Pepe Rojas grew up watching, and (more importantly) listening to, the West Peruvian Doves, Long-tailed Mockingbirds, and Rufous-collared Sparrows on the Pacific coast in his native Lima, Peru. His first exposure to "playback" came at age 10, when he mimicked the curious call of a Croaking Ground-Dove and got an immediate and dramatic response! He was hooked on birding right then, and there would be no turning back.

In the early 1990's, while a forestry student in Lima, Pepe traveled to the Tambopata region of southeastern Peru as part of a team of researchers studying the reproductive behavior of macaws. During the eight years he spent as a resident bird guide in this region of upper Amazonia, he honed his knowledge of the local avifauna, helped train new guides, and assisted professional filmmakers and photographers on a wide variety of projects. By the turn of the century, he was among the foremost naturalist-guides to what is generally regarded the most bird-rich region on Earth.

Pepe still practices mimicking birds, both in the shower and during frequent bike commutes around town--in Santa Cruz, California, where he lives with his wife, Abby, while completing his degree in Ecology and Evolution at UC Santa Cruz. Over the past 10 years, he has divided his time between bird-guiding, teaching, and field research, both in Peru and California. Having guided half a dozen tours with senior Field Guides leaders over the years, always to rave reviews, Pepe will join our full-time guide staff in 2013.