Earth: The Nature of Our Planet – Episode 01: Air

At first sight, our atmosphere seems empty. But this layer of air is a habitat for life in its own right, and home to a surprisingly wide variety of creatures – the most conspicuous of which are surely birds. Many seabirds, like the albatross or the Atlantic puffin, spend much of their lives on the wing. This way, they cover enormous distances. The record holder among all bird species is the sooty tern, which can stay in the air for months at end, flying thousands of kilometers. Drinking, feeding and even sleeping: the sooty tern performs all vital activities in flight. Only during the breeding season does this frequent flyer come onto land, where it raises its young in large colonies.