Bird friendly coffee

for Neotropical migrants wintering in

shade coffee plantations

We tend to think of human-altered landscapes, particularly agricultural ones, as bad news for birds. But traditionally-grown coffee plantations in Latin America offer refuge for over 150 species of birds, according to the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Only undisturbed forests harbor more species. This is because traditionally-grown coffee provides diverse habitat that counters what we usually think of when we think of agriculture. In traditional coffee plantations, coffee bushes are grown in the shade, under a forest canopy. Up to 60 tree species are used to provide shade for the coffee; these species provide nitrogen or supply fruit or wood for the growers. For the coffee, the overstory protects the bushes from the weather, and provides organic mulch that cuts down weed species and maintains the quality of the soil.

Unfortunately, over the last two decades as demand for coffee has increased, farmers have been converting to "sun coffee," which produces larger yields. The elimination of the canopy not only produces a coffee monoculture which is not as appealing to birds, but requires intensive management. This includes the use of more pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. The bushes also need to be replaced more often than bushes grown in the shade, as weather and erosion take their toll.

This is coffee grown under shade, Nicaragua.

Over 7 million acres of land are used for coffee growing in northern Latin America, where most of our migratory birds spend the winter. Increasing percentages of this acreage is being coverted to sun coffee: from roughly 2-% in Mexico, 40% in Costa Rica, to 70% in Colombia.

This loss of shade coffee forest has a big impact on bird populations, with 94 to 97% fewer bird species in sun coffee plantations versus shade coffee areas. This includes not only native species, but large numbers of seasonal visitors that breed in North America and winter in the tropics.

Because much of the winter season is dry in the tropics, shade coffee plantations offer a moist sanctuary with a high diversity of insect and nectar resources. Sun coffee plantations host fewer canopy lovers like the Tennessee and Black-throated Green Warblers, moist understory species such as the Ovenbird and Wood Thrush, and scrub-shrub birds like the Gray Catbird and Yellow-breasted Chat.

This is coffee grown in the sun, Brazil,© Elder Salles, Fotolia.

With nearly half of the cropland in Latin America devoted to coffee, the preservation and encouragement of shade-grown coffee offers an important conservation opportunity. Consumers in the United States purchase about one-third of the world's coffee, the third most common import. Therefore, American consumers can use their purchasing power to influence coffee management techniques and help preserve critical bird habitat.

You can make a difference. Americans drink one-third of the world’s coffee, and it is the second largest U.S. import after oil. If you are buying inexpensive, grocery-store coffee you are contributing to the destruction of bird habitat and the decline of migratory songbirds.

Learn more about the birds and coffee connection:

RRBO's flyer "Shade coffee and migratory birds" (PDF))
Coffee & Conservation -- blog devoted to the coffee and bird connection, by RRBO's Julie Craves: resources, links, and reviews!
RRBO bands birds on a Nicaraguan shade coffee farm, from our blog Net Results: Introduction and The Birds.
Why Migratory Birds are Crazy for Coffee. A fact sheet from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.
Made in the Shade. Audubon Magazine article on shade coffee.
The Case of the Disappearing Warbler. National Wildlife article on the importance of wintering habitat, and shade coffee, to the health of migratory bird populations.
Coffee, Conservation, Commerce, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center Position Paper
Sustainable Coffee Criteria, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center Position Paper

We recommend these sources for environmentally-friendly coffee:

Birds and Beans — All Smithsonian Bird-Friendly, organic coffee.
Caribou Coffee — look for coffee with a Rainforest Alliance seal.
Whole Foods — Their subsidiary Allegro Coffee Roasters sources coffee from many shade farms, including Nicaragua’s Selva Negra and El Jaguar.
Counter Culture Coffee — Offers a number of shade coffees, including Finca Nueva Armenia and Café San Ramon.
Caffe Ibis — Mostly Smithsonian Bird-Friendly, organic coffee.

Created 25 July 97 by Julie Craves

Updated 3 Apr 2009

Rouge River Bird Observatory,

Environmental Interpretive Center., University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI 48128