Climate

North American Birds and Climate

314 species on the brink

The Audubon Birds and Climate Change Report is a first-of-its-kind study that predicts how climate change could affect the ranges of 588 North American birds.

Learn more about how climate change is affecting birds in Minnesota

A product of seven years of research, the report calls upon three decades of citizen-scientist observations from the Audubon Christmas Bird Count and the North American Breeding Bird Survey to define the ideal “climatic range” for each bird species—the range of temperatures, precipitation, and seasonal changes each needs to survive. Then, Audubon scientists mapped where each bird’s ideal climate range might be found in the future as the climate changes.

The results are shocking: Nearly half of the bird species in the continental U.S. and Canada are seriously threatened by 2080, and without action, many are at risk of extinction.

To view interactive future range maps for the 314 most at-risk species, visit audubon.org/climate. 

Audubon’s new science sends a clear message about the serious dangers birds face in a warming world. Protecting them will require both redoubling conservation efforts to safeguard critical habitat and curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

How you can help, right now