10 Amazing Bird Video Clips

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Wonderful Bird Videos

Birds are a most amazing group of species, the closest living relatives of dinosaurs, indeed many paleontologists argue that birds are in fact avian dinosaurs; Are Birds Really Dinosaurs?

I have been watching birds since I was 7 years old, but it didn't take me long to see that bird behaviour is complex and varied, and that birds are capable of remarkable feats of intelligence and dexterity.

The following are a collection of interesting bird video clips that show some amazing examples of bird behaviour. A number of these clips of amazing birds are from the excellent BBC television series "The Life of Birds".

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1. The Crazy Courtship Of A Male Bird Of Paradise

This bird video clip shows the amazing jungle boogie of a male Bird of Paradise doing his best to impress a female. Unfortunately for him, the female looks more bewildered than impressed with this example of bird behaviour.

Weird Bird of Paradise
by YatFu | video info

897 ratings | 591,691 views
curated content from YouTube

Some Birds of Paradise links

The Birds of Paradise
Authoritative guide to the Birds of Paradise by Clifford B. Frith & Bruce M. Beehler
Bird of Paradise
The Wikipedia entry for this group of birds. Includes a full species list.
Birds of Paradise Photo Galleries
Fantastic photos of these extraordinary birds.
Attenborough In Paradise
David Atenborough travels to Papua New Guinea to watch Birds of Paradise.

2. A Flock Of Starlings Attacked By A Peregrine Falcon

An amazing display of formation flying by a flock of Starlings whilst under bombardment by a Peregrine Falcon can be seen in the second of these bird videos.

Falcon Attack: Peregrine Divebombs Flock of Starlings
by greenkert | video info

363 ratings | 279,288 views
curated content from YouTube

Starling link list

European Starling
Information on Starlings from the RSPB.
European Starling, Identification, All About Birds
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology page on Starlings.
Starling Talk
The care and feeding of injured and orphaned Starlings.

Albatross links

Save the Albatross
Many species of albatross are under threat from human fishing activities, Birdlife International is trying to help them.
Albatross Photos
Lots of photographs of albatrosses.
Annotated List of the Seabirds of the World - Albatrosses
List of the world's albatross species.
Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World
Identification and ecology of this group of seabirds.

4. A Male Great Hornbill Feeding His Mate

This video clip shows a male Great Hornbill passing food to his mate in Khao Yai National Park Thailand. The female hornbill is sealed into a cavity in a tree, using mud, where she broods her egg and is totally reliant on the male for food and water; an amazing example of bird behavior.

The great love of Great Hornbill.
by myfreezer | video info

1 rating | 6,534 views
curated content from YouTube

Some Great Hornbill Links

ARKive - Great Hornbill
Photos and videos of Great Hornbills.
Great Hornbill Facts
The Wikipedia entry on Great Hornbills.
Aerial casque-butting of Great Hornbills
Information on the amazing casque-butting activity of Great Hornbills.

5. The Incredible Call Of The Superb Lyrebird

This is probably my favourite bird video clip. This amazing lyrebird is able to perfectly mimic the sound of a car alarm, a camera shutter and, best of all, a chainsaw and splintering wood.

If you are not impressed by this incredible piece of bird behaviour then you should not bother with birds.

by | video info

0 ratings | 0 views
curated content from YouTube

6. A Mass Of Shearwaters In The Sea

In this bird video clip a huge number of Shearwaters are flocking to feed on a shoal of fish. A group of dolphins has also been attracted to the site as have a group of snorkelling humans.

Swiming with wild dolphins,tuna and Shearwaters!!
by pedromadruga | video info

5 ratings | 5,213 views
curated content from YouTube

7. Keas Vandalizing An Unattended Car

Keas are endemic to New Zealand and a most remarkable parrot. This species lives in snowy mountains and forests and as well as eating seeds, nuts and fruit, they are partial to meat - young birds and even sheep. They are also quite famous for ripping cars apart as this amazing bird video shows.

