Shade Grown Coffee is for the BIRDS! Many of the birds populating North America each summer spend their winters in 'Coffee Country' in Northern Latin America. Traditional coffee plantations provide some of the last remaining forests of this region, providing essential habitat for the birds. Hummingbirds, swallows, warblers, orioles, tanagers and other native and migratory birds find a safe haven in the remaining forests of shade coffee plantations. Studies in Colombia and Mexico found 94-97% fewer bird species in "sun grown" coffee plantations than in "shade grown" coffee. Most birds find food and shelter in the canopy of the shade coffee plantations, while there is very little food and shelter in sun grown coffee plantations. What happens when conditions become intolerable for a species? The silent answer shouts from the memories of these birds...so quickly gone forever. Most of the forests still standing are in traditional coffee plantations. These provide the last refuge for birds that have lost their habitat to the vast destruction of tropical forests. C O N T A C T S: Northwest Shade Coffee Campaign Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center American Birding Association Atlanta Audubon Society

View migratory bird travel routes Hear bird songs You donation can be rewarded with beautiful bird art prints.