Redpoll Life History

Habitat

Redpolls breed across far northern latitudes, in areas of tundra that have scattered shrubs or stunted trees such as willow, birch, or alder. They also nest in open woods of pine and spruce. Most people get to see Redpolls in winter, when they occasionally move south. In their winter range, which can be extremely variable as the birds seek unpredictable food sources, Redpolls occur in open woodlands, scrubby and weedy fields, and at backyard feeders.

Food

Common Redpolls eat mainly small seeds, typically of trees such as birches, willows, alders, spruces, and pines, but also of grasses, sedges, and wildflowers such as buttercups and mustards. During summer they also eat considerable numbers of spiders and insects, and occasional berries. Winter diet is largely birch and alder seeds or, at feeders, millet and thistle or nyjer seed. They are energetic little birds, clinging to slender branches and stems, often suspended upside down as they strip seeds or probe for insects. They also forage on the ground, hopping around to pick up windblown seeds.

Nesting

Nest Placement

Females do most of the searching for nest sites. They place their nests a few feet off the ground in spruces, alders, and willows, or directly on the ground in rocky crevices or cavities in driftwood.

Nest Description

The female builds the nest on a foundation of small twigs laid across thin branches. She makes the nest from grasses, fine twigs, roots, and tree moss, and lines it with a thick layer of feathers, fur, wool, or downy plant material. The finished nest is up to 4 inches across with a nest cup of about 2–2.5 inches diameter and 1.5–2 inches deep. Redpolls may take material from old nests to make new ones, but typically do not reuse old nests.

Nesting Facts

Behavior

Redpolls are energetic little birds that forage in flocks, gleaning, fluttering, or hanging upside down in the farthest tips of tree branches. Like many finches, they have an undulating, up-and-down pattern when they fly. To keep order in flocks, Redpolls have several ways of indicating their intentions. When quarreling with flockmates, a Redpoll fluffs its plumage, faces its adversary, and opens its bill, sometimes jutting its chin to display the black face patch. Males court females by flying in slow circles or arcs while calling and singing. Redpolls sometimes gather in small flocks even during the breeding season, and during migration they may group into the thousands. In winter, some Redpolls roost in tunnels under the snow, where the snowpack provides insulation and stays much warmer than the night air.

Conservation

Prior to the lumping of redpolls in 2024, Partners in Flight estimated global breeding populations of 250 million Common Redpolls and 28 million Hoary Redpolls and rated the two species 9 out of 20 and 8 out of 20 respectively on the Continental Concern Score, indicating species of low conservation concern. Despite Common Redpoll’s rating, Partners in Flight listed it as a Common Bird in Steep Decline—a species that is still too numerous or widely distributed to warrant Watch-List status but that has been experiencing troubling long-term declines. Redpolls breed in the far north, away from humans and many of their environmental impacts. When they come south to visit more densely populated areas, they can succumb to salmonella infections at feeders. In Europe, they have been trapped for food and to keep as cage birds, although this is less common today. It remains to be seen what changes climate change may cause for their boreal and tundra habitat.

Credits

Chesser, R. T., S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hernández-Baños, R. A. Jiménez, O. Johnson, A. W. Kratter, N. A. Mason, P. C. Rasmussen, and J. V. Remsen, Jr. (2024). Sixty-fifth Supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds. Ornithology 141:1–20.

Knox, Alan G. and Peter E. Lowther. 2000. Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA.

Lutmerding, J. A. and A. S. Love. (2020). Longevity records of North American birds. Version 2020. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Bird Banding Laboratory 2020.

Partners in Flight. (2020). Avian Conservation Assessment Database, version 2020.

Partners in Flight (2023). Avian Conservation Assessment Database, version 2023.

Rosenberg, K. V., Kennedy, J. A., Dettmers, R., and others (2016). [Full list of authors: Rosenberg, K. V., Kennedy, J. A., Dettmers, R., Ford, R. P., Reynolds, D., Alexander, J. D., Beardmore, C. J., Blancher, P. J., Bogart, R. E., Butcher, G. S., Camfield, A. F., Couturier, A., Demarest, D. W., Easton, W. E., Giocomo, J. J., Keller, R. H., Mini, A. E., Panjabi, A. O., Pashley, D. N., Rich, T. D., Ruth, J. M., Stabins, H., Stanton, J. & Will., T.] Partners in Flight Landbird Conservation Plan: 2016 Revision for Canada and Continental United States.  Partners in Flight Science Committee.

Sibley, D. A. (2014). The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, USA.

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