ITHACA, N.Y.—Up to 30% of bird diversity hotspots, places where large numbers of different bird species occur, in the western United States face threats from high-severity wildfires in the future that could eliminate critical forest habitats, according to new research published in the journal Nature Communications. Scientists from the USDA Forest Service, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and University of New Mexico combined advanced fire forecasting with bird distribution data from eBird to create the first comprehensive map showing where changing fire regimes will have the most impact on bird communities across the western United States. “Advances in species distribution modeling using eBird data and fire forecasting give us an incredible lens into the future about how fire might impact biodiversity moving forward,” said Andrew Stillman, applied quantitative ecologist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “Thanks to these advances, we can move from a retroactive look at fire impacts to a forward-looking approach.”