Marcelo Pena Padua was born in Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon River and has always been in love with nature. But it was only in Mato Grosso that he discovered the pleasure of watching birds as he began to work as a tour guide on his holidays from Law school. It soon became clear to him that birds were more than a hobby and he dropped out of Law school one year before graduation to dedicate fulltime to guiding in order to study, watch and help conserve birdlife. Since then his knowledge of birds and his skills with people have turned him into an avid bird watching guide.