Redpoll - Carduelis flammea - Family: Fringillidae

• Add to Pick List
• Back to search results

Redpoll - Carduelis flammea
© Bob Gibbons

The redpoll has dark streaky plumage and two faint buffish wingbars. The red patch on the forehead - 'poll' means top of the head - is most striking on the males and stands out from the otherwise rather drab plumage. They are most likely to be found in gardens during the winter when small flocks wander away from their woodland breeding areas in search of a reliable food source. They are especially fond of birch seed.

Unless the distinctive trilling call is learnt, redpoll flocks are easy to overlook as they move through the treetops.

Numbers of redpolls have fluctuated dramatically over the last 50 years, with a huge rise in the 1960s followed by an equally dramatic decline.

Food

The diet is dominated by tree seeds during the autumn and winter with birch and alder being particular favourites. More insects are taken during the breeding season when young are being reared.

Plants

Broom, Common alder, Downy birch, Silver birch

Prey

Aphids, Beetles, Bugs, Flies, Mosquitoes and midges, Spiders and harvestmen

Predators

Sparrowhawk