• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Local Navigation
  • Skip to Search
  • Skip to Sitemap
  • Skip to Footer
Help develop a Bird ID tool!

Hoary Redpoll

Acanthis hornemanni ORDER: PASSERIFORMES FAMILY: FRINGILLIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

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.

Come Join NestWatch
Subscribe to Living Bird Magazine

Appearance

Finches
Finches
Typical Voice

Adult Description

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

Immature Description

Immature male resembles adult female.

Range Map Help

Hoary Redpoll Range Map
View dynamic map of eBird sightings

Field MarksHelp

  • Male
    Zoom In

    Hoary Redpoll

    Male
    • © Brian E. Small
  • Female
    Zoom In

    Hoary Redpoll

    Female
    • © Brian E. Small
  • Male
    Zoom In

    Hoary Redpoll

    Male
    • © Anne Marie Johnson, Tompkins County, New York, December 2003

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.