Much-loved birds including curlews and cuckoos are under a growing threat from climate change in England, according to a new report
The curlew is likely to feel the impacts of warming in England
Other species including golden plovers and lapwings are also at risk from rising temperatures in the coming decades.
The report says changing conditions in England will significantly benefit wasps, ants and many southern species.
The study is said to be the largest of its kind ever undertaken in England.
Researchers looked at the impacts of a 2 degrees C rise in global average temperatures on over 3,000 species. They projected where the most suitable ranges for these plants and animals would be found in 2080.
When the researchers looked in more detail at 155 species listed as being of high conservation concern, 38% were identified as being at risk with 39% potentially benefitting from warmer temperatures.
“The positive side of things is kind of painting maybe too rosy a glow, because many species may not get there,” Dr Humphrey Crick from Natural England told BBC News.
The orange lady bird is also expected to struggle in a warmer England
“Some species will be pushed further and further north and some may end up in Scandinavia rather than in Britain at all.”
Many of those at risk are found in the north and in upland areas, but there are also lowland species under threat including rare spring sedge, orange ladybirds and triangle hammock spiders.
For species like the curlew, the climate impacts are mostly to do with water.
“In the upland areas it’s the drying out of the habitats and the lack of rainfall that might occur and the increased evaporation, and the habitats that many of these northern species will dry out – for things like curlew the ground will be too hard for them, to stick their beak in effectively,” said Dr Crick.
The report paints a picture of a divided England. Species such as wasps, bees and ants, are likely to do better in warmer conditions and move into newer habitats.
Some birds are also set to thrive including the avocet and the little egret. Some are already doing so, including the Dartford warbler which was reduced to just a few pairs in the 1960s. It recovered and has moved across England in recent years, thanks to a changing climate.
Cuckoo numbers have dropped significantly in the past 20 years