| Dinobirds | |
|---|---|
 Nigel petting a Microraptor.
| |
| Episode information | |
| Episode no. : | 3 |
| Broadcast : | August 5, 2006 |
| Chronological information | |
| Preceding episode "A Mammoth Undertaking" |
Following episode "Saving the Sabretooth" |
| User reviews | |
| Your opinion : | Dinobirds/User Reviews |
"Dinobirds" is the 3rd episode of Prehistoric Park.
Summary[]
In the episode "Dinobirds", Nigel aims to rescue a Microraptor from Prehistoric China. He knows little about the area he will enter, making this a dangerous mission.
Full Synopsis[]
In the park, there are now more than 24 animals. Among the problems which the park staff must handle to keep everything running, the two juvenile Tyrannosaurus often threaten each other, and a heat wave is making Martha the mammoth extremely uncomfortable. However, Nigel is already planning his next expedition. He hopes to bring back a Microraptor, a dinosaur relative of the first birds. To do this, he will travel to Prehistoric China during the Cretaceous Period, 125 million years ago.
Immediate dangers[]
Upon exiting the Time Portal, Nigel and his team arrive in a wooded landscape dominated by a large stratovolcano. As an indicator of the volcano's activity, they feel tremors from a small earthquake almost immediately. As such, Nigel decides to move to higher ground away from the volcano. The team sets up camp and then travels to a nearby lake, where Nigel observes Pterosaurs fishing. However, upon returning to camp, they realize that all of their tents have been broken into and all of the meat items stored there have been stolen. Furthermore, Nigel realizes that something is following the team as they move through the forest.
Eventually, the creatures reveal themselves by attacking Ben, a member of Nigel's team, who was carrying meat in his backpack. By taking off the pack, Ben manages to avert the attention of the predators. Nigel identifies them as Mei long. Shortly after, Nigel finds another interesting creature, an Incisivosaurus. It creates a vivid display with its bright feathers, and then charges at him.
Park work[]
In the park, Suzanne and her team trim Martha's hair, something that will need to be done repeatedly to keep her comfortable. However, Martha sneezes over everyone present, including the camera. Meanwhile, Bob is looking at the Ornithomimus and notices that one individual is starting to go off by itself into the undergrowth. He begins to worry about its health.
First contact with Microraptor[]
A titanosaur panicking while a volcano blows up!
While in the forest, Nigel is able to spot Microraptor for the first time soaring in the trees. Using binoculars, he notices that multiple individuals are moving in the same direction. This brings him to a herd of titanosaurs pushing through the dense forest. That is not a usual habitat for titanosaurs, and it turns out they are looking for somewhere to lay eggs. As they pass, 12 Microraptors come to feed on insects which were exposed by the ground churned up in their wake. Nigel tries to catch some without any equipment, but is unsuccessful.
However, he learns something by watching them. They are not able to take off from the ground like many modern birds. Instead, once they are grounded, they have to climb up a tree to be able to glide again. Therefore, Nigel makes an enclosure net, with the inside baited with insects. The net will prevent the dinosaurs from reaching a nearby tree once they have landed to feed.
Nigel sets the trap and waits. The Microraptors see the insects but are mistrustful of the net. However, out of nowhere, two male Incisivosaurus, one chasing the other, run into the net and flatten it. Then the Microraptors land and eat the insects. Nigel runs in but catches nothing. After this, he decides he will need to return to the park and obtain more equipment.
Returning to the Park[]
Upon returning, Nigel offers his opinion on the strange behavior from the Ornithomimus. He has seen ostriches behaves similarly when they are brooding, meaning that he guesses that the solitary individual will soon lay eggs. Therefore, the Ornithomimus is taken into the vet's examination room. A bag is put over its head to quiet it. Medical ultrasound shows that it has two fully-developed, functioning oviducts, each containing an egg. This is different from Modern birds which only have one.
While in the park, Nigel also obtains a net gun (which he has tested on Bob), a carbon monoxide detector, and a gas mask for each member of his team, in case volcanic hazards warrant its use.
Close call with gas[]
Upon returning to Prehistoric China, the first dinosaurs Nigel comes across are pair of Incisivosaurus who seem to be courting. Nigel watches them for a short time.
