Report: Climate Change Threatens Two-Thirds of North American Birds

The gorgeous Purple Finch is one of many birds threatened by climate change around the country (via Sandy Cutting/Great Backyard Bird Count)

Two-thirds of America’s birds are threatened with extinction from climate change, according to the National Audubon Society.

Keeping global temperatures down, however, may help save a majority of them.

“There’s hope in this report, but first, it’ll break your heart if you care about birds and what they tell us about the ecosystems we share with them,” David Yarnold, CEO and president of Audubon, said in a statement. “It’s a bird emergency.”

Audubon researchers took advantage of 140 million observations—collected by bird lovers and field biologists—to map out the locations of 604 North American species.

The team, led by senior climate scientist Brooke Bateman, then used the latest climate models to project how each species’ range will shift as climate change and other human impacts advance across the continent.

Our feathered friends, it seems, will be forced to relocate to find favorable homes. And many may not survive.

The Yellow Warbler is also under threat (via Brian Collier/Audubon Photography Awards)

The study—based on the 2014 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) models for 1.5 °C, 2 °C, and 3 °C of global warming—found that 389 breeding species fall into the moderate- or highly vulnerable range.

At the highest warming scenario of 3 °C, 305 bird species face three or more climate-related impacts.

“A lot of people paid attention to last month’s report that North America has lost nearly a third of its birds,” Yarnold said. “This new data pivots forward and imagines an even more frightening future.”

There is something you can do, though. Many somethings, in fact.

The National Audubon Society’s zip code-based web tool, the Birds and Climate Visualizer, helps users understand the impacts to birds where they live, making climate change more local, immediate, and personal.

Simply enter your zip code or state to see a list of ways you can help.

“Audubon is committed to protecting the places birds need now and in the future and taking action to address the root causes of climate change,” VP of climate Renee Stone said.

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