ORF-E
Spanish, English
1 x 52 min
Available worldwide except for Germany, France, Chile and Brazil

In the heart of the Amazon, the rainforest sings. From the shadowy forest floor to the bright canopy, birds fill the air with calls, colors, and movement, creating the soundtrack of one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth.

With more than 1,300 bird species, the Amazon is a living orchestra. Some birds produce calls among the loudest in the animal kingdom. Others dance in hidden clearings or follow swarms of army ants, feeding on the insects that flee their path. Each behavior opens a window into a world of beauty, adaptation, and survival.

Melodies of the Amazon follows renowned Brazilian-American ornithologist Mario Cohn-Haft and a team of researchers on a journey through flooded forests, remote river landscapes, mountain habitats, and experimental research sites. Their work reveals how birds are shaped by the forest, and how their songs and movements tell stories about rivers, climate, food, and change.

Great Amazonian rivers divide the landscape like natural frontiers. For some birds, they are open corridors. For others, they are barriers that shape where they live, how they sound, and how they evolve. In the forest, even the smallest bird can carry clues to the history of the entire ecosystem.

But this paradise is changing. Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall, and increasing droughts are altering the balance of life in the rainforest. As scientists look for signs of stress and adaptation, birds become powerful messengers from a fragile world under pressure.
Melodies of the Amazon invites audiences into the most musical forest on Earth. A visually rich journey through a world of wonder, where every song reveals the beauty of life, and the urgent need to protect it.