Humming bird friendly coffee
Posted by Douglas Everett on
More than half of the species of hummingbirds live in the tropics. Even our favorite backyard species migrate to the tropics, where they spend the greatest portion of the year. In the tropics, hummingbirds often move up and down mountains and between arid and moist habitats to keep up with where the trees and shrubs are flowering.
Coffee is often grown halfway up tropical mountains, the cross-roads for the myriad species moving to find flowers. When grown under a diverse canopy of shade trees, coffee plants, the trees that shade them, and the plants that grow on the trees provide a diverse smorgasbord of flower resources.
It is no wonder that shaded coffee farms can support impressive numbers of hummingbird species. In one coffee-growing region in Peru, Smithsonian Migratory Bird scientists recorded 24 species over the course of a year. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are abundant in coffee farms in Mexico and Central America during their stay in the tropics.
Also, Song Bird Coffee
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