Yellow-billed Magpie

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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.

Climate Endangered

Yellow-billed Magpie

The darker the color, the more favorable the climate conditions are for survival. The outlined areas represent approximate current range for each season. More on reading these maps.

The darker the color, the more favorable the climate conditions are for survival. The outlined areas represent approximate current range for each season.

More on reading these maps.
Winter
Summer

Winter Range
Summer Range
Both Seasons
Zoom InOut
Focal Species
Andrew Reding/Flickr Creative Commons
Cool Facts

When on the ground, it doesn’t usually hop, but walks one foot in front of the other.

The Yellow-billed Magpie roosts communally, sometimes in concentrations of up to 800 or more individuals, outside the breeding season.

It nests high in trees to avoid predation by snakes and other predators.

Its nest is a complex construction of mud, sticks, and bits of debris.

One clutch consists of up to seven eggs.


This counterpart to the Black-billed Magpie is found only in California, roaming oak woodlands and often nesting in small colonies. Climate change threatens to wipe out 80 percent of this species' current summer range and 100 percent of current winter range by 2080, according to Audubon’s climate models. The bird favors mature oaks for nesting, and the future of the magpie may depend on how the trees respond to changing climate.

Species Range Change from 2000 to 2080

The size of the circles roughly indicates the species’ range size in 2000 (left) and 2080 (right).

The amount of overlap between the 2000 circle and the 2080 circle indicates how stable the range will be geographically. Lots of overlap means the bird’s range doesn’t shift much. No overlap means the species will leave its current range entirely.

About This Bird

Found only in California, this bird is named for its distinctive bill color. A relative of the crow, the Yellow-billed Magpie lives in the open oak savannahs of the far west. It nests in mature oak trees, and eats mostly ground-dwelling insects, along with acorns, small fruits, seeds, carrion, and the occasional small rodent.. A very social bird, it quickly flocks to the scene of any fight or scuffle. The species managed to rebound from West Nile Virus, which killed half of the entire population in just a few years.

Cool Facts

When on the ground, it doesn’t usually hop, but walks one foot in front of the other.

The Yellow-billed Magpie roosts communally, sometimes in concentrations of up to 800 or more individuals, outside the breeding season.

It nests high in trees to avoid predation by snakes and other predators.

Its nest is a complex construction of mud, sticks, and bits of debris.

One clutch consists of up to seven eggs.


Birds at Risk

Explore more birds threatened by climate change around the country.

Allen's Hummingbird
Baird's Sparrow
Bald Eagle
Brown Pelican
Burrowing Owl
Cerulean Warbler
Common Loon
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Golden Eagle
Greater Sage-Grouse
Hooded Oriole
Mississippi Kite
Northern Shoveler
Osprey
Piping Plover
Ruffed Grouse
Rufous Hummingbird
Spotted Owl
Tundra Swan
White-throated Sparrow
Yellow-billed Magpie

You Can Help

It's easier than you think to make a difference. Become an Audubon member today to help birds facing climate change.

Share Your Pledge

Thank you for pledging to help save the birds most at risk from global warming. But we need everyone’s help–and soon.

Share this urgent message with your friends and family. Tell them why these at-risk birds are so important to you, and ask them to pledge to do their part, too.

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