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.
Although widespread and even locally uncommon, this secretive owl is rarely encountered by birders. In most places, ornithologists just don’t have a handle on the species’ basic status and occurrence. Current population estimates are uncertain, but the results of the Audubon's climate model are consistent with most other climate-change models, showing northward movement overall for areas of suitable climate for wintering Long-eared Owls. This northward shift translates into a loss 73 percent loss of current winter range, giving the species an onerous journey for future. It is worth noting that management for this species focuses heavily on the breeding grounds, not treated by the model. Of particular concern is ongoing and projected degradation of riparian nest sites in the West.
Explore more birds threatened by climate change around the country.
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