The team then move downhill. While this is somewhat risky, the titanosaurs are moving in this direction, meaning that the Microraptor won't be found anywhere else. However, on lower ground, they find several Mei long, apparently asleep, in a flat-bottomed hollow. Nigel plans to avoid the hollow to prevent waking them, but something seems wrong. He claps a few times, but nothing happens. He pokes one with a stick, but it does not move. He realizes that they are dead, likely from carbon monoxide. This is confirmed by his detector, prompting him to move the team rapidly back to higher ground.
In the park, the two Tyrannosaurus start to fight. However, they are separated by water blast from a large water tanker truck. They are then put in separate pens while a partition is built dividing their enclosure. Both growl and roar in frustration.
Catching the Microraptor[]
Nigel and his team find the titanosaurs laying eggs in volcanically-warmed ground, a good place for incubation. He picks up one of the eggs, examines it briefly, and puts it back in the nest. Unlike a hen's egg, it must always be facing up to avoid damage to the embryo. Nigel reflects on how the hatchling will grow to 30,000 times its weight as adult.
The Microraptors arrive in the titanosaur track, but Nigel, now with his netgun, catches 4 of them. They are then put into bird cages.
However, a very strong quake occurs, and the volcano begins a Plinian eruption, creating an extremely tall column of tephra. This spooks the titanosaurs, which stampede, some of them heading toward Nigel, who curls up on the ground, wrapped around the last Microraptor he caught, until they pass. One of the titanosaurs stepped on the Microraptor's arm, breaking it.
As the ash from the eruption column begins to fall, Nigel and his team put their gas masks on and quickly set up the time portal. As it activates, nine titanosaurs charge through it, surprising the park staff, who have not planned for their arrival. Bob exclaims "I don't believe it" on seeing them come through the time portal.
The broody Ornithomimus lays a total of six eggs, two per day, in a part circle. The injured Microraptor's arm is splinted under anesthetic. Bob erects a new fence which he believes will keep the titanosaurs contained.
Cast[]
- Nigel Marven as Himself
- Rod Arthur as Head Keeper Bob
- Suzanne McNabb as Herself
- David Jason as Narrator
Appearances[]
Characters[]
Creatures[]
- Tyrannosaurus rex
- Woolly mammoth
- Ornithomimus
- Unidentified piscivorous pterosaur
- Unidentified fish
- Mei long
- Incisivosaurus
- Microraptor
- Titanosaur
- Unidentified beetle grub
Locations[]
- Prehistoric Park
- China (only appearance)
Objects & technology[]
- Time Portal
- Netgun
- Carbon monoxide detector
- Gas Mask
Errors[]
- Unlike the other dinosaurs in the episode, Microraptor was not present in the Lujiatun Beds of the Yixian Formation, and did not live along side Mei and Incisivosaurus. In reality, it lived several million years later, and hails from the Jiufotang Formation, 120-110 million years ago. Both of these formations are part of the Jehol Biota, which may have caused this confusion.
- The Mei was far larger than it actually was in real life.
Trivia[]
- Unlike the rest of the episodes of Prehistoric Park, which included prehistoric animals from the original Walking with... trilogy (Tyrannosaurus and Deinosuchus from Death of a Dynasty appeared in T-Rex Returns and Supercroc respectively, the woolly mammoth from Mammoth Journey appeared in A Mammoth Undertaking, the terror bird (Phorusrhacos) and the saber-toothed cat (Smilodon) from Sabre Tooth appeared in Saving the Sabretooth and the giant dragonfly (Meganeura) and Arthropleura from Reptile's Beginnings appeared in The Bug House) as well as each one introducing one or more new prehistoric animals never seen before in the original trilogy, this episode has creatures that are all new to Walking with.... This is most likely because almost all of the species introduced in the episode were discovered after Walking with Dinosaurs premiered, and as such were scientifically described between 2000 (for Microraptor) and either 2004 (for Mei long and Borealosaurus, one of the titanosaurs' possible genera) or 2007 (for Dongbeititan, another one of the titanosaur's possible genera), which was about a year after Prehistoric Park premiered, although Eosipterus was described two years before Walking with Dinosaurs would premiere.