British broadcaster the BBC has made one of the most important discoveries in the history of ornithology – penguins that can fly.
The BBC, famed for its groundbreaking natural history documentaries, has captured remarkable footage of the flying penguins, known as Adélie penguins, as part of a new series to be titled ‘Miracles of Evolution’.
The discovery was made while filming on King George Island, some 750 miles south of the Falkland Islands.
Some of the birds were been fitted with trackers by a team of ornithologists travelling with the BBC crew to monitor their migration path in order to better understand how these amazing birds had gone undiscovered for so long.
Ornithologists found the penguin’s migration path comes within 20 kilometres of Dubai. They said the penguins flew at much higher altitudes as they crossed desert regions because of the high temperatures, which could explain why the birds had not been sighted.
From Dubai the birds fly east over India to the tropical islands of Southeast Asia, where the BBC has footage of them nesting in the rainforest.
“We’d been watching the penguins and filming them for days, without a hint of what was to come,” says the BBC presenter.
“But then the weather took a turn for the worse. It was quite amazing. Rather than getting together in a huddle to protect themselves from the cold, they did something quite unexpected, that no other penguins can do.
“The film reveals nature’s stunning glory in exciting and unexpected ways, so much so that it defies belief.
“Not only does it create a vivid and emotional experience for the viewer, it also illustrates just how bold and simple Darwin’s idea of natural selection was.”
The BBC released the footage on April 1, April Fools’ Day.
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