The birds of the tropical rainforest are the most brightly colored birds on Earth.

Because it is hard to spot even the brightest feathers among the rainforest's dense vegetation, birds here do not need camoflauge.

Most species have found other means of protecting themselves against attack.

Toucans, quetzals and parrots are large, and their strength protects them from many predators.

Hummingbirds, sunbirds and pittas fly off with great speed if danger threatens.

The birds of paradise have been able to evolve an an enormous variety of dazzling plumages because the threat of predation is so low that there is no harm in sporting bright feathers.

The larger birds of the tropical rainnforest communicate with one another by sound. These sounds include the whistle of the guan, the booming of the trumpeter and the harsh cackling of the cassowary.

Smaller birds may produce sounds with a strange, haunting quality. It is often impossible to determine where the sound originates.

The tropical rainforest is home to some of nature's finest ventriloquists - bowerbirds and pittas.

Birds in the tropical rainforest tend to have short, broad wings, which allow them to fly through the dense vegetaion.

Many species have adapted to climbing. Trogons, parrots, toucans, puffbirds and woodpeckers have pincerlike feet, with two toes pointing forward and two backward.

The curassows have unspecialized feet. Nevertheless, they are agile climbers.

There are many instances of convergent evolution among tropical rainforest birds. For example, the hornbills of Africa and Southeast Asia and the toucans of South America resemble each other in appearance and behavior, although they are unrelated.