Hoary Redpoll Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesHoary Redpoll
Adult male
Small finch with a tiny conical bill and a notched tail. Adult males are 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
Small finch with a tiny yellow bill. Females/immatures are white overall with a red crown patch and lightly streaked backs and sides. Note unstreaked undertail coverts.
© Christoph Moning / Macaulay LibraryLapland, April 09, 2011Juvenile
Juveniles are white covered by brown streaks above and below.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, August 30, 2004Female/immature
Small finch with a tiny yellow bill. Females/immatures have a small red crown and vary from very pale with limited streaking to darker like this one. Note unmarked undertail coverts.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, February 08, 2011Adult male and female/immature
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, January 27, 2013Not all videos have sound
Habitat
Winters in open woodland and scrub, weedy fields, and suburban and urban areas.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, January 27, 2013Habitat
Breeds in open subarctic evergreen forest and scrub as well as sheltered tundra areas near streams.
© Cameron Eckert / Macaulay LibraryYukon Territory, June 19, 2016Similar SpeciesCommon Redpoll
Adult male
Common Redpolls are often darker overall with a larger bill than Hoary Redpolls, but there is overlap, which makes separating the paler commons from hoaries difficult. They have streaked undertail coverts and tend to have more streaking on the sides compared to Hoary Redpolls, which have unstreaked undertail coverts and lighter streaked sides.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryFinnmark, June 17, 2015Similar SpeciesCommon Redpoll
Female/immature
Common Redpolls are often darker overall with a larger bill than Hoary Redpolls, but some commons can be paler, so care should be taken with ID. They have streaked undertail coverts and more streaking on the sides compared to Hoary Redpolls, which have unstreaked undertail coverts and lightly streaked sides.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, December 23, 2012Similar SpeciesHouse Finch
Adult male
House Finches are larger with a larger bill than Hoary Redpolls. Adult males have more red on the head and breast than Hoary Redpolls.
© Suzanne Labbé / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, February 21, 2017Similar SpeciesHouse Finch
Female/immature
House Finches are larger with a larger bill than Hoary Redpolls. Females/immatures are darker brown and more heavily streaked than female Hoary Redpolls. They also lack the Hoary Redpoll's red crown.
© Dave Spier / Macaulay LibraryNew York, January 15, 2008Similar SpeciesPine Siskin
Adult (Northern)
Pine Siskins are browner overall and have a longer bill than Hoary Redpolls. Pine Siskins have yellow edging on the wings unlike juvenile Hoary Redpolls.
© Douglas Faulder / Macaulay LibraryAlberta, July 30, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
Compare with Similar Species
Click on an image to compare
Species in This Family
Finches, Euphonias, and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Fringillidae)
Don't miss a thing! Join our email list
The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds,
birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation.