David Attenborough's Conquest of the Skies 3D
Evolutionary story of flight from the very first insects to the incredible array of creatures which rule the skies today.
- 2015-2015
- 1 season
- Documentary
Evolutionary story of flight from the very first insects to the incredible array of creatures which rule the skies today.
Season 1 Episode Guide
3 Episodes 2015
Episode 1
The First to Fly
46 mins
David Attenborough embarks on an extraordinary journey to unravel one of nature's most gripping stories - the evolution of flying animals. He begins by exploring the unexpectedly advanced world of the very first flyers - the insects.
Episode 2
Rivals
46 mins
Insects would lose their monopoly of the sky to two larger classes of animals learning to fly in distinct ways, leaving fossils including unique recent finds in Chine. The first nearly-extinct line was that of reptiles which glided, rather then flying properly, as various animals still do, with extended skin, less specialized then bats. Meanwhile dinosaurs developed wing-like flaps, and even learned to use primitive feathers, which were initially more for show, as in mating or other rival fights.
Episode 3
Triumph
46 mins
While flying insects survive unlike flying dinosaurs, and remain the most numerous by far, our modern skies are dominated since by vertebrates who learned to fly. Foremost are birds, whose perfecting of feathers, wings and much more enabled them to adapt to varied environmental needs, in terms of climate, distance, predation and so on. Unlike odd gliders such as the squirrel, the flight of skin-covered-winged bats compares to birds and they too span most of the globe.
