Secrets of Nature
A series of short educational nature documentaries that were produced from 1919 to 1933 by British Instructional Films.
The Life Story of the Cuckoo (1919)
01 January, 1919
A precursor short film to the Secrets of Nature shorts.
The Life Story of the Caddis Worm (1919)
01 January, 1919
A precursor short film to the Secrets of Nature shorts.
The Life Story of the Garden Spider (1919)
01 January, 1919
A precursor short film to the Secrets of Nature shorts.
Infant Welfare in the Bird World (1922)
01 January, 1922
A Secrets of Nature short depicting methods employed by sea birds to care for and protect their young are contrasted with those used by various land-based birds.
The Cuckoo's Secret (1922)
02 January, 1922
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.
The White Owl (1922)
02 January, 1922
A short black-and-white silent documentary film featuring the life-cycle of the Barn Owl.
The Battle of the Ants (1922)
02 January, 1922
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.
Skilled Insect Artisans (1922)
02 January, 1922
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.
Fathoms Deep Beneath the Sea (1922)
30 June, 1922
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.
Studies in Animal Motion (1922)
31 December, 1922
Captivating slow-motion and quadrupeds aplenty in this fascinating look at animal movement.
The Comma Butterfly (1923)
01 January, 1923
A study of the insect, from caterpillar to butterfly. Part of the “Secrets of Nature” series.
Winter (1923)
01 February, 1923
A sign of approaching winter - the frost catches the leaves which begin to fall.
Paws and Claws (1925)
01 January, 1925
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.
Seed Time (1926)
01 January, 1926
High speed photography used to show the seed dispersal methods of various plants.
Busy Bees (1926)
02 January, 1926
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.
The Plants of the Pantry (1927)
01 January, 1927
Short documentary film using innovative filming techniques to show how moulds grow and germinate.
The Story of a Glass of Water (1927)
01 January, 1927
How science and nature combine to purify water in a reservoir. Micro-cinematography shows the bacteria present in the water.
Plant Magic (1927)
01 January, 1927
Micro-cinematography is used to show how plants transform their secretions into other substances.
Floral Co-operative Societies (1927)
02 January, 1927
A short black-and-white silent documentary film featuring the sexual elements of pollenation in Dandelion, Globe thistle, Daisy, Cornflower, Carline thistle and Everlastings.
The Frog (1929)
01 January, 1929
A life history of the Frog. Released in a silent (1929) and sound (1930) version.
Scarlet Runner & Co (1929)
17 April, 1929
Time lapse photography of the broad bean flower unfurling. Released in a silent (1929) and sound (1930) version.
Peas and Cues (1930)
11 July, 1930
The film shows the birth, life and reproduction of sweet peas, a familiar and well loved plant of British gardeners.
Plants of the Underworld (1930)
01 June, 1930
The world of fungi captured by micro-cinematography and time-lapse photography.
The Strangler (1930)
31 December, 1930
The Strangler shows the life history of dodder, from its earliest stage as a seedling, to its parasitic stage feeding off its host.
Magic Myxies (1931)
01 February, 1931
Short film showing (with limited accuracy) the life-cycle of myxomycetes.
The World in a Wine-Glass (1931)
01 April, 1931
Short documentary showing infusoria in a wine-glass.
The Bittern (1931)
31 December, 1931
The breeding cycle of the bittern, the cryptically plumaged relative of the herons.
The Nightingale (1932)
18 March, 1932
The nightingale and its song, its habitat, nest eggs and young.
Nature's Double Lifters (1932)
10 June, 1932
Mary Field edits the time-lapse photography of F. Percy Smith to show the life cycle of ferns and related plants.
Romance in a Pond (1932)
01 July, 1932
Short, anthropomorphically-inclined documentary showing the life-cycle of the common newt.
Brewster's Magic (1933)
01 January, 1933
A short documentary study of hops, barley and yeast, and how they interact.