The great white heron, often seen today on Italy's northern Po river plain, is one of 15 birds which the country risks losing as a result of climate change, according to an authoritative new study.
Another 141 bird species currently living in the wild in Italy will see their habitats and breeding areas drastically reduced if, as expected, global temperatures rise three degrees Celsius this century.
LIPU, the Italian bird protection association, on Tuesday released details of a 'climatic atlas' of European birds which has been produced by the University of Durham in England and bird associations around the continent.
''The outlook is very worrying, said Marco Gustin, LIPU's research chief. ''More than half the birds in Italy will suffer a decline and some will become extinct''.
The research looked at the impact of warmer temperatures on 460 European birds, 262 of them living in Italy, concluding that there was a risk of extinction for about a quarter.
Gustin pointed out the predictions made by the new study might even turn out to be conservative because they did not take into account other factors such as the destruction of habitats and changing vegetation.
The University of Durham and BirdLife International, which groups national bird protection organisations, predicts that the geographic areas where many European nesting birds live will shift 550 km to the northeast.
For some species this will mean that nesting areas are completely different. For others there could be an overlap.
As well as the Great White Heron, LIPU said other birds likely to vanish from Italian landscapes included Audouin's gull, the white-backed woodpecker, the Barbary partridge and several varieties of black terns.
But the warmer climate could also attract certain birds to Italy from countries such as Greece and Spain, bird experts said.
Among the possible newcomers in the 21st century are the Spanish imperial eagle, the white kite, the African nightingale and the azure-winged magpie.
LIPU said it was urgent to take action immediately to protect the diversity of Italian birdlife.
''We have to make the most of protected areas and the EU's network of Natura 2000 sites to protect biodiversity,'' said LIPU conservation director Claudio Celada.
The Natura 2000 network comprises over 26,000 protected areas covering around 850,000 square kilometres. The aim of the network is to assure the long-term survival of threatened species by ensuring ecologically sustainable land management.
