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 is the smallest hummingbird in the U.S.—and one of the tiniest birds in the world. Despite its diminutive stature, the Calliope Hummingbird is hardy. These hummers undertake impressive migrations twice a year, and they regularly withstand cold nights near tree line well into the Canadian Rockies. Audubon’s climate model forecasts an expansion of areas with suitable climate, mainly north and east—but only 22% of the current summer range remains stable by 2080. It is unclear if this species will be able to take advantage of the newly climate-suitable regions. Not modeled is the winter distribution, which is primarily south of the United States.
Explore more birds threatened by climate change around the country.
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