Mark Pearman

Mark Pearman lives with his wife Alejandra and their sons Ian and Luca, spending part of their time in Buenos Aires, Argentina and part in a wilderness area of Entre Ríos province.

Born in London, Mark initiated his birding career at the age of nine in the North Kent marshes. After whetting his appetite for international birding in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and Central America, by 1986 he was hooked on South America and has since carried out some very extensive and often pioneering exploration from the Darien Gap of Colombia south to the uninhabited islands and peninsulas of Tierra del Fuego, focussing much of his research since 1991 on the Southern Cone region where his main interests include biogeography, taxonomy and vocalizations.

His studies in Argentina and Paraguay have served as the basis for far-reaching conservation programmes and initiatives. After over three decades living in South America, Mark’s current research involves the taxonomy of Southern Cone birds, as well as conservation studies in the Pampas of Argentina and Uruguay, and in the Tumbesian dry forest of Peru.

He was a founder member of the Neotropical Bird Club and has published numerous papers on South American ornithology, a sound CD for Patagonia and three books, including Annotated Checklist to the Birds of Argentina (2001) and the wonderful field guide entitled Birds of Argentina and the South-west Atlantic (2020). Ultimately, his research led to the discovery of three new species to science, and he often jokes that he has more up his sleeve!

Mark is undoubtedly the doyen of bird tour leaders in the ‘Southern Cone’ of South America. There is no one who can match his ornithological knowledge in this part of the world. His other passions include reptiles, with a focus on Andean lizards, and football from the stadiums of London to those of south Buenos Aires.