New Zealand - South Island - Kea eating a car ;)
by stevensonjr | video info

2 ratings | 3,538 views
curated content from YouTube

Some links about Keas

Kea
The Wikipedia entry for these remarkable parrots.
Kea Fact File
Kea facts from the World Parrot Trust.
Kea, Nestor notabilis
Kea fact sheet from Birdlife International
Kea Conservation Trust
Conservation of Keas in the wild.

8. Eagle Aerial Battle Supreme

This is an incredible sight of two eagles fighting in mid air and tumbling towards the ground; who will be the first to let go and be "chicken"? This is one of the most spectacular bird videos.

Eagle vs. Eagle in Mid-Air
by NationalGeographic | video info

2,059 ratings | 1,856,984 views
curated content from YouTube

9. Hummingbirds On Nectar Feeder

Some wonderful footage of Hummingbirds coming to a nectar feeder and showing off their amazing flight technique.

These are really cool birds.

August Hummingbirds
by b0dhran | video info

40 ratings | 39,271 views
curated content from YouTube

Attract hummingbirds to your own garden with these hummingbird feeders.

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10. Intelligent Crow Makes And Uses A Tool

Crows are amongst the most intelligent of birds as this video clip proves. Over a course of experiments into avian intelligence this female crow consistently created a hook from a straight piece of wire to collect a food morsel from a glass tube. Quite an amazing bird video - this is one of the highest examples of animal intelligence known.

crow using a tool
by havetodrive | video info

61 ratings | 22,080 views
curated content from YouTube

The Sneaky Shoplifting Seagull - Number 11

Where other top ten lenses go up to ten, this one goes up to eleven! My attention was brought to this most amazing of bird videos where a seagull walks into a shop to steal a packet of crisps! So incredible I couldn't leave it out.

Shoplifting seagull
by superzaxxon | video info

213 ratings | 135,479 views
curated content from YouTube

Bird Poll - What Is The Best Bird Video Clip?

Vote for your favourite of the bird videos.

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Photo by Alex Vargas

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The Life of Birds Narrated By David Attenborough

The best bird documentary ever!

The Life of Birds

Amazon Price: $29.68 (as of 02/14/2012)Buy Now

If you enjoyed these video clips then you will love The Life of Birds; a fabulous 10-part BBC television series focusing on bird behaviour, ecology and evolution, narrated by David Attenborough - in my opinion, one of the best wildlife documentaries ever made.

Life of birds eBay auctions

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Another Amazing Bird Video - Winged Migration

Winged Migration (Special Edition)

Amazon Price: $10.29 (as of 02/14/2012)Buy Now

A fantastic insight into birds lives from their own perspective. This video contains lots of wonderful footage of birds in flight with very minimal narration so that the viewer can focus on the birds themselves. From the director of the movie Microcosmos.

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Some More Great Bird Videos To Watch On DVD

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Flickr Bird Photos - Colourful Birds Gallery

White-faced heron by jmcgross
Male Stitchbird by angrysunbird
amazon king fisher (en route) by Kradlum
red-capped manakin (Corcovado) by Kradlum
Pochard on Surrey Water by drplokta
Song Thrush #3 by foxypar4
Red-winged Black Bird by Manjith Kainickara *manjithkaini.net*
Turkey Vulture Circling by BobMacInnes
Blacksmith Lapwing by Stig Nygaard
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) by dominic sherony
Indian Grey Hornbill by Naseer Ommer
Bald Eagle by rasmithuk
curated content from Flickr

Why Do Birds Do That? by Michael Furtman

Why Birds Do That: 40 Distinctive Bird Behaviors Explained & Photographed

Amazon Price: $15.07 (as of 02/14/2012)Buy Now

This is an informative and beautiful book explaining many aspects of amazing bird behaviour that can be seen at garden bird feeders or whilst birdwatching in the field.

Some More Great Bird-related Books Worth Reading

I have personally read all four of these books and can recommend them highly.

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Some More Of My Bird-related Lenses

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I Hope You Enjoyed The Bird Videos

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I hope that you enjoyed the bird videos and perhaps this lens may have got birds a few new friends. Please leave a comment on which was your favourite bird video clip.

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About The Lens Author

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nickupton

Having been a birdologist since the age of seven I am something of an ornithological recluse and spent three years gaining a first class honours degree... more »

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