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The conversion of natural habitats to farmland is a major driver of the global extinction crisis [1, 2]. Two strategies are promoted to mitigate the impacts of agricultural expansion on biodiversity: land sharing integrates wildlife-friendly habitats within farmland landscapes, and land sparing intensifies farming to allow the offset of natural reserves [3]. A key question is which strategy would protect the most phylogenetic diversity—the total evolutionary history shared across all species within a community [4]. Conserving phylogenetic diversity decreases the chance of losing unique phenotypic and ecological traits [5] and provides benefits for ecosystem function and stability [6, 7]. Focusing on birds in the threatened Chocó-Andes hotspot of endemism [8], we tested the relative benefits of each strategy for retaining phylogenetic diversity in tropical cloud forest landscapes threatened by cattle pastures. Using landscape …