Summary: Understanding the diversity of strategies that animals use to respond to changing environments is of ever-growing importance. The frequency and severity of extreme weather events are projected to increase in response to climate change, and how animal populations are able to respond to these disruptions remains largely to be observed. Using avian models, I explore the impacts of harsh environmental conditions on behavioral and physiological traits and their limits. In this presentation I will discuss the behavior and patterns of cognitive variation in a resident cold-weather specialist, the mountain chickadee. Then, I will present results of an order-dependent captive experiment using highly flexible nomadic finches, where we examined how body condition and metabolic capacity changed in response to a simulated food shortage and cold snap. These research stories provide insights into the potential impacts of environmental challenges and associated resource disruptions on avian behavior and physiology, at both the individual and population level.