Audubon Mural Project

When the bird and the book disagree, believe the bird.
~John James Audubon

More birds, y'all. I can't help it -- they're so captivating. I had kind of a Shirley Jackson/E.A. Poe short story experience with my backyard crows this summer, but no hard feelings. For Art Thursday, here's the Audubon Mural Project.

AMP is a public art initiative spotlighting birds who are threatened by climate change. The 93 murals are (or were, in a few cases) located in New York City, clustered in a several-block radius from where Audubon once lived and is buried. The photos are by Mike Fernandez/Audubon.

Black-capped Vireo
by George Boorujy
A small, cartoon-like bird, the Black-capped Vireo is limited to oak scrubland in South Texas, Oklahoma, and Mexico. Audubon's climate models show that while the species may expand its range to include a small portion of New Mexico, if warming continues apace, it will lose 87 percent of its existing summer habitat, much of it in Mexico and Texas. It also faces threats that will compound its climate vulnerability, such as increased drought, fire, spring heat waves, and urbanization.

Blackburnian Warbler and Yellow-throated Warbler
by George Boorujy
A fiery little warbler, the Blackburnian stands to lose 99 percent of its existing breeding range across the northern United States and Canada; nearly half of that could be saved by limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Although it may push north into New York and New England, the Yellow-throated Warbler, meanwhile, may lose 92 percent of its current breeding range as climate change alters its preferred pine- and sycamore-filled landscapes.

Evening Grosbeak and Black-headed Grosbeak
by Ouizi
They share a last name based on their most prominent feature, but Evening Grosbeak and Black-headed Grosbeak are not at all related. Both evolved massive beaks to feast on large, crunchy fare. Evening Grosbeaks live in the north woods and eat seeds and buds, while Black-headed Grosbeaks are western and munch many insects as well. Audubon’s climate models predict that both will lose habitat as forests are damaged by rising temperatures.

Greater Sage-Grouse
by George Boorujy
This bombastic bird commands attention in the northwestern United States with its stunning appearance and mating display. It’s also the symbol of the sagebrush steppe, an ecosystem threatened by fossil-fuel extraction and other development. According to Audubon's climate models, the Greater Sage-Grouse stands to lose almost all of its current range, owing to changes in the sagebrush ecosystem, if rising temperatures are not brought under control.

Baird's Sparrow
by Ralph Serrano
Grassland birds are feeling the squeeze from climate change, and the Baird's Sparrow is no different. While the species has a high threshold for adaptability, its staple prairie habitat is quickly disappearing. According to Audubon’s analysis, it stands to lose 100 percent of both its summer and winter ranges if global temperatures rise to 3 degrees Celsius. Keeping warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius would help them retain a foothold in Canada.