Climate change will significantly increase impending bird
extinctions, study says A New World warbler, the Collared
Redstart (Myioborus torquatus) lives in cloud forests in the
mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama. Shifting of its
limited habitat toward higher elevations has already been
documented. Its population could be seriously affected by global
warming. The Scissor-tailed Hummingbird (Hylonympha macrocerca)
of Venezuela has an existing habitat of less than 100 square
miles of humid mountain forest. It is currently considered
threatened with extinction by The World Conservation Union
(IUCN), which monitors extinction threats to bird species.
Resplendent Quetzal, above, is a highland species that will be
affected by climate change and shifting habitats. BY LOUIS
BERGERON Where do you go when you've reached the top of a
mountain and you can't go back down? It's a question
increasingly relevant to plants and animals, as their habitats
slowly shift to higher elevations, driven by rising temperatures
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