Canopy

If you walk into a rainforest, you are immediately met by quite literally a forest of trees.

All the tree trunks look like cathedral pillars, smooth and wet from the rain.

Not a single branch emerges from the trunk for tens of metres - and when they do, you see a breathtaking interlocking jungle of branches and leaves, ferns and flowers, and all number of creatures great and small.

The canopy is a bonanza of tropical forest life, in the bright light and gentle breeze - a far cry from the dark and humid underworld of the forest floor.

Not surprising then that Sir David Attenborough knew this would be a perfect place to film wildlife.

Producer: Julian Hector

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2011.