Warming temperatures and changes in rainfall, now and into the future, are increasing the range of avian malaria to higher elevations, threatening numerous forest bird species.

Avian malaria is a primary factor in the decline of many Hawaiian forest birds, especially those of the family Fringillidae, such as the Hawaiian honeycreeper. Currently, high elevation forests are the only remaining refugia for some bird species, as avian malaria, and its associated vector, the southern house mosquito, is limited by temperature constraints.