Season 42 Episode 13 | 53m 58s | Video has closed captioning. | Video has audio description
From giant eagles to miniature falconets, meet the many species of raptors. Explore how they survive winters, learn to hunt and undergo migrations. Their superpowers of flight, sight, hearing and smell give them dominance over the skies.
Aired: 04/10/24
♪♪ -They're the ultimate predators.
♪♪ The sharpest eyes of any hunter.
[ Bird screeches ] Ears that can hear a heartbeat.
♪♪ Noses that work a mile away.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] Wherever there's prey... there's a raptor to hunt it.
[ Hissing ] But they're even more special than we realize.
♪♪ Intelligent castaways.
[ Screeches ] Long-distance travelers.
♪♪ Resourceful parents.
And determined survivors.
♪♪ This series reveals what makes birds of prey the most successful hunters on the planet.
♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ The forests of Africa... ♪♪ ...are home to an almost mythical creature.
♪♪ It waits in the shadows.
♪♪ Rarely seen.
[ Sniffing ] But you know it's here.
♪♪ It can strike anytime... ...anywhere.
[ Monkey screeches ] Another monkey?
The wind?
Or the last sound you'll ever hear?
[ Monkey screeching ] [ Monkey screeching ] [ Screeching stops ] How must it feel to live alongside such a supreme predator?
♪♪ African crowned eagles are the most powerful of all raptors.
♪♪ Their ancestors hunted our own.
♪♪ Weighing 10 pounds... ...flying on a 6-foot wingspan... she mostly hunts vervet monkeys... ♪♪ ...but can take even bigger prey.
♪♪ [ Buzzing ] ♪♪ A kill like this antelope can weigh almost 60 pounds -- six times her own weight.
[ Buzzing ] Her feet and talons can crush bone... and fit around a man's fist.
The only problem with such heavy prey is she can't fly with it.
[ Buzzing ] So she's also a master butcher.
♪♪ She needs to be.
♪♪ [ Bird calling ] She's a mother.
[ Chicks chirping ] ♪♪ And the only way to bring food to the nest is piece by piece.
♪♪ Catching large prey takes such skill that this chick will depend on its parents for more than a year.
♪♪ Among the longest breeding cycle of any raptor.
♪♪ ♪♪ Giant eagles inspire both fear and wonder.
But the most prolific predators come in tiny packages.
♪♪ The island of Borneo in Southeast Asia.
♪♪ Where trees reach 300 feet... and the apes weigh 200 pounds... ♪♪ ...the black-thighed falconet is the size of a soda can.
♪♪ [ Chirps ] Which has its problems.
[ Bird calling ] ♪♪ He's small enough to fit in the talons of other raptors.
♪♪ And that's not all.
[ Thunder rumbling ] It rains here almost every day.
So heavily, he can't fly in it.
When he does get a chance to hunt... ♪♪ ...he needs to make it count.
♪♪ Which he does with one of the highest hit rates of any raptor.
♪♪ He can hunt other birds, but after the rains, there are insects everywhere.
♪♪ ♪♪ Once they're in his sights, he almost never misses.
♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Black-thighed falconets may be one of the smallest raptors, but they pack a killer punch.
[ Grunting ] Birds of prey come in all shapes and sizes.
♪♪ ♪♪ Each finely tuned to different targets.
♪♪ [ Hissing ] [ Screeching ] ♪♪ There are some 500 different species... ♪♪ ...found in almost every habitat.
♪♪ The way they look... and the way they live... [ Screeching ] ...can be radically different.
♪♪ But they all share three common traits.
♪♪ A hooked beak... [ Screeching ] ...a taste for flesh... ♪♪ ...and a set of razor-sharp talons.
♪♪ Short talons that stab.
♪♪ Long talons that snatch.
♪♪ Even curved talons.
♪♪ Literally a fistful of fishhooks.
♪♪ Raptors rule the skies.
♪♪ But there's another side to their story.
♪♪ [ Bird calling ] Life at the top is full of competition.
Winter in Northern Finland sees temperatures fall to 50 below.
[ Screeching ] But for this young golden eagle... [ Screeching ] ...cold is the least of her worries.
