​If there is one sight to see during a stay on the Parnaíba Delta, it’s the horizon painted red by a flock of the famed scarlet ibis. Hop on a river boat in Parnaíba and take a leisurely tour down the delta’s many meandering channels. Enjoy spectacular scenery as you wind between dunes and mangrove forests past the region’s dazzlingly rich flora and fauna. You can prime yourself for the evening’s entertainment by observing the ibis in its quirky daytime routine. This crab-eating wader, known in Brazilian as the guará, spends its days mooching about the shallows with its beak underwater, chomping its jaws repeatedly in the hope of catching a crab. That might not seem the most majestic of movements but come sunset it’s a totally different story: scarlet ibis across the delta flock up into the sky to find themselves a place to roost for the night. With dozens of crimson wings outstretched in formation, this panoply of colour is a true Brazilian showstopper. Sit back and enjoy the spectacle as you drift along the delta.