Earlier this year, Netflix debuted Our Planet, an eight-part big-budget documentary series that isn’t your typical nature flick. While it features gorgeous cinematography, it also presents the truth about human actions on nature. “Repeatedly, unambiguously, and urgently, Our Planet reminds its viewers that the wonders they are witnessing are imperiled by human action,” notes The Atlantic.
Today, Netflix viewers can watch a new documentary from the team that produced Our Planet. Dancing with the Birds is a one-hour film about the spectacular mating behaviors of birds-of-paradise and a few other tropical species from around the world. It is a visually stunning film and features an engaging script about the birds it profiles. English actor, comedian, and author Stephen Fry narrates, providing both gravitas and humor to the story.
Unlike its longer predecessor series, Dancing with the Birds doesn’t mention the threats birds face from habitat loss, pesticides, or anything else. And that’s fine. The point of the film is to celebrate the planet’s most stunning avian breeding displays.
Dancing seems to use some of the same footage that appeared in Our Planet, and, like the earlier film, it includes a soundtrack that I found distracting at times. The music doesn’t exist in the background, as it typically does in most David Attenborough documentaries, for example. After a while, I decided not to focus on the music simply because the closeups of the birds were incredible and a joy to watch.
The team of videographers includes two names that you may be familiar with: Tim Laman and Ed Scholes. They led the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s groundbreaking Birds-of-Paradise Project several years ago that produced a film, a book, and a National Geographic article about the various species of birds-of-paradise.
We’re happy to present the following slideshow of photos from the film. Images courtesy Netflix.
The film says this bird has the longest head feathers of any bird species. It can move the plumes independently. The species is endemic to montane forest in New Guinea.
Extravagance explained: Why birds-of-paradise are the way they are
Manakins’ wild courtship rituals explained
Male Satin Bowerbirds must master many skills
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