Hoary Redpoll Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A very small songbird with a short, notched tail and a thick-based but very small bill that looks “pushed in” compared to Common Redpoll. Fluffed up plumage often makes this species appear portly.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Golden-crowned Kinglet, smaller than a House Finch.

  sparrow-sized or smaller

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
• Color Pattern

  Hoary Redpolls are pale whitish birds with gray-brown streaks. Adults have a small red patch on the forecrown. They have darker gray tail and wings, with bold white wingbars. Some individuals have a rosy tint to the rump and underparts, or a buff tint to the face and back. Adult females are less strikingly white overall than males. Juveniles are brownish and streaky, often with buff tones in the face.

• Behavior

  Forages, often in flocks, by picking seeds off the ground or directly from plants. Often clings upside-down to reach seeds, buds, catkins, or insects. Gathers in larger flocks after breeding, sometimes joining flocks of Common Redpolls.

• Habitat

  Nests mostly in tundra where there are shrubs or stunted trees, sometimes in crevices of rocky areas. Typically winters in the Arctic, north of (or above) treeline, occasionally farther south, where usually found in weedy fields and sometimes at bird feeders.