“Bird-friendly” coffee might sound like coffee brewed and developed for our feathered friends, but it’s actually a certification for what is more commonly referred to as shade grown coffee. It’s coffee grown using agroforestry, which encourages more biodiversity, including a variety of trees, small mammals and birds.
But the birds who make their homes in coffee fields throughout central and south America, aren’t just locals. Many are migratory birds who winter in coffee fields, but spends their summers in the U.S. These birds exhibit site-fidelity, meaning they return to the same areas every year.
"So if they're coming back to an area that been forested for years... if that then is cut down and transformed into something else, then they arrive there when they go to their wintering grounds, and all of a sudden their habitat is totally changed," says Dr. Robert Rice, a research scientist and geographer with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center at the National Zoo.
The trees that cover bird-friendly coffee fields bear fruit that the birds can eat, and also serve as shelter and protection. When forested areas are cut down, the birds are left vulnerable to predators and food can become scarce. And Rice says that bird-friendly coffee isn't just good for animals and the environment, it can also benefit the farmers producing the coffee financially.
"There are not many agricultural systems that can make those claims of being both economically active and productive, and also having this environmental or habitat or biodiversity dimension to them," he says. "So we found that working with coffee has a lot of possibilities."
Rice says that while coffee grown in the sun has much higher coffee bean yields, it's important to take into account the other products growers get from shade-grown coffee. The trees grown on these fields provide fruit that farmers can sell at local markets or use for themselves. Trees also provide firewood from pruning, and construction materials when forests are occasionally thinned.
Dr. Robert Rice is a geographer and research scientist with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, at the National Zoo in D.C. His work is on the intersection of agriculture and environmental change, with a special focus on migratory birds and coffee production.
*Originally aired August 2016
