Originally Posted on Maine News Online by Betty Laseter

September 14, 2014

The existence of nearly half of the birds studied in North America is at risk due to climate change, a seven-year-long study has warned.

The study, sponsored by the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service and issued by the National Audubon Society, examined a total of 588 bird species. The extensive study found that nearly 126 species of birds are at risk of steep decline because of climate change by 2050. Another 314 species are at risk due to the same climate issue by the year of 2080, if emissions of greenhouse gases continue at the current levels.

To reach to the conclusions, ornithologists examined North American Breeding Bird Surveys compiled by the U. S. Geological Survey and analyzed four-decade climate data of North America.

Organizers of Audubon Christmas Bird Count are studying for the links between where birds live and the changes in climatic conditions like temperature and rainfall, which birds need to survive.

Audubon New York's Executive Director Erin Crotty said the study showed that there was an urgent need to take aggressive steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Speaking on the topic, Crotty said, "Now, more than ever, we have a responsibility to be the voice of the birds and aggressively combat the urgent threat of climate change by further reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the places that birds need to thrive and survive…"

The list of species of birds threatened most by the climate change includes hawk owl, and Baird's sparrow, the northern gannet, three-toed woodpecker, the trumpeter swan, and the rufous hummingbird.