Terra Papagalorum, title in Latin conceived by Paulo Vanzolini, went through 40 years until being printed. Emeritus zoologist, having created the Theory of Refuges, he knew as a few the species he collected, dissected and classified. In his practice and scientific expeditions he had the habit of being accompanied by visual artists, with whom he has lived since the famous Bohemian caravans of the Faculdade de Direito do Largo São Francisco: along with Aldemir Martins, Otávio Araújo, Marcelo Grassmann, Carybé, Arnaldo Pedroso d’Horta, José Cláudio da Silva and Gerda Brentani. In this book, there is a particularity: Vanzolini texts, translated into English by himself, although having a scientific basis derived from his profession, are characterized more by concise and subtle chronicles, in which there is a little bit of everything, since the character of a given animal until the best way to cook it. He also evokes the popular songbook, great composer he was, collecting verses among “sertanejos” or riverside dwellers. Gerda Brentani was not intimidated, and as music and lyrics partners, she designed and illustrated this universe at her best. With perfection, in pen and nankin, master of drawing, she dominates this varied fauna, personalizes its protagonists, gives to many a human character, either by the look or the posture. Her artistic work shows the animal’s anatomy. A book that does not fit into categories, it brings together art, science, and literature by focusing on the country’s old inhabitants, typically South American animals, purely ours.