♪♪ She's surrounded by rivals.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] ♪♪ A meal as big as a fox is worth fighting for.
♪♪ Now she's wounded, and it's about to get a whole lot worse.
♪♪ ♪♪ More eagles are arriving from every direction.
[ Screeching ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ The youngster can only watch... as a huge adult takes control.
♪♪ Her only hope is joining the magpies for the scraps.
[ Screeching ] ♪♪ But even those make the difference between life and death.
♪♪ She puts up her best defense.
♪♪ It's just not enough.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] If she's going to pull through... she'll need to find food elsewhere.
Intense competition means fewer than half of young eagles survive their early years.
And other raptors aren't the only threat.
♪♪ Spring brings warmer weather and a chance to raise young.
♪♪ But besting in the Badlands of South Dakota is as tough as it gets.
♪♪ [ Chirping ] There are no trees to shade the nest or keep it safe from hungry predators.
[ Howling ] ♪♪ So burrowing owls head below ground.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] ♪♪ With prairie dogs to help, why dig when you can steal a burrow?
[ Screeching ] [ Prairie dog squeals ] ♪♪ This will do nicely.
But where do you find food out here?
[ Thumping ] ♪♪ [ Snorting ] That's where bison and coyotes come in handy.
♪♪ More specifically, their dung... ♪♪ ...which he takes back to the nest... ♪♪ ...where it attracts insects.
♪♪ A reliable food supply in the warmer months.
♪♪ So far, so good.
[ Screeching ] And all his efforts have won him a mate.
♪♪ ♪♪ To give their chicks the best start, they try to time their breeding to the highest numbers of insects and rodents.
[ Screeching ] Out here in the Badlands, all that follows the late spring rains.
[ Thunder rumbling ] [ Thunder crashing ] The prairie soon fills with new life.
[ Squeaking ] ♪♪ [ Grunting ] ♪♪ Among the arrivals... seven burrowing owlets.
♪♪ His dung trick is working well.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] But finding enough food is one thing.
Avoiding other predators is a bigger problem.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] Mom raises the alarm... [ Screeching ] ...sending the owlets back below ground.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] If it sniffs them out, the badger will eat them all.
♪♪ [ Sniffing ] [ Screeching ] There's nothing they can do.
[ Screeching ] But the badger walks right on by.
[ Squeaking ] Could it be that all the dung keeps them safe by masking their own scent?
[ Squeaking ] Or is this why they nest amongst prairie dogs, staying safe in numbers?
[ Squeaking stops ] Raising chicks somewhere this dangerous, it pays to have a few tricks up your sleeve.
♪♪ [ Honking ] Nesting season pushes all raptors to the limit.
♪♪ [ Chirping ] Extreme heat... ♪♪ ...and heavy rain can kill vulnerable chicks.
♪♪ [ Chirping ] But all hunters rely on finding enough prey... ...which makes timing everything.
♪♪ Too little food, and some siblings will turn on each other.
♪♪ The most dominant chick is often the only survivor.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] So in times of plenty, they raise as many as they can.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] Parents work around the clock to deliver each chick as many as five meals a day.
♪♪ But as summer ends... ...young birds now face their greatest challenge.
[ Screeching ] Winter is coming.
If this young sparrowhawk hopes to survive... ♪♪ ...she'll need to catch up to five small birds a day.
♪♪ This clearing in Norway will be her training ground.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] [ Chirping ] ♪♪ The key is waiting for your target to turn its back.
♪♪ Now.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] ♪♪ Perhaps another try.
♪♪ After all, she's here to learn.
♪♪ Spooking jays may look fun, but this is serious business.
[ Screeching ] ♪♪ Catching other birds is as hard as it gets.
♪♪ Especially when no one wants you around.
♪♪ Before winter, they need to master timing... anticipation... and aerial agility.
[ Screeching ] ♪♪ Perfecting moves like the ambush.
♪♪ And, failing that, the all-out pursuit... ♪♪ ...which she'll soon learn only works in short bursts.
♪♪ Even adults only catch one in every ten.
[ Screeches ] But with winter on its way, there is another option.
To move on.
An Amur falcon.
In the remote valleys of Nagaland, Northeast India.
