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.
Ecologically a close match to the larger Royal Tern, this chiefly marine species is at home on barrier beaches and in back bays along southern shores. And like its bigger cousin, the Sandwich Tern—already threatened with coastal development and severe weather—is forecast by Audubon's climate model to fare poorly in the face of climate change. Unfortunately, the Sandwich Tern’s losses may be even more severe than the Royal’s, with a significant decline in suitable climate space during the winter winter and only 13 percent of current space remaining stable. Sandwich Terns occur well beyond the U.S. border, and their best hope may reside in tropical habitats outside the model area.
Explore more birds threatened by climate change around the country.
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