The Life of Birds is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the United Kingdom from 21 October 1998.

A study of the evolution and habits of birds, it was the third of Attenborough's specialised surveys following his major trilogy that began with Life on Earth. Each of the ten 50-minute episodes discusses how the huge variety of birds in the world deal with a different aspect of their day-to-day existence.

The series was produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in conjunction with BBC Worldwide Americas Inc. and PBS. The executive producer was Mike Salisbury and the music was composed by Ian Butcher and Steven Faux. It won a Peabody Award in 1999 for combining "spectacular imagery and impeccable science."

Part of Attenborough's 'Life' series of programmes, it was preceded by The Private Life of Plants (1995), and followed by The Life of Mammals (2002). Before the latter was transmitted, David Attenborough presented State of the Planet (2000) and narrated The Blue Planet (2001).