[ Screeching ] ♪♪ She's not alone.
[ Screeching ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Escaping the harsh winter of their Siberian breeding grounds 2,000 miles away, most of the population descends on these valleys.
♪♪ There are still some paradises left on Earth.
♪♪ ♪♪ [ Screeching ] Hundreds of thousands of falcons... ♪♪ ...looking to touch down after a long journey.
♪♪ They time their arrival to a seasonal bounty of winged termites.
♪♪ There's no time to rest.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] The feast lasts for two weeks.
♪♪ In that time, the falcons need to almost double their weight.
♪♪ Fail to do that... ♪♪ ...and they may not survive the journey ahead.
♪♪ Their time in Nagaland is only a pit stop.
♪♪ They're on their way to Southern Africa.
From here, some will fly day and night for almost a week before touching down again.
♪♪ Their annual migration covers 14 countries... ♪♪ ...two continents... ♪♪ ...and an entire ocean.
Amur falcons can travel some 20,000 miles each year.
But this spectacle was almost lost.
Unaware of their impact, local hunters caught as much as 10% of the population each year.
But an extraordinary awareness campaign and a ban on hunting has seen Amur falcons bounce back.
♪♪ So much so, they're now filling up new valleys.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] ♪♪ This reed bed is a new roost.
♪♪ Intense competition... ...raising young... ...and surviving seasonal extremes, raptors rise to any challenge.
♪♪ ♪♪ And behind their success lie powers beyond our wildest dreams.
[ Birds calling ] Thick cover and few flight lines make hunting in the woods seem almost impossible... [ Screeching ] ♪♪ For all but the goshawk.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] Flying over 30 miles an hour... she rules the woods... ♪♪ ...contorting to tiny gaps... ♪♪ ...and pulling turns tight enough to give a fighter pilot motion sickness.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] ♪♪ She's also a master of anticipation... ...reading her target's movement... ♪♪ ...and planning her attack.
♪♪ ♪♪ It's as if she already knew where she'd strike the moment she took off.
Unrivalled agility sees her dominate the tangled woods.
♪♪ But change the setting, and you change the game.
♪♪ ♪♪ The open terrain of the high Arctic... [ Screeching ] ...tests speed and endurance.
♪♪ Gyrfalcons are the fastest raptor in level flight.
♪♪ Hitting almost 70 miles an hour.
♪♪ Huge flight muscles.
♪♪ Long, stiff feathers.
♪♪ She can keep this up for miles.
♪♪ There's a raptor for just about everything.
Even for prey you can't see.
[ Bird calling ] The boreal forest of the far north... ...where snow covers the ground for most of the year.
Few can survive here.
But one raptor rules this silent wilderness.
The great gray owl.
She's rarely seen.
♪♪ ♪♪ She wanders endlessly in search of prey.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] ♪♪ It's here... somewhere in this white, blank world.
♪♪ But how does she find it?
♪♪ The secret is in her enormous facial disc.
♪♪ The largest of any owl.
It channels sounds like a radar dish.
♪♪ With one ear higher than the other... [ Bird screeching ] ...she can pinpoint noise, not just left to right... but also up and down.
♪♪ ♪♪ -[ Thud ] -[ Squeaking ] A vole.
It's thought she can hear its heartbeat beneath a foot of snow.
♪♪ Special structures on her feathers cut the air to minimize noise.
♪♪ Her prey can't hear her.
And she can focus on exactly where to strike.
♪♪ ♪♪ At least her targets never know what's coming.
♪♪ Incredible hearing helps her hunt day or night all through the long winter months.
♪♪ Most raptors use a different super sense.
♪♪ [ Screeching ] ♪♪ Soaring over open terrain across the Northern Hemisphere, golden eagles rely on the sharpest vision of any vertebrate.
♪♪ With eyes the size of our own, but with some five times the density of visual cells, we can only imagine how she sees the world.
♪♪ Every detail clearer... sharper.
♪♪ It's likely she can see a rabbit over two miles away.
[ Screeching ] ♪♪ There's nowhere to hide.
♪♪ ♪♪ In full stoop, she hits over 150 miles an hour.
[ Grunting ] If the impact doesn't finish the job, the mountain will.
