Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world. From the BBC

Why do we collect things? Sir David ponders the decline in collecting by children today, and with it the development of an early fascination with the natural world around them.

BBC David Attenborough's Life Stories

Collecting

The naturalist asks why the Large Blue butterfly died out in the UK in 1979. He also outlines the challenges of its reintroduction into the British countryside and a sinister twist involving a parasitic wasp.

Large Blue

As a boy, David Attenborough had a piece of amber in which lay a blood-sucking fly. He still has it today. Would it be possible to extract the DNA from one of these insects caught in the resin and, maybe, recreate a dinosaur?

Amber

Sir David recalls the importance of human eyebrows in communication, when he met an aboriginal tribe in New Guinea where there was no other common language.

Adam’s Face

The naturalist remembers the battle he had filming the birds of Borneo, whose nests made of saliva are prized by Chinese chefs. Filming in total darkness in a cave proved difficult, until a conical mound of bat guano provided a natural platform.

Bird’s Nest Soup

Following the tracks left by animals is a great craft owned by many aboriginal people. Doing the same with fossilised tracks is much the same skill, but with a whole new set of extraordinary revelations.

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BBC David Attenborough's Life Stories

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