Redpoll Photo Gallery
Adult male (Common)
Small finch with a red cap, two white wingbars, notched tail, and short yellow bill surrounded by black. Adult male "Common" form has a rosy-red wash on the breast and upper flanks and brownish streaked upperparts.
© Mollie Ficker / Macaulay LibraryMinnesota, January 08, 2021Female/immature (Common)
Small finch with a short, conical yellow bill. Female/immature "Common" form is brown and streaky with a tiny red patch on the crown. Note streaking on undertail coverts on both sexes.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, December 23, 2012Adult male
Small, energetic finch with red cap, yellow bill, streaked upperparts, and two white wingbars. Adult male "Common" form has pinkish-red wash across breast and streaked flanks. Often visits bird feeders when populations irrupt south to the northern U.S. and southern Canada.
© Daniel Jauvin / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, January 29, 2021Not all videos have soundAdult male (Hoary)
Adult male "Hoary" form is mostly white with a red crown patch and a pink washed chest. Some individuals like this one are extremely pale with limited streaking on the sides while others are darker with more streaking.
© Marlene Kraml / Macaulay LibraryOntario, January 28, 2021Female/immature (Hoary)
Female/immature "Hoary" form is white overall with a red crown patch and lightly streaked back and sides. Note unstreaked undertail coverts.
© Christoph Moning / Macaulay LibraryLapland, April 09, 2011Female/immature
Acrobatic little songbird, often seen hanging upside down in pursuit of seeds. The "Hoary" form (seen here) is typically paler and smaller-billed than the "Common" form.
© Jean Iron / Macaulay LibraryOntario, March 13, 2023Not all videos have soundAdult male (Lesser)
The "Lesser" group, restricted to Europe, is smaller and darker than other Redpoll subspecies groups.
© Zbigniew Kajzer / Macaulay LibraryPomorskie, May 29, 2022Female/immature (Lesser)
Nonbreeding female/immature "Lesser" group has a strong brownish wash on the head.
© Rudraksha Chodankar / Macaulay LibraryEngland, October 28, 2023Female
Feeds mainly on seeds, but also eats insects when they are available. Female/immature "Lesser" Redpoll, found only in Europe, has a distinctive brownish wash on the head, throat, and flanks.
© Greg Baker / Macaulay LibraryEngland, March 01, 2021Not all videos have soundJuvenile (Common)
Juvenile "Common" is dark brown and heavily streaked overall and lacks adult's yellow bill.
© Heather Pickard / Macaulay LibraryNunavut, August 18, 2016Adult male (Common)
Small-billed finch with heavily streaked sides. Adult males have a red crown and a pink-washed chest.
© Bruce Gates / Macaulay LibraryOntario, January 22, 2016Flock (with Snow Buntings)
Often forages in large flocks in weedy fields during the nonbreeding season.
© Marie Read / Macaulay LibraryNew York, January 14, 2011Not all videos have soundFemale/immature (Common)
All forms have a small red cap (the "poll" in redpoll) on the forehead.
© Lucas Eckert / Macaulay LibraryOntario, January 20, 2021Female/immature (Hoary)
Feeds largely on birch and willow seeds during the nonbreeding season.
© Weston Barker / Macaulay LibraryMaine, December 12, 2020Adult male (Hoary)
Breeds in arctic tundra and boreal forest across much of the Northern Hemisphere.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, June 30, 2018Female/immature (Hoary)
The "Hoary" form has an unstreaked white rump and a cold pale appearance overall.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, May 22, 2013Flock
During the nonbreeding season, flocks of several hundred individuals feed on seeds in weedy fields.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, January 22, 2021Flock
Often found at backyard bird feeders in the winter in the northern U.S. and southern Canada.
© Becca Engdahl / Macaulay LibraryMinnesota, February 23, 2016Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Finches, Euphonias, and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Fringillidae)
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