The first episode looks at how birds first took to the skies in the wake of the insects. It begins in Mexico, where Attenborough observes bats being outmaneuvered by a red-tailed hawk.

A look at the constant need to feed necessitated by the demands of flight in species from sap suckers and crows, to robins and geese.

A look at how birds deal with hostile environments and with people. The episode ranges from crows in Japan that use traffic to crack nuts to penguins who never see a person but make long treks through frigid wastes.