Shade coffee plantations support high numbers of Neotropical migratory birds, but relatively little is known about the structural and floristic attributes used by individual species. From 2005 to 2007, we studied the relationship between habitat characteristics and Neotropical migratory birds in shade coffee plantations in the Venezuelan Andes. Our results indicate that density of migrants was significantly related to both structural and floristic attributes of coffee farms. Specifically, upper canopy foragers were positively associated with number of large trees (>38 cm dbh), tree canopy height, and understory vegetation density. Low canopy and ground foragers were positively associated with numbers of small (8–23 cm dbh) and medium (23–38 cm dbh) trees and increased shade cover. Moreover, certain tree species, especially Inga spp., Erythrina spp. and Acnistus arborescens, were important components of habitat for those species that forage in the canopy. For example, our detailed foraging observations showed that Inga trees were used in greater proportion than available throughout plantations by Cerulean Warblers (Dendroica cerulea), a species of high conservation concern. Overall, our research suggests that suitability of coffee plantations for migratory birds may be improved by managing for particular structural and floristic characteristics of plantations.
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机译：阴凉的咖啡种植园可养育大量新热带候鸟，但对于单个物种所使用的结构和植物学属性知之甚少。从2005年到2007年，我们研究了委内瑞拉安第斯山脉阴凉咖啡种植园中栖息地特征与新热带候鸟之间的关系。我们的结果表明，移民人口的密度与咖啡农场的结构和植物区系特征均显着相关。具体而言，上部树冠觅食者与大树（> 38 cm dbh）的数量，树冠高度和林下植被密度呈正相关。低冠层和地面觅食者与小型（8–23 cm dbh）和中型（23–38 cm dbh）树木的数量和增加的遮荫量呈正相关。此外，某些树种，尤其是印加属（Inga spp。），刺桐属（Erythrina spp）。乔木（Acnistus arborescens）和草木（Acnistus arborescens）是那些在树冠上觅食的物种的重要栖息地。例如，我们的详细觅食观察表明，Inga树木的使用比例超过了Cerulean Warblers（Dendroica cerulea）（一种高度关注保护的物种）在整个人工林中的可用比例。总体而言，我们的研究表明，通过管理人工林的特殊结构和植物区系，可以改善咖啡种植园对候鸟的适应性。
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