All Australian bird taxa were assessed for their vulnerability to climate change employing the risk model that vulnerability arises from a combination of sensitivity andexposure. We concentrate on identifying those taxa for whom climate change poses arisk of extinction.

Sensitivity to climate change was assessed using seven metrics representing specialisation (food types, feeding habitats, foraging substrates, climate specialisation and relative brain size), reproductive capacity (maximum annual rate of reproduction) and genetic variability (population size). Collectively, these directly or indirectly represent intrinsic traits that are related to the capacity to adapt to climate change. Marine birds were most likely to be sensitive to climate change, followed by those from small islands. Those from mangroves and inland waters had the lowest scores against the sensitivity metrics used.

Over 16.5 million bird location records of 1232 ultrataxa were analysed to assess the probable exposure of Australian bird taxa to climate change.

In the future, refugia management and captive breeding are likely to dominate budgets for climate change adaptation. By far the most important actions are to continue to manage the current stressors to birds including fire, feral herbivores and predators, weeds and fishing, as these are likely to interact synergistically with climate change. Land clearance or fragmentation did not feature among the threats to Australian birds under climate 4 Climate change adaptation strategies for Australian birds change in the near future. Similarly corridors, land purchase or habitat restoration had low priority for the most exposed or sensitive taxa.