Hello and welcome.

This is the Science of Birds.

I am your host, Ivan Philipson.

The Science of Birds podcast is a lighthearted, guided exploration of bird biology for lifelong learners.

This episode, which is number 44, is about the relationship between coffee production and bird conservation.

Today's episode is deliberately on the short side.

I'm hoping to publish these shorter episodes in between some of the longer ones.

This way I can release episodes for you more often.

Okay, if there was a Venn diagram with a circle for people who love birds and another circle for people

who are cheerfully addicted to coffee, I would exist where those circles overlap. I imagine many of

you would be right in there with me. But if you're not a coffee drinker, well, first off, I'm amazed.

I mean, how do you even survive from one day to the next?

But hey, don't worry.

As long as your caffeine-starved brain can stay awake, I think you'll find this subject interesting.

The Science of Birds podcast is, in a way, powered by coffee. I drink coffee

when I write my scripts, and I drink it when I'm recording the audio, as in right now. However,

the fact that coffee farming can be a problem for birds and other wildlife has been on the

periphery of my awareness for a while.

I care deeply about bird conservation. So after some research and thinking, I decided I would buy

only bird-friendly certified coffee beans. This was about a year ago. I started brewing bird-friendly coffee at home, and I never

looked back. Sure, it costs a little more, but I haven't gone broke. It's definitely worth it to me.

So what's the deal with coffee and birds? And what is bird-friendly coffee anyway?

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