A plump little bird sporting a bright red cap with a subtle blush of pink on its throat and breast.

Meet the Common Redpoll

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The common redpoll or mealy redpoll (Acanthis flammea), is a species of bird in the finch family. All redpolls are northern breeding woodland species, ᴀssociated with birch trees. Small plump birds, they are grey-brown above and with a red patch on their crown. The breast of the male is a washed red, sometimes appearing as a pink blush.

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Females and young birds lack the red cap and red breast of the male, having a buff breast and white belly streaked with brown.

Young birds can be difficult to ᴀssign to particular species.

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This bird breeds throughout Eurasia and North America.

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In its favored environment, these birds like subarctic coniferous forests and scrub, avoiding dense forests. They winter in open woodland and scrub, weedy fields, and suburban and urban areas.

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Primarily seed-eaters, Common redpolls can quite often be seen hanging from small branches, often eating while hanging upside down. They quite often visit bird feeders too.

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From April to August, the female builds a nest on spruce branches or in the crevice of a Willow tree anywhere from 1-2 meters from ground level. Cup-shaped the nest is made from fine twigs, rootlets, and grᴀsses lined with a thick layer of feathers and or hair. Four to six eggs are laid inside and incubated for 10-11 days. The chicks are fledged after 12 days.

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Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, this species has an extremely large range so its decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable.

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