Hoary Redpoll

The Greenland race is a very large and pale bird, with the male sometimes described as a snowball, but both forms are pale with small beaks, white rumps and often more yellow than grey-brown tones in their plumage. The females are more streaked on their breasts, sides and rumps, but are still pale.

The Hoary Redpoll is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

extremely similar in appearance, the Hoary Redpoll nests on High Arctic tundra in the Old and New Worlds. In North America it winters southward across Canada and rarely into the northern contiguous United States, usually in small numbers mixed in with flocks of Common Redpolls. In general Hoary Redpoll appears grayer (less brown) than Common, as if dredged in flour; it is also slightly larger and has a shorter bill. More

Hoary RedpollCarduelis hornemanni Order PASSERIFORMES – Family FRINGILLIDAE Issue No. 544 Authors: Knox, Alan G., and Peter E. Lowther * Articles * Multimedia * References Courtesy Preview This Introductory article that you are viewing is a courtesy preview of the full life history account of this species. The remaining articles (Distribution, Habitat, Behavior, etc. More

Hoary Redpoll (Carduelis hornemanni). In The Birds of North America, No. 544 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. * Knox, A. G., and P. E. Lowther. 2000. Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea). In The Birds of North America, No. 543 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. More

A Hoary Redpoll (Carduelis hornemanni) is a small finch (bird) which lives much of its life in the arctic of the northern hemisphere, only occasionally making its way as far south as the northern U.S. and Southern Canada and western Europe in winter and often in the company of its much more numerous cousin, the Common Redpoll. They also go by the name of Arctic Redpoll in Europe. More

The Hoary Redpoll has a large range, estimated globally at 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 square kilometers. Native much of North America and Europe, this bird prefers shrubland and grassland ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated at 26,000,000 individuals and does not show signs of decline that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Hoary Redpoll is Least Concern. More

Recently reported on IBET was a sighting of a Hoary Redpoll at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Hoary Redpolls are only rarely seen in northern Illinois. They usually over-winter in Canada and spend their summers in the Arctic. They are very similar looking to Common Redpolls, so identification can sometimes be tricky. When I arrived at the Chicago Botanic Gardens on Friday, I made a beeline straight for the Enabling Garden where this bird has been sighted with other Common Redpolls. More

Hoary Redpolls have been reported in Nova Scotia only since 1959, when a "frosty-looking" bird was seen in a large flock of Common Redpolls at Lower Canard, Kings County, on 27 December (R.W. Tufts). Three such birds were seen at Gaspereau, Kings County, on 13 March 1960, and one collected there on 15 March was confirmed by W. Earl Godfrey as a Hoary Redpoll. More

On these first three pictures, the same Hoary Redpoll is shown. Notice the very limited, thin streaking on the sides, only one small, thin undertail streak, very white overall appearance, "pushed in" bill appearance, and the very white head. Hoary Redpoll- Little Preseque Isle, Marquette, MI 1/18/09 Hoary Redpoll- Little Preseque Isle, Marquette, MI 1/18/09 Hoary Redpoll- Little Preseque Isle, Marquette, MI 1/18/09 The next picture is a picture of a Common Redpoll. More

The difference between common redpolls and hoary redpolls is slight. Hoary, as the name indicates, are lighter in color and are whiter. Common redpolls have streaks of brown on their rumps and sides. Hoary redpolls have white rumps and white sides without streaks. The difference between common and hoary redpolls is so slight that in the book, Birds of America published in 1919 and a revised edition published in 1936, there is only one species and it is just named "redpoll. More

Hoary Redpoll, although always less numerous than Common south of the Arctic, is probably more numerous than reports indicate. Identification is very difficult, requiring close and lengthy study, and observers are usually conservative on this ID, so lots of darker Hoarys are never even picked out, possible Hoarys are never confirmed, and lots of passing flocks are simply reported as Commons (1). More

If identifying Hoary Redpoll is not enough of a challenge for you, maybe you'd like to look for subspecies of Hoary and Common Redpolls? First, check out this map from the Canadian Atlas of Bird Banding. More

Hoary Redpoll: Breeds along Arctic coasts, wandering southward in winter to much of Canada and northern U.S. Inhabits weedy pastures and roadsides in winter; stays on tundra in summer. Breeding and Nesting Hoary Redpoll: Four to six green to blue green eggs spotted with red brown are laid in a nest made of twigs, grass, and rootlets, lined with soft grass, feathers and hair, and built in the middle of a low bush or on the ground sheltered by rocks or vegetation. More

