Each map is a visual guide to where a particular bird species may find the climate conditions it needs to survive in the future. We call this the bird’s “climatic range.”
The colors indicate the season in which the bird may find suitable conditions— blue for winter, yellow for summer (breeding), and green for where they overlap (indicating their presence year-round).
The darker the shaded area, the more likely it is the bird species will find suitable climate conditions to survive there.
The outline of the approximate current range for each season remains fixed in each frame, allowing you to compare how the range will expand, contract, or shift in the future.
The first frame of the animation shows where the bird can find a suitable climate today (based on data from 2000). The next three frames predict where this bird’s suitable climate may shift in the future—one frame each for 2020, 2050, and 2080.
You can play or pause the animation with the orange button in the lower left, or select an individual frame to study by clicking on its year.
This counterpart to the Black-billed Magpie is found only in California, roaming oak woodlands and often nesting in small colonies. Climate change threatens to wipe out 80 percent of this species' current summer range and 100 percent of current winter range by 2080, according to Audubon’s climate models. The bird favors mature oaks for nesting, and the future of the magpie may depend on how the trees respond to changing climate.
Found only in California, this bird is named for its distinctive bill color. A relative of the crow, the Yellow-billed Magpie lives in the open oak savannahs of the far west. It nests in mature oak trees, and eats mostly ground-dwelling insects, along with acorns, small fruits, seeds, carrion, and the occasional small rodent.. A very social bird, it quickly flocks to the scene of any fight or scuffle. The species managed to rebound from West Nile Virus, which killed half of the entire population in just a few years.
Explore more birds threatened by climate change around the country.
It's easier than you think to make a difference. Become an Audubon member today to help birds facing climate change.
