Hoary Redpoll

The Hoary Redpoll is the paler, "frostier" counterpart to the Common Redpoll, breeding at even higher latitudes across the high arctic. It shares the same basic pattern — a red cap, black chin, and streaky body — but overall looks whiter and less heavily marked, with a stubbier, smaller bill, an unstreaked or only lightly streaked white rump, and reduced flank streaking. Males show a faint pink wash on the breast; females are essentially unmarked pale gray-white below aside from fine streaking on the sides.

Because plumage variation within Common Redpoll overlaps considerably with Hoary Redpoll, and genetic studies have found the two to be extremely closely related, identification in the field can be genuinely difficult, and some ornithologists consider them different forms of a single variable species.

Key Field Marks

• Overall paler, frostier plumage than Common Redpoll
• Smaller, more conical, "pushed-in" looking bill
• Largely unstreaked white rump (versus streaked in Common Redpoll)
• Reduced streaking on flanks and undertail coverts
• Red cap and small black chin, as in Common Redpoll

Similar Species

• Common Redpoll: darker, more heavily streaked overall, especially on the rump and flanks, with a slightly longer, more pointed bill; separating the two safely often requires close comparison of multiple features.
• Pine Siskin: lacks the red cap and shows yellow edging in wings and tail.

Habitat

Hoary Redpolls breed in high arctic tundra, often in sparser, more open scrub and rocky terrain than Common Redpolls, near the northern edge of woody vegetation.

Range

The species has a circumpolar high-arctic distribution, breeding in the northernmost parts of Canada, Alaska, Greenland, and Eurasia.

Migration

Hoary Redpolls make irregular, irruptive movements southward in winter, generally in smaller numbers than Common Redpolls and often mixed within larger Common Redpoll flocks, reaching southern Canada and the northern United States in invasion years.

Behavior

Hoary Redpolls behave much like Common Redpolls, foraging actively and often gregariously, frequently joining mixed flocks with their more numerous relative during winter irruptions.

Voice

Calls and song are very similar to the Common Redpoll's dry rattles and buzzy trills, making voice an unreliable way to separate the two species.

Feeding

Diet centers on small seeds of birch, willow, and tundra forbs, with insects taken during the brief summer breeding season.

Nesting

Nests are built low in scrub or on sheltered ground, lined with feathers and plant down for insulation against arctic cold. Clutches typically number 4-7 eggs.