Common Redpoll

Carduelis flammea

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family FRINGILLIDAE - Subfamily Carduelinae

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

An abundant breeding bird of the boreal and taiga regions, the Common Redpoll is seen in North America primarily only in the winter. Even then, it generally occurs during irruptions, typically every other year.

Cool Facts

• Redpolls have throat pouches for temporarily storing seeds. They may fill their pouches with seeds quickly then fly away to swallow the seeds in a more protected, warmer spot.

• For a detailed view of the redpoll irruption of 1997-98 winter, click here.

Description

• Size: 12-14 cm (5-6 in)
• Wingspan: 19-22 cm (7-9 in)
• Weight: 11-20 g (0.39-0.71 ounces)

• A very small finch.
• Bill small and conical.
• Chin black.
• Forehead red.

• Body pale brown and streaky.
• Wings and tail dark.
• Two white wingbars on each wing.
• Pink to deep pink wash across chest.

Sex Differences

Male pink on chest and less streaked, female without pink and heavily streaked.

Male

Crown bright red. Chin and lores black. Upperparts dark with pale edges; edges wear off through spring. Wings and tail blackish-brown. Wingbars broad and white. Lower back and rump paler and less streaked than upper back. Rump, cheeks and breast red or pink. Flanks with lines of dark streaks. Undertail coverts usually with dark centers and broad pale edges. Rest of underparts white or buffy.

Female

Similar to male, but darker and streakier. Little or no red, except on crown.

Immature

Immature male resembles adult female.

Similar Species

• Pine Siskin more streaked, without red, without black bib. Yellow in wings.
• Hoary Redpoll difficult to distinguish, but larger, frostier, with smaller bill and less streaking. Hoary rump white without streaks. Undertail coverts have little to no black markings. Note that Common Redpolls can look similar, and that the streaking on the undertail coverts is often hidden by the white of the overlapping feathers.

Sound

Call is a series of chittering notes with some rising, questioning notes.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Alaska and northern Canada. Also Scandinavia, Russia, and Siberia, parts of Europe. Introduced to New Zealand.

Winter Range

Winters from southern part of breeding range south to northern United States. Extent of southward movement varies year to year.

Habitat

• Breeds in open subarctic coniferous forest and scrub. Avoids dense forests.
• Winters in open woodland and scrub, weedy fields, and suburban and urban areas.

Food

Very small seeds, such as birch, willow, alder, grasses, and weeds. Also arthropods in summer.

Behavior

Foraging

Feeds on small branches, often hanging upside down. Uses feet to hold food items. Frequently visits bird feeders, especially thistle feeders.

Reproduction

Nest Type

An open cup of fine twigs, rootlets and grasses. Lined with thick layer of feathers or hair. Placed in small tree or shrub.

Egg Description

Greenish white to pale blue, spotted with purple at large end.

Clutch Size

Usually 4-6 eggs. Range: 2-7.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless and with little down.

Conservation Status

Not listed as threatened or endangered.

Other Names

Sizerin flammé (French)
Pardillo sizerín (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Knox, A. G., and P. E. Lowther. 2000. Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea). In The Birds of North America, No. 543 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.