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. More

of the common redpoll and the hoary redpoll (Acanthis hornemanni) overlap, such as northern Norway, the two species may form mixed breeding pairs and produce hybrids of intermediate appearance. FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET Common redpolls feed on grains and seeds, particularly favoring birch seeds. A stand of winter weeds visited by a flock of these birds is a scene of feverish activity as they tear dried flower stalks apart and then drop to the ground to pick up the seeds. More

Two Hoary Redpolls visiting backyard bird feeders in mid-winter in Chelsea, Quebec, Canada There are two types of redpolls in North America. The Common Redpoll and the Hoary Redpoll. The Common Redpoll's summer home is in the sparse treelines and tundra of the northern regions of North America. The Hoary Redpoll nests even farther into the North. Usually, both species are seen in the wintertime. The winter conditions and food source determines the numbers that are seen, and the range they will migrate. More

The Hoary Redpoll is a bird of the high arctic, where it typically remains throughout the year. During irruption-year winters, some may join flocks of Common Redpolls and move southward into the U.S., usually reaching only the northernmost tier of states. Hoary Redpoll is extremely difficult to distinguish from Common Redpoll, since within both species there is considerable variation in color and bill size-important features for correct identification. More

Bent Life History for the Hoary Redpoll - the common name and sub-species reflect the nomenclature in use at the time the description was written. HOARY REDPOLL ACANTHIS HORNEMANNI EXILIPES (Coues) HABITS Contributed by PAUL HERBERT BALDWIN The hoary redpoll is a circumpolar inhabitant of arctic regions. Its range extends wholly across northern Eurasia and the North American continent from Ungava to northwestern Alaska. More

Home Guide to Birds of North America Hoary Redpoll Description Description - BREEDING MALE - The Hoary Redpoll is a small finch with an extensively “frosty” appearance, with brownish-streaked upperparts, pale underparts, boldly streaked flanks, large white wing-bars, a red cap, and a stubby, conical, yellow bill. Redpolls often have a very fluffy appearance. Males have a pale pink wash across the breast. More

this morning to see if we could pull a hoary redpoll out of the 50-70 common redpolls that have been hanging out there, near the Enabling Garden/Spider Island. We had a couple that were pale and very interesting "hoary-types"...but then a group alighted in the trees directly in front of us and there was an unmistakable HOARY REDPOLL. More

"Hornemann's" Hoary Redpoll and "Greater" Common Redpoll 2 photo pages and redpoll article Link to redpoll article page 3 Two subspecies (races) of Common Redpoll (left) and two subspecies of Hoary Redpoll showing relative proportions and coloration. Drawing by Michel Gosselin of the Canadian Museum of Nature. Published in Ontario Birds 10(3): 108-114, 1992. Above photo from American Birds 42 (2): 239, 1988. More

Hoary Redpoll compared with Common Redpoll Comparison photos taken January 25, 2004. Click on thumbnails for larger pictures. Feeder View Hoary Redpoll Common Redpoll Hoary Redpoll In the photo above, 493 finches were counted. There were many more not in the picture, and this was not our peak moment. More

Photo of hoary redpoll, photo and description of egg, clutch size, and egg size. Range Map: (Click map to enlarge. More

These pictures are of Hoary Redpolls taken in the winter/spring of 2009. More

Hoary Redpoll and Common Redpoll Hoary Redpoll and Common Redpoll Hoary-1.jpg Hoary-1.jpg Hoary-2.jpg Hoary-2.jpg Hoary-3.jpg Hoary-3.jpg Light-Hoary-1.jpg Light-Hoary-1. More

The Hoary Redpoll breeds in western and northern Alaska, northern Yukon, northern and east-central Mackenzie, southern Victoria Island, Keewatin, northeastern Manitoba, Southhampton Island, and northern Quebec. Also on Ellesmere, Bylot, and northern Baffin Islands, and in northern Greenland. Winters in the breeding range (except extreme northern areas) and south, irregularly, to southern Canada, and Montana to northern Illinois, New York and New England. The Hoary Redpoll prefers shrubby areas, including sparse, low vegetation in open tundra for breeding. More

A hoary redpoll’s usual home address is the Arctic Circle, living there or in the suburbs of Greenland and the Canadian Arctic islands. He rarely ventures south of the Arctic tree line. But there’s one or two hanging out on Osborne Avenue. So there. More