That’s how my life started. In the outskirts of São Paulo city. Here I am having fun with my two older sisters. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

During school time I was a science nerd and bookworm. I had a lot of support from my older sisters to pursue a career in science! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

I was so in love with science that I became a Biology undergrad in 2007 at University of São Paulo. By 2008, I already knew I wanted to dedicate my life to birds! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Without the help and support of my amazing parents it would be impossible to become a scientist. I am really grateful for all the sacrifices they made for me. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

From 2009 to 2014, I worked at the Museum of Zoology of University of São Paulo. I love working in museum collections, without these biological libraries it would be impossible to study the natural world! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Museum of Zoology of University of São Paulo, where my career in ornithology started. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Here in 2009, I was having the greatest time with this Momotus momota! It was my first expedition to the Amazon Forest! From there on, I became super interested in the Amazonian bird diversity and biogeographical patterns. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

In 2010, I learned how to band birds in the Peruvian Amazon Forest! It was my first time abroad. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Setting up mist-nets to capture birds in the Atlantic Forest! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

A Tangara cyanocephala in the Atlantic Forest. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Atlantic Forest. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Ramphastos dicolorus, a toucan from the Atlantic Forest. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Caatinga, Brazilian arid zone. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

One of my first expeditions to Brazilian cerrado. Collecting some Sporophila for the Museum of Zoology of University of São Paulo. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Consulting job in Brazilian cerrado. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Brazilian cerrado. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Bret Whitney discovered the hybrid zone between Rhegmatorhina hoffmannsi and R. berlepschi in 2004. After that he collected hundreds of specimens to better understand which processes were behind this hybrid zone. In 2012, I joined him for the first time in a USP-LSU expedition to sample Rhegmatorhina. Photo courtesy of Fabio Schunck

2012 I joined my first joint USP-LSU expedition to the Amazon Forest. Here my husband, Marco Rego is holding a Clytoctantes atrogularis, one of the most elusive and poorly known Amazonian birds. Photo courtesy of Fabio Schunck

Amazon Forest, Acari river, 2012. Photo courtesy of Fabio Schunck

First specimen I ever prepared in my life in 2012. we usually spend 40min-1h preparing each specimen. Photo courtesy of Fabio Schunck.

Prepping birds in Amazonia with Ryan Terrill and Bret Whitney! I participated in many expeditions of general collecting in the Amazonian Forest! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Banding Workshop in the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP) camp 41 (north of Manaus, Brazil). The project was created by Thomas Lovejoy and Robb Bierregard in the 1970’s! It was a dream come true to study birds in an area so important for the ecology, conservation and natural history of Amazonian Birds! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Sampling birds in the Rio Negro, Brazilian Amazonia! Photo courtesy of Del-Rio

Watching a lek of Rupicola rupicola north of Manaus, Brazil! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

A big part of my field work experience was developed along my master’s with ecology and conservation of Formicivora paludicola. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

My master’s research involved a lot of intense field work. Here my friends Fernanda Bocalini and Felipe Arantes are helping me to set up mist nets in the marsh. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

I banded and followed dozens of São Paulo Marsh Antwren individuals. Here a female that had just been banded. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

After measuring their territories and area of occupancy I came to the conclusion that their current population is no bigger than 400 individuals… it is a species on the verge of extinction. Photo courtesy of Flavia Martins

2015, Marco Rego and I arrive in Baton Rouge to do our PhD at LSU. Although working with ecology was great, my heart is in collections-based research and evolutionary biology. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

The beautiful LSU campus! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

The LSU Museum of Natural Science. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Baton Rouge, 2015, Imagine the best ornithology class someone could have? Van Remsen would take us to the LSU collection and spend hours talking about birds! So cool to be part of this with amazing researchers such as Vitek Jirinec, Jessica Oswald, Carl Oliveros, and Lisa Elisondo (from left to right). Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Some specimens of Amazonian birds! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Doing what I love the most, collecting birds for museum collections in Amazonia! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

2016, Aripuanã River, Amazon Forest. Florida Museum photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Sampling white sand forest environment in South Amazonia. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

At Pichico’s house in one expedition in 2016 to collect Rhegmatorhina in the Amazon Forest. A big thanks to my friends Diego Vargas, Diego Cueva, Felipe Arantes and my husband Marco Rego. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Penelope jacquacu in Southern Amazon. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Donna and Greg Schmitt, two of the best scientific specimen preparators in the world! They helped me in several expeditions along my PhD, I feel super lucky and glad to be their friend. Photo courtesy of Bret Whitney. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

