Data and code from: Temperature and precipitation niche dynamics shape avian elevational shift strategies in the Hengduan Mountains

Avian seasonal elevational migration is a key life-history strategy for
adapting to environmental changes, widely observed across global bird
populations. Within elevational migrants, diverse movement strategies have
been documented in multiple regions worldwide. In this study, we analyzed
beeding species exhibiting pronounced seasonal elevational shifts in the
Hengduan Mountains of southwestern China by synthesizing multi-source
observational data. We identified distinct migration patterns and
quantified their proportional representation. Further, we investigated
differential adaptation to climate change among elevational migration
strategies by integrating species-specific thermal and precipitation
tolerances, seasonal extremes, and shifts in tolerance ranges. Our
findings reveal distinct climatic adaptation strategies among elevational
migration strategies. Species migrating upward during the breeding season
exhibited significantly contracted thermal and precipitation tolerance
ranges in the non-breeding season, whereas downward migrants showed no
significant seasonal differences in tolerance ranges. Additionally,
seasonal changes in thermal and precipitation tolerance ranges influenced
the elevational distribution limits of elevational migrants, albeit with
contrasting directional effects. These results underscore the importance
of seasonal variation in climatic extremes—rather than means—in shaping
climatic niches and highlight differential sensitivities to climate change
among elevational migration strategies.