Life in the Air

With the help of some surprising creatures from around the world, we'll discover how animals take to the air, defying the force all airborne animals must conquer - gravity. In Africa a caracal cat's `rocket-propelled' launch enables it to catch birds in flight. In the Australian outback a kangaroo's hop is key to finding water in a desert over a million square kilometres.

A look at powered flight, revealing why peregrine falcons can top 200 miles an hour, how a hummingbird is a slave to its own rather manic lifestyle and that the albatross's secret to flying for free is its nose.

In the busy skies above our planet we'll meet a creature that creates sound out of thin air with the world's fastest courtship display and arguably the world's most aggressive bird, harnessing cold aggression to protect its patch of sky. In a South American jungle we'll unravel the secrets of nighttime 'hunt and evasion' flying, as bats and moths fight for the upper hand in one of the world's oldest arms races.