The toco toucan bill works as a precision thermal radiator
The toco toucan controls its body temperature by opening and closing blood vessels in its huge bill, shedding up to sixty percent of resting heat without losing water.
Wildlife
The Amazon Snake That ‘Swims’ Through the Air
High in the Amazon canopy lives a snake that glides between treetops with an efficiency that stuns aerospace engineers. It does not fall: it navigates the air.
The Dinosaur-Era Giant Turtle That Reclaimed the Amazon’s Beaches
An animal that has swum the oceans since the age of the dinosaurs chose the remote beaches of Amapá to breed, and this season delivered one of the highest nest counts recorded there in decades.
Spix’s Macaw Takes Flight Again in Brazil’s Backlands
The last wild Spix’s macaw vanished in 2000. Today, captive-bred birds are relearning how to survive in the wild in Curaçá, in Brazil’s Bahia state.
The Fish That Quietly Cleans the Amazon’s Rivers
A single school of filter-feeding fish processes truckloads of organic debris each low-water season. Meet the pacu-bosta, the invisible worker keeping Amazon rivers alive.
Brazil’s Pantanal Is Coming Back to Life as Rare Species Return
Animals once considered locally extinct are reappearing in Brazil’s Pantanal, where sightings of rare species have jumped 40% in just five years.
The Emerald Frog That Hid Ten Meters Above the Amazon Floor
A field expedition in the Alto Solimoes region found a small, vivid green frog that defies known classifications. Its metallic call gave away an unlikely home: bromeliads suspended high in the canopy.
The Silent Fire Ant Invasion Is Redrawing the Map of Brazil
A study spanning 1900 to 2024 shows that deforestation and urban sprawl are opening a path for fire ants of the Solenopsis genus across Brazil.