Secrets of Nature

Part 6 · Jan 2, 1922

The Cuckoo's Secret

The film shows a cuckoo caught in the act of laying an egg in the nest of two titlarks. The egg is hatched by the foster-mother, and she and her mate feed and tend the young cuckoo, even to the detriment of their own chicks.

Part 7 · Jan 2, 1922

The White Owl

A short black-and-white silent documentary film featuring the life-cycle of the Barn Owl.

Part 8 · Jan 2, 1922

The Battle of the Ants

A short black-and-white silent documentary film featuring the conflict between two colonies of wood ants joined by a piece of tiber laid across a moat at a zoological garden.

Part 9 · Jan 2, 1922

Skilled Insect Artisans

The pictures show how the ailanthus silkmoth and the red admiral spin silk and weave a cocoon, and the way in which the change from caterpillar to moth is affected.

Part 10 · Jun 30, 1922

Fathoms Deep Beneath the Sea

Beneath the waves are mountains, plains and valleys full of life: here the conger, the octopus, and the wrasse hunt for food; shrimps and prawns act as scavengers; sea anemones and starfish decorate the seafloor, and the spider crab assumes protective colouring by covering its back with pebbles.

Part 11 · Dec 31, 1922

Studies in Animal Motion

Captivating slow-motion and quadrupeds aplenty in this fascinating look at animal movement.

Part 12 · Jan 1, 1923

The Comma Butterfly

A study of the insect, from caterpillar to butterfly. Part of the “Secrets of Nature” series.

Part 13 · Feb 1, 1923

Winter

A sign of approaching winter - the frost catches the leaves which begin to fall.

Part 14 · Jan 1, 1925

Paws and Claws

Nature adapts the limbs of animals to the works they will be required to do. This principle is illustrated by the Lion, the Tiger, Leopard, Giant Ant-Eater, Armadillo, Camel, Reindeer, Gazelle, Fowl, Chameleon, Otter, Beaver, Penguin, Fruit-Bat, Spider Monkey and Gibbon.

Part 15 · Jan 1, 1926

Seed Time

High speed photography used to show the seed dispersal methods of various plants.

Part 16 · Jan 2, 1926

Busy Bees

These pictures show the marvellous industry of the Bee, the ingenuity it exercises in making its home, and the ordered programme of life that it appears to follow.

Part 17 · Jan 1, 1927

The Plants of the Pantry

Short documentary film using innovative filming techniques to show how moulds grow and germinate.

Part 18 · Jan 1, 1927

The Story of a Glass of Water

How science and nature combine to purify water in a reservoir. Micro-cinematography shows the bacteria present in the water.

Part 19 · Jan 1, 1927

Plant Magic

Micro-cinematography is used to show how plants transform their secretions into other substances.

Part 20 · Jan 2, 1927

Floral Co-operative Societies

A short black-and-white silent documentary film featuring the sexual elements of pollenation in Dandelion, Globe thistle, Daisy, Cornflower, Carline thistle and Everlastings.

Part 21 · Jan 1, 1929

The Home Wrecker

A Secrets of Nature short film about a the cuckoo.

Part 22 · Jan 1, 1929

The Frog

A life history of the Frog. Released in a silent (1929) and sound (1930) version.

Part 23 · Apr 17, 1929

Scarlet Runner & Co

Time lapse photography of the broad bean flower unfurling. Released in a silent (1929) and sound (1930) version.

Part 24 · Jan 1, 1930

Playtime at The Zoo

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 25 · Jan 1, 1930

Special Messengers

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 26 · Jan 1, 1930

Mighty Atoms

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 27 · Jun 1, 1930

Plants of the Underworld

The world of fungi captured by micro-cinematography and time-lapse photography.

Part 28 · Jul 11, 1930

Peas and Cues

The film shows the birth, life and reproduction of sweet peas, a familiar and well loved plant of British gardeners.

Part 29 · Dec 31, 1930

The Strangler

The Strangler shows the life history of dodder, from its earliest stage as a seedling, to its parasitic stage feeding off its host.

Part 30 · Dec 31, 1930

The Aphis

The life cycle of the rose aphid (Macrosiphum Roseus).

Part 31 · Jan 1, 1931

Friendly Flies

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 32 · Jan 1, 1931

The Light Of Love

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 33 · Jan 1, 1931

In All His Glory

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 34 · Jan 1, 1931

War in The Trees

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 35 · Feb 1, 1931

Magic Myxies

Short film showing (with limited accuracy) the life-cycle of myxomycetes.

Part 36 · Apr 1, 1931

The World in a Wine-Glass

Short documentary showing infusoria in a wine-glass.

Part 37 · Dec 31, 1931

Dream Flowers

The poppy flower in its psychedelic glory.

Part 38 · Dec 31, 1931

The Bittern

The breeding cycle of the bittern, the cryptically plumaged relative of the herons.

Part 39 · Jan 1, 1932

Water Folk

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 40 · Jan 1, 1932

The Two Pounder

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 41 · Jan 1, 1932

Great Crested Grebe

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 42 · Jan 1, 1932

The Raiders of The Fens

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 43 · Jan 1, 1932

The Froth Blower

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 44 · Jan 1, 1932

Short Eared Owl

A Secrets of Nature short film.

Part 45 · Jan 1, 1932

Springtime In The Scillies

A Secrets of Nature short film.

Part 46 · Jan 1, 1932

Orphans of The Wood

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 47 · Mar 18, 1932

The Nightingale

The nightingale and its song, its habitat, nest eggs and young.

Part 48 · Jun 10, 1932

Nature's Double Lifters

Mary Field edits the time-lapse photography of F. Percy Smith to show the life cycle of ferns and related plants.

Part 49 · Jul 1, 1932

Romance in a Pond

Short, anthropomorphically-inclined documentary showing the life-cycle of the common newt.

Part 50 · Jan 1, 1933

Brewster's Magic

A short documentary study of hops, barley and yeast, and how they interact.

Part 51 · Jan 1, 1933

Fit To Boil

The penultimate Secrets of Nature short.

Part 52 · Jan 1, 1933

Amazing Maize

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 53 · Jan 1, 1933

Brock The Badger

A Secrets of Nature short.

Part 54 · Jan 2, 1933

Gathering Moss

Mosses are seen on walls, old roofs and in hedgerows.