Know Your Coffee Birds series

Not all bird species are able to adapt to changes in their habitat — especially when it involves clearing out complex native forest and replacing it with a monoculture of coffee grown in full sun. Coffee grown under shade, especially when a lot of layers of vegetation are preserved, more closely mimics natural habitats. You can read the post Birds and coffee plantations for more background on the importance of shade coffee to birds.

The “Know Your Coffee Birds” series profiles bird species that are often found on shade coffee farms, having adapted to these altered habitats. Shade coffee farms may be extremely important to the survival of these species. I try to alternate between strictly tropical species that are resident in coffee-growing areas, and species that nest in North America, but winter in coffee farms.

Published accounts:

• Elfin-woods Warbler (Setophaga angelae)
• Blue-crowned Motmot (Momotus momota)
• Tennessee Warbler (Oreothlypis [Vermivora] peregrina)
• “Jacu” (Guans, often Dusky-legged Guans, Penelope obscura)
• Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga [Dendroica] caerulescens)
• Emerald Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus prasinus)
• Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)
• Violet Sabrewing (Campylopterus hemileucurus)
• Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)
• Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)
• Horned Guan (Oreophasis derbianus)
• Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina [Wilsonia] pusilla)
• Palm-Tanagers of Hispaniola (Phaenicophilus)
• Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea)
• Malabar Barbet (Megalaima malabarica)
• Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus)
• American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)
• Red Siskin (Spinus cucullatus)

While not part of this series, I have written a number of posts relating to the Cerulean Warbler.

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center has a page devoted to lists of North American migrant bird species that have been found in coffee plantations in the Western Hemisphere, arranged by country.