Birds & Climate Change

Like canaries in a coal mine, birds warn of climate change.

Birds Movements Reveal Global Warming Threat in Action

Global climate change is happening right now, and birds are living proof of it.

The long-term threats of global climate change—though widely accepted as real—continue to be mistakenly perceived as far off in both time and locale. But new analyses by Audubon scientists reveal that 40 years of avian habitat shifts add up to a very different message: Ecological disruptions caused by climate change have been happening across North America for decades and are having a measurable and visible impact on familiar bird species.

Nearly 60% of species that winter in North America have moved northward or inland, with climate playing a likely role in shifts that can exceed hundreds of miles. Changes can seen among the birds of Arkansas. Though implications for individual species can appear benign, the long-term environmental disruptions they portend are serious for birds, for other wildlife and people alike.

Visit birdsandclimate.audubon.org to learn more on findings and to join Audubon’s campaign to curb global warming and shape a better future for birds and all life on Earth. Global Climate Change is happening now. What happens tomorrow is up to us.

View the documents below to learn more about which Arkansas birds have been most affected by climate change.