Brazil: A Natural History

It switches from grassland to swamp and back each year, with the seasonal rains, in one of the most dramatic changes of any habitat on Earth. Jaguar, and giant otter have the upper hand, as the Pantanal turns dry and dusty. But during the time of annual floods, when the region becomes a vast glittering swamp, it’s the many thousands of fish and the thousands of caiman which are in their element. Floating between these two extreme worlds are huge numbers of birds – like the dazzling cobalt-blue hyacinth macaw and the huge Jabiru. Hyacinth macaws are the largest and most spectacular of all parrots. Their huge bill can open the hardest nuts in the world. The jaguar is the ruler of this beautiful and bizarre world.