A separate study published in September in the journal Science found that human activities and ecological changes are already having a devastating impact on bird populations.
Winger said these species typically breed in northern boreal forests and grasslands and then migrate through Chicago as they fly south for the winter.
In some cases, the biggest reductions in size were coupled with the biggest increases in wingspan, according to Brian Weeks, an assistant professor of evolutionary ecology at the University of Michigan and the study’s lead author. The researchers are not sure why wing lengths are growing as birds shrink, but Weeks said an early hypothesis is that as birds get smaller, it becomes harder for them to migrate. As a result, birds may need to increase their wing length to boost their flight efficiency, he said.
This could be especially problematic if birds are unable to adapt quickly enough in the face of global warming, said Stanley Temple, a professor emeritus of forests and wildlife ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was not involved with the study.
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