"Report: Climate Change Is Taking a Toll on U.S. Bird Populations"

"North American bird species are 'facing a new threat -- climate change -- that could dramatically alter their habitat and food supply and push many species towards extinction,' said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on Thursday when he announced the new report, 'The State of the Birds: 2010 Report on Climate Change.'

According to the report, climate changes will have 'an increasingly disruptive effect on bird species in all habitats.' Oceanic migratory species and birds living in Hawaii will face the greatest threats, according to the report.

The report was a collaborative effort between the U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative, federal and state wildlife agencies, and organizations including the American Bird Conservancy, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Klamath Bird Observatory, National Audubon Society, and The Nature Conservancy."

John Platt reports for Scientific American March 14, 2010.