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.
An expert in the art of camouflage, the American Bittern is famous for its odd, “pumping” song and for pointing its bill toward the heavens and freezing in place to avoid predators. This tactic works well in a reed bed, but not so much when in the open. The species’ migratory nature may allow it to adapt to changing climate. Only 16 percent of its summer range is predicted to remain unaffected by climate change. Its winter range is only slightly less affected. Audubon's climate model predicts major shifts in both the summer and winter areas of suitable climate, but the total amount of area available in both seasons doesn’t change very much.
Explore more birds threatened by climate change around the country.
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