Brewing up a Bird-friendly Cup

Did you know that your morning cup of coffee has the power to protect birds—or to destroy their habitat? In the 1980s, North American scientists noted that migratory songbirds were in trouble: Each year, fewer and fewer of them were found singing on their summer breeding grounds, but what happened to these birds during the winter remained a mystery. It took many trips to Latin America for researchers to discover that lush, shaded coffee farms from Mexico to Peru were the winter homes for many migratory songbirds. But not all coffee farms protected these birds.

Ruth Bennett, a research ecologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Migratory Bird Center, journeys south to the misty coffee farms responsible for migratory songbird survival, exploring why some coffee farmers are actively protecting bird habitats by growing coffee under native shade trees, while others are eliminating their winter habitat by cutting down cloud forest to grow more coffee. She also reports on how the Smithsonian is taking action to reverse the loss of winter habitats by creating a market for coffees certified to be Bird Friendly^®.

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