Hoary Redpoll

Carduelis hornemanni

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

A small pale bird of the high Arctic, the Hoary Redpoll is a rare winter visitor to southern Canada and the northern United States. During redpoll invasions, a few paler Hoary Redpolls can sometimes be spotted within flocks of Common Redpolls.

Cool Facts

• Two subspecies of Hoary Redpoll are recognized: the southern (C. h. exilpes) and the Greenland (C. h. hornemanni) forms. The southern form breeds across Canada, Alaska, and Eurasia, and is slightly darker and sleeker. The Greenland form breeds only in the very high Arctic of Greenland and neighboring Canada, and is very pale with a large white rump.
• The Hoary Redpoll will breed in open tundra, but usually in small willows and other shrubs in sheltered areas. When suitable nest sites are unavailable, it has been known to nest in cavities in driftwood.

• The Hoary Redpoll has very fluffy body feathers that help it stay warm in extremely cold temperatures. In addition, it has feathers on areas of its body that are bare in most other birds. If temperatures get too high, a redpoll may pluck out some of its body feathers and get rid of some of its insulation. These feathers will grow back in a few days, but by then in the high arctic environment, temperatures probably will have dropped back to normal.

Description

• Size: 12-14 cm (5-6 in)
• Weight: 11-20 g (0.39-0.71 ounces)

• A very small pale finch.
• Bill small and conical.
• Chin black.
• Forehead red.
• Rump white.
• Undertail white.

• Body pale brown to white and streaky.
• Wings and tail dark.
• Two white wingbars on each wing.
• May have light pink wash across chest.
• Amount of streaking on chest, flanks, and rump is variable; some have nearly none, others are quite streaked.

Sex Differences

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

Immature

Immature male resembles adult female.

Similar Species

• Pine Siskin more streaked, without red, without black bib. Yellow in wings.
• Common Redpoll difficult to distinguish, but slightly smaller, darker, with larger bill and more streaking. Common Redpoll has a streaked rump, and its undertail coverts have a few to many black markings. Note that Common Redpolls can look similar to hoaries, and that the streaking on the undertail coverts is often hidden by the white of the overlapping feathers. Some female hoaries are nearly as streaked on the flanks and rump as Common Redpolls.

Sound

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

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds in high Arctic from Alaska to northern Quebec. Also Greenland and from northern Scandinavia to Siberia.

Winter Range

Winters in part of breeding range, Alaska and northern Canada, and irregularly southward to southern Canada and the northern United States.

Habitat

Breeds in open subarctic coniferous forest and scrub, and sheltered riparian areas on tundra. 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. Will visit bird feeders, especially thistle feeders.

Reproduction

Nest Type

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

Egg Description

Pale green to pale blue, with dark spots and speckles at large end.

Clutch Size

Usually 4-5 eggs. Range: 1-6.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless and with little down.

Conservation Status

Because of its remote breeding and wintering areas, no information is available on population numbers or trends.

Other Names

Sizerin blanchâtre (French)
Pardillo ártico (Spanish)
Arctic Redpoll (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

Knox, A. G., and P. E. Lowther 2000. Hoary Redpoll (Carduelis hornemanni). In The Birds of North America, No. 544 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.