Plot Synopsis

Using cutting-edge camera technologies and filming techniques, SUPERNATURE: WILD FLYERS is a three-part series that details incredible physical adaptations and makes new discoveries that reveal how these animals have mastered the sky, as well as how taking flight is used as a survival mechanism. The first episode, "Defying Gravity," explores the basic principles of flight to see how animals become airborne in the first place. From leapers to gliders and those that effortlessly fly, each creature has special techniques. But all must overcome a powerful force: gravity. Animals featured in this episode include caracals, wood duck chicks, vultures, flying squirrels, paradise tree snakes, flying fish and many more. The second episode, "Masters of the Sky," reveals how many animals take to the skies for a split second, and how the planet's strongest flyers push the laws of physics to the limit. This installment explores the extremes of true flight: power, acceleration, top speed, maneuverability and endurance. Animals that appear in this episode include the peregrine falcon, Japanese rhinoceros beetle, sparrowhawk and the booted racket-tailed hummingbird, among others. The finale, "Crowded Skies," reveals how mammals, birds and insects hunt, escape, mate, defend territory, sleep and even die on the wing. Survival up there depends not just on beating gravity or mastering flight, but also out-flying the competition. Animals featured in the final episode include the gannet bird, African skimmer, kingbird, glasswing butterfly and many more.