The red knot is a migratory bird which migrates from the Arctic to locations further south, where the animals spend their winter months. As climate change brings warmer temperatures to areas around the globe, these birds are showing the effects of warming, as their bodies shrink in size. However, they are not the only birds to be affected by global climate change.
The Audubon Society revealed in 2014 that 314 bird species in North America are directly threatened by global warming. These animals include bald eagles, Baltimore orioles, and the common loon. The study shows that 126 species are in danger of losing between 50 and 100 percent of their natural range by the year 2050 due to climate change. An additional 188 species face threats to their habitat by the year 2080 due to global warming, but these animals may be able to colonize new areas, protecting themselves from extinction.
"While bird species that can move easily to new habitat are expected to continue to do well, bird species that thrive only in a narrow environmental range are expected to decline, and to be outnumbered by invasive species," WWF reports.
Many species faced with the dangers of global warming are not currently considered to be threatened. Breeding grounds for the Baird's sparrow could disappear entirely, climate models predict. Ranges for the chestnut-collared longspur could soon be reduced by 70 percent.
Common birds, such as the yellow-headed blackbird and the American avocet, could also be facing threats within the next few decades because of the effects of global warming, Audubon Society researchers determined. Populations thought to be stable, such as that of the greater yellowlegs, could be faced with extinction cause by global warming damaging their habitats.
"The greatest threat our birds face today is global warming. That's our unequivocal conclusion after seven years of painstakingly careful and thorough research. Global warming threatens the basic fabric of life on which birds - and the rest of us - depend, and we have to act quickly and decisively if we are going to avoid catastrophe for them and for us," said Gary Langham, chief scientist of the Audubon Society.
Global warming is not the only man-made threat facing wild birds today.
Mallards and blue-winged teals travel to the western reaches of North Dakota in order to mate. However, increased agriculture in the region, oil drilling, and human habitation have eaten away at lands needed by the birds in order to produce new generations.
Several species of warblers are also threatened by rising global temperatures. These include the cerulean warbler, believed to be one of the fast-disappearing songbirds in North America. Their summer home in Appalachia is threatened by human development and coal mining, while their winter habitat in the Andes Mountains has been reduced by coffee plantations.
As temperatures around the world continue to climb, animals have been shifting migration routes toward the poles. Historical routes of birds are well-known from decades of observations carried out by birdwatchers around the globe.
Some bird populations have seen losses of 90 percent of their numbers due to the effects of global climate change. Other birds have experienced dramatic reproductive failure.
Dangers to bird species continue as man-made global warming continues around the world.