Eagle eyes give her the upper hand in the high mountain peaks.
But what if you can't hear or see your prey?
♪♪ What if it's...already dead?
♪♪ There's a raptor for that, too.
♪♪ The turkey vulture.
♪♪ She can cover 200 miles a day searching for food.
♪♪ And using a little-known trick to find it.
♪♪ She can smell dinner... ♪♪ ...from over a mile away.
♪♪ A rare talent among birds.
One we're just beginning to understand.
And it takes more than her distinctive, open nostrils.
She has twice as many scent-detecting cells than other vultures.
♪♪ And the part of her brain that processes smell is four times bigger.
♪♪ ♪♪ So out of sight is far from out of mind.
♪♪ ♪♪ This unique super sense makes turkey vultures the most abundant and widespread of all vultures.
It also provides a special service.
Eating carcasses stops a build-up of pathogens and bacteria, keeping ecosystems clean.
Raptors are more important than we realize.
♪♪ Most are apex predators... ♪♪ ...fine-tuned to almost every habitat and type of prey.
♪♪ ♪♪ It's thought that, in a single year, one barn-owl family can catch over 7,000 rodents.
♪♪ Each strike helping to keep their populations under control.
♪♪ We need raptors.
♪♪ But to better understand and protect them... ♪♪ ...one key question remains.
♪♪ What exactly counts as a bird of prey?
♪♪ Only recently have top scientists agreed on a single definition... ♪♪ ...looking back into their evolutionary history.
♪♪ And it turns out they all share common ancestry, descending from an ancient group of meat-eating birds.
♪♪ So long as you still eat other vertebrates... [ Screeching ] ...that makes you a bird of prey.
It's a neat definition, but it comes with a surprising twist... [ Bird calling ] ...welcoming a whole new member to the flock.
♪♪ ♪♪ South America's tropical grasslands were once stalked by 10-foot-tall terror birds.
♪♪ Red-legged seriemas are their closest descendants.
♪♪ And the height of nesting season sees them at their most deadly.
♪♪ [ Screeches ] ♪♪ Or at least it should.
♪♪ Perhaps he should focus on a slower target.
[ Hissing ] ♪♪ [ Hissing ] ♪♪ One wrong move could be his last.
♪♪ ♪♪ [ Hissing ] ♪♪ Spreading his wings disorients the snake... ♪♪ ...and helps him jump clear of danger.
[ Hissing ] [ Screeching ] ♪♪ He lands a first blow.
[ Hissing ] ♪♪ But the snake is fighting for its life.
♪♪ With chicks to raise, this is just too risky.
[ Hissing ] After all, there are other options.
♪♪ ♪♪ It's a unique way of neutralizing prey.
♪♪ Quite unlike any other raptor.
♪♪ ♪♪ But it's very effective on dinner that bites back.
♪♪ They may do it differently, but make no mistake... ♪♪ ...seriemas are stone-cold killers... ♪♪ ...every bit as deadly as any other bird of prey.
♪♪ ♪♪ [ Squawking ] [ Birds screeching ] Raptors are the ultimate predators.
♪♪ Feathered top guns... with fists full of daggers... ♪♪ ...and supreme senses.
♪♪ But that's half their story.
[ Honking ] ♪♪ Next time, we discover extreme lives... [ Screeching ] ...the most hostile places... ♪♪ ...and the toughest prey... ♪♪ ...revealing the struggles of savanna specialists... ♪♪ ...intelligence, and social life of island castaways... ♪♪ ...masters of hide-and-seek... ♪♪ ...and epic spectacle.
♪♪ And in a changing world, what does the future hold for raptors?
NARRATOR: A hunter's life is full of challenges.
But armed with a fistful of daggers, raptors have risen to the top.
♪♪ But there's another side to their story.
[ Seal bellows ] They're resourceful parents and determined survivors.
And in a changing world, what does the future hold for raptors?
♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -To learn more about what you've seen on this "Nature" program, visit pbs.org.
♪♪
Nature.
Explore Free Resources
Stream More Nature
Bring the beauty and wonders of wildlife and natural history into your home with classic NATURE episodes.
Learn More
