Hoary Redpolls are small and hardy birds. Adults are generally white and have a red patch on their foreheads. Adult males have a pinkish chest while adult females don’t.
Females do have more streaks on their bellies compared to males. Juveniles look entirely different, having no red patch on their forehead and are mostly gray with a lot of streaking on their body.
- Acanthis hornemanni
- Length: 4.7-5.5 in (12-14 cm)
- Weight: 0.4-0.7 oz (11-20 g)
- Wingspan: 8.5-9.25 in (22-23 cm)
Range
Hoary Redpolls breed in the arctic and move short distances south in winter.
Habitat And Diet
You can find Hoary Redpolls in sheltered tundra birch forests and open subarctic evergreen forests in the summer. Winters bring them closer to towns and villages, in open woodland, scrub, and weedy fields. They feed on seeds of alder and birch trees and on insects.
Hoary Redpoll Song:
Nests
Nests of Hoary Redpoll are hidden in the hollows of trees, crevices of rocky areas, and within dense shrubs. The nest is made from twigs, grass, and rootlets and cushioned with soft grass feathers and animal hair.
They lay around five eggs which take around ten days to hatch. The young leave the nest in about two weeks.
Fun Fact:
If the temperature in their environment becomes too warm, Hoary Redpoll may pluck out some of its body feathers. Don’t worry, they grow back.
