Quantcast

Common Redpoll

Carduelis flammeaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Finches (Fringillidae)

Common Redpoll Breeding Male Portrait
  Copyright 2002-2007 Whatbird.com
Click here for licensing information Splitbar

General

Common Redpoll: Small finch with brown-streaked gray upperparts, bright rose-pink breast, and boldly streaked flanks and undertail coverts. Cap is red and chin is black. Bill is olive-brown with fine black tip. Wings are dark with two narrow white bars; tail is black and notched. Female is similar but lacks red on breast. Juvenile is browner than female, more extensively streaked, and may show faint red cap.

Range and Habitat

Common Redpoll: Breeds from Alaska and northern Quebec, south to British Columbia, Newfoundland, and Magdalen Islands. Spends winters irregularly south to California, Oklahoma, and the Carolinas; also found in Eurasia. Inhabits open subarctic areas, largely coniferous forests and scrub; avoids dense forests. Winters on brushy pastures, open thickets, and weedy fields.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"chit-chit-chit-chit", "swe-ee-et"

Interesting Facts

 During the long Arctic night, redpolls sleep in snow tunnels to preserve body heat.

 Although not considered a migratory bird, one of these birds, bearing a band with Chinese markings, was captured in Norway, having traveled over 4000 miles.

 Several Redpolls have been seen on a twig feeding each other by passing a seed from bill to bill.

 A group of redpolls are collectively known as a "gallup" of redpolls.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Splitbar
Range Map for Common Redpoll
.
Bird database and its related content, illustrations and media is Copyright © 2002 - 2007  Whatbird.com
All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced without written permission from Mitch Waite Group.
 Privacy Policy.
Percevia® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Buntings, Finches, Sparrows (Emberizidae)_blue
Species Carduelis flammea
Length5 - 5.5 Inches
Wingspan8.625 Inches

Common Redpoll

Common Redpoll: Small finch, brown-streaked gray upperparts, bright rose-pink breast, boldly streaked flanks and undertail coverts. Red cap and black chin. Bill is olive-brown with fine black tip. Wings are dark with two narrow white bars; tail is black and notched. Black legs, feet.

● Song: "chit-chit-chit-chit", "swe-ee-et"

● Foraging & Feeding: Common Redpoll: Eats seeds and insects; forages chickadee-like, clinging to branch tips and weed tops for seeds, mainly from birches, alders, willows, and weeds. Also forages on the ground; reported to enter holes in snow to find food when vegetation is covered.

● Breeding & nesting: Common Redpoll: Four to seven green or blue green eggs, with purple or red brown spots concentrated at larger end, are laid in a nest made of moss, feathers, plant material, and animal fur lined with twigs and grass, and hidden in dense low shrubs or rock crevices. Incubation ranges from 10 to 11 days and is carried out by the female. Young stay in nest 9 to14 days and are fed mostly by the female; have one or two broods per year.

● Similar species: Common Redpoll: Hoary Redpoll is paler and has smaller bill and faint streaks on rump, sides, and flanks. Hoary Redpoll breast is paler pink and restricted to sides.

Flight Pattern

Moves relentlessly in undulating flight, with series of rapid wing beats alternating with brief periods of wings pulled to sides.
Common Redpoll Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Common Redpoll: Breeds from Alaska and northern Quebec, south to British Columbia, Newfoundland, and Magdalen Islands. Spends winters irregularly south to California, Oklahoma, and the Carolinas; also found in Eurasia. Inhabits open subarctic areas, largely coniferous forests and scrub; avoids dense forests. Winters on brushy pastures, open thickets, and weedy fields.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester, Loose colonies
PopulationFairly common
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight0.5 Ounces