David Attenborough to appear in three new nature documentaries

The natural history expert will look at dinosaurs, paradise birds and ostriches

Sir David Attenborough (AFP/Getty Images)

Sir David Attenborough is to present a trio of new nature documentaries, exploring the worlds of dinosaurs, paradise birds and ostriches.

The wildlife expert will explore one of the “dinosaur finds of the century” in BBC One programme Waking Giants. The pre-historic detective story will see him and his team seeking to prove that some of the 200 bones recently discovered beneath the South American desert belong to the biggest dinosaur ever to stalk the planet.

Meanwhile, BBC Two’s Paradise Birds will see Sir David touch down in the jungles of New Guinea and Indonesian. He said: "For me birds of paradise are the most romantic and glamorous birds in the world. And this is a film I have wanted to make for 40 years."

Fellow BBC Two programme Big Birds centres on ostriches in Africa’s Kalahari Desert.

Sir David's offerings are part of a larger spectrum of natural history programmes announced by the broadcaster today.

Tony Hall, director general of the BBC, said: "No-one does natural history like the BBC. We’ve got the best back catalogue in the world and an exciting future ahead of us.

"Today I’m delighted to announce what I think is the most ambitious range of Natural History we’ve ever commissioned - with Sir David Attenborough going on some big new adventures for us."

The news comes following Sir David’s warning that reducing the BBC licence fee would weaken its ability to make the ground-breaking nature shows he is famous for.

The TV naturalist has spent four years making his new Life Story series.