Rene Santos

Rene Santos is a Sao Paulo-based biologist and licensed birding guide who has been leading birders through Brazil under the banner of Calyptura Expeditions since 2006. Trained as an ornithologist at Mackenzie University in Sao Paulo, he came to guiding by way of work with captive birds and conservation projects focused on endangered parrots, and that conservation thread still runs through the business: he argues that natural areas regularly visited by birders face less pressure from illegal activity. His home turf is the Atlantic Rainforest of southeastern Brazil, with regular itineraries through Ubatuba, Trilha dos Tucanos, Intervales State Park, Paraty, Itatiaia National Park, and REGUA, plus longer trips into the Pantanal, southern Amazon (including Cristalino Jungle Lodge and central Amazon hotel boats), and the Caatinga of the northeast. He occasionally guides in Costa Rica as well. Santos focuses on target species rather than mass checklist sweeps, with signature birds including Black-hooded Antwren, Buff-throated Purpletuft, the Hyacinth and Lear's macaws, Harpy Eagle, several cotingas, and the critically endangered Araripe Manakin. Tours are offered as planned itineraries or custom packages, with safety and accessibility prioritised.