A fancy camping site in 2016. Usually we just hang our hammocks anywhere, but here we had this nice bungalow. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Back from the 2016 expedition. Having a blast unpacking specimens after another succesful expedition! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Cooking lunch in the Amazon Forest! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

2017, with Rhegmatorhina hoffmannsi. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

I am never tired of working in Amazonia! Here in the Roosevelt River. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Guaribas community, 2018! All these field expeditions would not be possible without the help of our local friends, like Ivá and Leôncio. Expedition with my friends Luke Musher and Gregory Thom. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

I cannot count how many days, weeks and months I spent in LSU molecular biology labs preparing DNA samples for genomic studies. I am really enthusiastic about any kind of lab work! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Preparing whole-genome re-sequencing libraries. Rocking some bead clean ups! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

A big part of a researcher work is made behind a computer screen. Analysis, programming and writing scientific articles is one of the coolest parts of science! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Layse Albuquerque and Daniele Mariz are two Brazilian students that spent a year learning genomic techniques at LSU. It was super great to have them around to be my lab companions! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Think of an inteligent, diligent, bright student? That is Ashley Schoonmaker. I was her Genetics TA in 2016, and then we worked together in the lab performing genomic methods. Ashley was a Computer Science Major and we also worked on bioinformatics for genomics and systematics. Ashley graduated from LSU in 2018 and is currently a PhD student at North Carolina State Univeristy. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Marky Mutchler a Biology gradute from LSU! Birder from infancy, she came to LSU because of its strong Ornithology program. We worked together in the phylogeographic patterns and systematics of Myrmoborus myotherinus. Although you would expect I would teach her something, I feel that I learned much more with her! I am your fan, Marky! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Birding is my favorite hobby. Here I am photographing a Gygis alba in Fernando de Noronha. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Fernando de Noronha, Brazil. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Birding at Whiskey Bay, Louisiana. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Setophaga virens, spring migration in Louisiana. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Atchafalaya basin, Louisiana. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Birding in Baton Rouge! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Louisiana is famous for it’s Mardi Gras. I am glad I had the chance to experience this fun part of American culture. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Preparing a specimen of Accipiter cooperii for a LSU Night at the Museum Event. Outreach events are great opportunities to show the public what we do and why it is so important! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Once a month, at the LSU Museum of Natural Science we have Special Saturdays. Here, in one of these events I am showing the diversity of bills in shorebirds, and how this diversity helps them occupy different niches. Hopefully these kids will be bird nerds someday. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Demonstration of scientific specimen preparation at the outreach event LSU Museum of Natural Science Night at the Museum! I love doing outreach! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

In 2018, I joined the Brazilian Ornithological Meeting. Besides having a chance to join my old friends, I also gave a workshop about Genomics and bioinformatic techniques to analyze genomic data. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

2019, I organized the Emilie Snethlage expedition, an all-women expedition to the Amazon Forest, to raise awareness about gender disparity in science. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

A good looking Phlegopsis nigromaculata from the Juruá River area! I believe Bianca Matinata made this picture. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

The Juruá River! One of the coolest places where I have ever worked in Amazonia! Drone image made by Marco Rego. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Adventures in the Emilie Snethlage expedition! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

The specimens collected in the Emilie Snethlage Expedition! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Tissues of birds collected in Brazil and ready to be used for lab work! Exporting samples is a long and difficult process, but utterly necessary to avoid illegal trafficking of biological material. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

In 2019, I flew to Alaska for the American Ornithological Society (AOS) Meeting. It was super cool to present my work on Rhegmatorhina there. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Presenting a poster with Marco Rego at the Alaska AOS meeting. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

After the AOS meeting, I could not miss the chance to do some birdwatching in Alaska! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

With my friends Cameron Rutt, Fabio Schunck, and my husband Marco Rego, few minutes before we would have a cool encounter with a mother bear and its two cubs! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Trogon melanocephalus, Tulum, Mexico. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Birding at the Big Bend National Park in Texas! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Melanerpes formicivorus in Texas. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Amphispiza bilineata in Texas. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

This place is part of São Paulo municipality, can you believe it? Thirteen million people and one of the most diverse tropical forests in the world. It is nice to be from São Paulo. Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Myiodynastes maculatus in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Pyrrhura frontalis in São Paulo’s Atlantic Forest! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Showing the bird collection of the Museum of Zoology of University of São Paulo to my friend, Angela Prochilo, wildlife documentarist! Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio

Besides birding, and playing music, another big hobby of mine is bird art… I am not a professional, but I try really hard. Photo courtesy of Glaucia Del-Rio