Redpoll

Redpolls
Common Redpoll
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Fringillidae Genus: Carduelis
Species
Carduelis flammea Carduelis cabaret Carduelis hornemanni

The Redpolls are a group of small passerine birds in the finch family Fringillidae which have characteristic red markings on their heads. They are very closely related, and taxonomically could be considered as any thing from one to five species. Recent studies tend to support three species.

These are

• Common Redpoll, Carduelis flammea
• Lesser Redpoll, Carduelis cabaret
• Arctic Redpoll, Carduelis hornemanni

All redpolls are northern breeding woodland species, associated with birch trees. They are small dumpy birds, brown or grey-brown above and with a red forehead patch. Males have red breasts, but in females and young birds the buff breast and white belly are streaked with brown. The bill is small and yellow. Some birds, particularly young ones, are difficult to assign to species.

They are primarily seed-eaters, and often feed acrobatically like a tit. They have a dry reeling song and a metallic call. They lay 4-7 eggs in a nest in a tree or, in the case of Arctic Redpoll, a large bush. They can form large flocks outside the breeding season, sometimes mixed with other finches.

Arctic Redpoll , Carduelis hornemanni, breeds in tundra birch forest. It has two races, C. h. hornemanni, (Greenland Arctic Redpoll) of Greenland and neighbouring parts of Canada, and C. h. exilipes, which breeds in the tundra of northern North America and Eurasia. Both forms migrate further south in winter.

The Greenland race is a very large and pale bird, with the male sometimes described as a "snowball", but both forms are pale with small beaks, white rumps and often more yellow than grey-brown tones in their plumage. The females are more streaked on their breasts, sides and rumps, but are still pale.

Common Redpoll, Carduelis flammea, breeds somewhat further south than Arctic Redpoll. Nominate C. f. flammea, breeds across the northern parts of North America and Eurasia. There is also an Icelandic race, C. f. islandica, and a race which breeds in Greenland and Baffin Island, C. f. rostrata. All forms migrate further south in winter into the USA and most of Eurasia. Common Redpoll is smaller, browner and more streaked than Arctic.

Lesser Redpoll, Carduelis cabaret, is the smallest, brownest and most streaked species. It breeds in Ireland, Great Britain and neighbouring parts of Europe up to Norway, and the Alps. Many birds migrate further south in winter, but the milder climate means that this redpoll can be found all year round in much of its range, and may be joined by the other two species in winter. This species has been introduced to New Zealand.