A NUMBER of declining rare breeding birds are becoming increasingly vulnerable to extinction in the UK as a result of climate change, according to a new report.

Species such as dotterel, whimbrel, common scoter and Slavonian grebe are all said to be in danger, based on projections around the impact of global warming.

The Scottish crossbill, which is found only in this country, is at risk of becoming extinct all together, experts fear.

By contrast, however, some other birds have thrived in the warmer, wetter climate, which has enabled them to expand their range further north.

The study has been produced by the RSPB, the British Trust for Ornithology and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, along with various statutory nature conservation bodies.

It found climate change is already affecting bird life in the four countries of the UK, which is responding to a 1°C (1.8°F) increase in average summer temperatures since the 1980s.

For species including snow bunting – whose UK breeding populations are found almost entirely in Scotland – population declines are said to have been considerable already. Breeding success of the Slavonian grebe has also been impacted, with Scotland on average 11 per cent wetter between 2007-2016 than it was in 1961-1990.