,

his ego is completely deflated.

Here two male coots
are fighting for the favor of a female.

This is serious business,
and it could end in death by drowning.

(BOTH SQUAWKING ANGRILY)

The heartless female doesn't care
who wins the grand struggle.

She just wants a quick decision
and a mate.

In fact, she's in such a hurry
she leaves before the fighting is over

to gather nesting material.

Weary from a hard-won battle,

the victor is overwhelmed
with rushes and reeds

to make a home
for his enterprising bride.

Time passes.

And after all the fuss and furor,
this is their reward.

With the snowy egrets,

the competition of courtship
sometimes inspires strange antics.

But when it comes
to strange courtships,

few can compare with that
of the western grebe.

The peculiar ritual includes
the gathering of moss for nest-building.

After the ball is over,
the business of homemaking begins,

but not until a raft of reeds
has been built.

Now the grebes' floating home
can ride the crest of the floods.

For the pintail ducks, it's bottoms up,

and that means it's mealtime.

They live on what they can grub
from the muddy bottom.

Bluebill ducks, however,
patrol the waters farther offshore.

In the struggle for survival,
food gathering is all-important.

And so nature adapts her birds
to different diets

and restricts them
to separate feeding areas.

In this orderly cafeteria,

the shallow waters
are reserved for the pintails.

The bluebills search for food
at lower levels.

And the cormorants, like this one,
find their food at extreme depths.

If the bluebills
discover something special,

the good news travels fast.

But latecomers needn't worry,
there's plenty for all.

The purple gallinule finds its food
among the water lilies.

And these oversized feet
supply balance

and support for walking on the pads.

They're also handy
for turning up a square meal.

To meet the competitive
problem of survival,

nature has adapted beaks and bodies
in many strange and interesting ways.

These wading birds
find a pair of long legs very useful,

and a long, sharp beak
for spearing fish is just as necessary.

The beak of the black skimmer

has been designed
for a highly specialized job.

Unlike most birds,
the skimmer's lower jaw is fixed,

while the upper mandible is hinged.

With this unique equipment,
the skimmer excels at surface fishing.

The spoonbill is another example
of nature's specialized design.

He feeds in waters patrolled
by other wading birds,

and yet he doesn't live on fish.

His food consists
of minute forms of sea life,

which he must consume
in great quantities.

The broad, flat bill contains strainers,
which separate the food from the water.

His bill also comes in handy
at nest-building time.

These wading birds are called avocets,

and they comb
the lagoons and marshes.

Like reapers, they sweep the waters
with their curved beaks.

In this case,
their food is mosquito larvae.

The curlew
is a near relative of the avocet,

yet her beak curves
in the opposite direction

for probing into mud and moss.

She's a devoted mother
and also a clever actress.

Her specialty is the broken-wing act,

which she uses
whenever danger is near.

Disregarding her own safety,
she pretends her wing is broken

and lures the enemy far from her nest.

Here, a mother killdeer
senses that something's amiss.

And no wonder. One of her brood
has strayed from the nest

and there's a stranger in the skies,
directly overhead.

She takes no chances.

Leaving Father in charge,
she begins a search.

(CALLING)

The killdeer also uses
the broken-wing act.

Keeping one eye peeled for the truant,
she flutters and flaps pathetically.

Wayward chick is found
and sent scurrying home,

while Mother continues
her covering action.

With the prodigal safe
under Father's wing,

everybody's happy.

Among plovers,
nests are abandoned early,

and from then on,
home is where Mother is.

Mother sandpiper, it seems,
has rhythm.

High among the snow-fed
mountain streams

lives the water ouzel,

sometimes called the dipper.

Only about the size of a robin,

this is one of nature's
strangest water birds.

She neither dives nor swims,

yet she can actually submerge
and walk on the bottoms of streams.

Here she finds tempting grubs
and larvae for her young.

The water ouzel makes its home
beside the rushing waters,

a place secure
from most of its enemies.

The young have no fear
of the swift streams,

and at a tender age
they start to explore,

even before they learn to fly.

This youngster disregards
the warning of his elders.

Every dip increases his confidence.

Suddenly the current catches him.

Like a leaf, he's swept away
over the rushing cataract.

Father tries to help,
but there's nothing he can do.

There's a happy ending, though,

for, by lucky chance,
the adventurer was swept to safety.

In the tropics as in the mountains,

nature displays her wonders
in specialization.

Because the flamingo feeds
with its head upside down,

the lower jaw has developed
into a massive pincer.

An agile foot stirs up
the muddy bottom,

while the long neck maneuvers
to snap up shrimps and snails.

When it comes to an argument,

that pliable neck
can drive a point home.

And at siesta time,

there's always a place
to rest a weary head.

The flamingo is a skilled architect

and uses its beak
to shape a tall nest of mud.

In spite of their size,
flamingos are quite timid.

The slightest outside disturbance

will send the whole colony
into headlong flight.

Awkward and grotesque on the ground,
in the air, they're a picture of grace.

Here's an odd sight.

Looks like a cloud of birds
against the blue sky.

As a matter of fact, they are birds,

but they're nesting
on a small atoll in the Pacific.

These are the black-footed albatross,

or gooneys,
as they're sometimes called.

And this is a mated pair.

While one sits on the egg,
the mate stands affectionately by.

In other climates, eggs are carefully
protected from the cold.

But here in the tropics
they must be shielded

from the hot rays of the sun,

so the parents provide
the necessary shade.

To accomplish this, however,

the gooney must fit the egg into
a feathered pouch beneath its breast.

And so you see,

sitting on a gooney egg
isn't an easy task,

even for a gooney.

To each of her water birds,
nature has given a design for living.

These designs are many and intricate,

full of color and beauty.

And when they all blend together,
they become a musical poem,

a rhythmic, flowing rhapsody.

In the strange, fascinating life
of the water birds,

there are many secrets.

In this True-Life Adventure
we've explored only a few.

But season after season,
as long as life goes on,

the water bird will continue
to be a source of wonder

and mystery and beauty to all mankind.