High-resolution habitat suitability maps for all widespread Italian breeding bird species

Tackling the current global biodiversity crisis requires spatially accurate biodiversity data to rapidly assess knowledge gaps and set conservation priorities. Obtaining accurate data across large spatial scales is often challenging, due to the massive logistical and economic requirements of large-scale surveys. Here, we provide high-resolution (0.81 to 81 km², depending on species ecology) habitat suitability raster maps for all the 225 widespread breeding bird species in Italy. Maps were generated by means of species distribution models based on 2.5 million spatially accurate (≤ 1 km-scale) and expert-validated occurrence records. These distribution data were collected during the breeding seasons 2010-2016 by over 3000 skilled observers, mostly through the www.ornitho.it citizen science platform, with the aim of completing the second Atlas of Breeding Birds in Italy, released in 2022. These raster maps will be useful to ecologists, conservation scientists and practitioners for investigating broad spatial patterns in avian diversity and identifying conservation priorities. We illustrate a potential application of this dataset by analysing geographic, socio-economic and landscape drivers of the suitability of urban environments for avian taxa across 91 Italian urban areas