Bird Friendly®

The Bird Friendly® certification guarantees the coffee was grown in compliance to organic certification standards, in addition to the farm’s shade canopy maintaining diverse polycultures to support biodiversity of bird species.

Migratory birds depend on the dense forest canopies that provide shade for coffee plants. This habitat is decreasing as growers cut down the shade forests to increase the yield of coffee crops with new sun grown, or technified farming methods. As a result, scientists and birdwatchers have noted a marked decline in migratory bird populations over the last 25 years, most notable birds who migrate south from North America to winter in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Considering that over two-thirds of the birds are found in the canopy of shade plantations and less than 10% are found foraging in coffee plants, the marked decline is not surprising.

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) has developed a strict set of criteria for evaluating whether shade coffee farms and their environment are eligible for the Bird Friendly® seal of approval. Only those farms that meet organic certification standards are eligible to be certified as Bird-friendly®. Furthermore, companies that sell Bird-friendly certified coffee contribute 25 cents per pound to support SMBC research and conservation programs.

Some of the criteria include maintaining diverse polycultures to support biodiversity of bird species. Those with less diverse commercial polycultures, characterized by low stature or low species richness, will not be acceptable as Bird Friendly®. It is important that several species are used to maximize the period when certain species of flowers and fruits are available. SMBC requires a minimum of 10 species of trees to qualify for certification as "Bird Friendly®". The SMBC also recommends that a minimum canopy cover of 40% be maintained and that no trimming of epiphytic plants or hemi-epiphytic vines be conducted on the shade trees. Planted shade plantations generally consist of a backbone of trees, which are the predominant species planted to provide the optimal shade environment for the coffee plant. Certain species of trees are unacceptable as backbone species because they are deciduous during the dry season, leaving the "shade" plantation shade-less during a time of the year when canopy cover for both migrant and resident birds may be most critical.

For more specific information regarding Bird Friendly please visit www.si.edu/smbc.