Sustainable and Bird-Friendly Coffee: How Your Cup Connects to Migratory Birds

Many of the warblers, orioles, tanagers and other songbirds that nest in North American backyards and forests spend the winter in Latin America — and some of the places they spend it are coffee farms. How that coffee is grown can make the difference between a farm that supports birds and one that offers them very little.

This explainer covers why shade matters, what the main coffee labels mean for wildlife, and practical ways to make your coffee habit more bird-friendly.

Shade coffee versus sun coffee

Coffee is a shrub that evolved in the understory of tropical forests. Traditionally, in much of Latin America it was grown beneath a canopy of taller trees — "shade-grown" coffee. These farms can hold a variety of tree species, epiphytes and layers of vegetation that provide food and shelter for birds and other wildlife, and they can link patches of remaining forest.

From the late 20th century, many farms were converted to "sun" or "technified" coffee: dense rows of coffee bushes with little or no canopy, often relying more heavily on fertilizers and pesticides. Sun coffee can yield more per acre in the short term, but it offers far less habitat.

Not all shade is equal. A farm with a single species of planted shade tree provides much less habitat than one with a diverse, multi-layered canopy. That is why labels that specify shade standards matter.

Making sense of the labels

Coffee packaging can carry several sustainability labels. They are not interchangeable — each focuses on different things.

Smithsonian Bird Friendly

Developed by scientists at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, this is the label most directly focused on bird habitat. It combines organic certification with specific requirements for shade and canopy on the farm. Bird Friendly coffee is less widely available than other certified coffees, so you may need to look for it specifically.

Organic

Organic certification focuses on how the crop is grown — mainly restricting synthetic chemicals. That can benefit wildlife, but organic certification on its own does not require shade or a diverse canopy.

Rainforest Alliance

The Rainforest Alliance certification covers a broad set of environmental, social and economic criteria for farms. It addresses issues such as deforestation and farm management, but its standard is broader and less shade-specific than Bird Friendly.

Fair Trade

Fair Trade certifications focus primarily on economic and social terms for farmers and workers — minimum prices, premiums and labor standards. They may include some environmental requirements, but they are not primarily habitat labels.

"Shade-grown" without a certification

You'll sometimes see "shade-grown" printed on bags with no third-party certification. That may be accurate, but there is no guarantee about how much shade, or what kind. Treat it as a claim to ask about rather than a standard.

Why it matters to birds you know

The birds that benefit aren't only exotic tropical species. Many familiar North American breeding birds — including several warblers and orioles — winter in the regions where coffee is grown. Habitat quality on their wintering grounds affects their condition for the long migration north and, potentially, their breeding success. Choosing coffee that supports diverse shade is one small, everyday way to support birds you might see from your own window, such as the bluebirds and warblers that brighten spring.

Beyond the cup

A few other habits help birds alongside better coffee choices:

• Reduce single-use cups and pods; bring a reusable cup.
• Compost coffee grounds rather than sending them to landfill.
• Support habitat conservation organizations working in birds' wintering regions.
• Join citizen-science projects such as eBird to help track migratory bird populations.

Related reading

If you enjoy seeing migratory birds, plan a trip around their journeys with our guide to the best birding destinations in the USA, and read our guide to watching wildlife ethically.

References

• Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute — Smithsonian Bird Friendly
• USDA Agricultural Marketing Service — National Organic Program
• Rainforest Alliance
• Fairtrade International
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
• eBird — Cornell Lab of Ornithology