This Tiny Bird Has Quite A Blood-Thirsty Look

It looks like it just drove its tiny little head in to the chest of its prey.

Kylin

• Published in Animal Stories
• November 10, 2021

The Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea), also referred to as the mealy redpoll, is a pudgy little bird with a bright crimson head and a splash of reddish pink on its throat and chest.

All redpolls are Northern breeding woodland varieties, and are associated with birch trees. The range of the common redpoll extends through northern North America, reaching as far as Greenland and Iceland, and to northern Europe and Asia.

These birds prefer the subarctic conifer forests and brush, typically avoiding dense forests. They spend the winter in mainly open areas, like woodlands, weedy fields, and suburban and urban areas.

While they are part of the finch family, it looks as though they channeled their past relations to carnivorous dinosaurs and feast on the hearts of their prey. However, the common redpoll is a forager.

Unless nesting, the common redpoll mainly forages in flocks, actively searching in trees, bushes and on the ground for seeds. Interestingly, they have a pouch within their throat where they are able to store the foraged seeds for several hours. 

This ingenious adaptation allows the bird to quickly feed out in the open in freezing cold weather. They are then able to get back to a cozy, sheltered spot and digest the food stored over a long period of time as they rest.

You can find more interesting facts about the Common Redpoll throughout this article, and who knows, maybe you can surprise your friends one day at trivia when the topic of Common Redpolls, or Mealy Redpolls come up.

Introducing the Common Redpoll

While all of the Common Redpolls are adorable and plump, with grey-brown top feathers, the males are the ones that display a bright crimson head. This intense coloration travels down to their chests, sometimes appearing as a faint pink blush.

The male Common Redpoll's striking coloration is only amplified by their winter environments. They easily stand out against the snowfall.

Female Common Redpolls are elegant, even without the red.

The female Common Redpolls lack the red head and red chest of the male, they instead have a sandy-colored chest with a cream belly striped with brown.

Juveniles can be difficult to assign to their particular species.

Resembling their mothers, juvenile Common Redpolls also lack the vibrant red until they're matured. Because of this, it can be tricky to know just by looking if they're Common Redpolls, or another Redpoll or Finch species.

Teeny-tiny and adorably round.

An adult Common Redpoll measures between 4.5 to 5.5 inches in length, and weighs between .42 and .56oz.

Imagine holding an empty soda can, that's about as much as these little birds weigh!

Measuring up!

The wingspan of the Common Redpoll ranges from 7.5 to 8.7 inches, about as long as banana!

The Not-So-Great Migration

The Common Redpoll is a partial migrant, meaning some parts of the species migrate to another part of its range, while reside in another. They will move southward in late Autumn and return northward again in early Spring.

Their typical habitat is icy forests of spruces and pines, providing an incredible contrast to their bright red heads. In the winter they will make homes out of weeds and brush.

Diminishing Habitat

As the Earth grows warmer, the habitat of many species of bird and animals shrink. The habitat of the Common Redpoll is no exception.

Conservation status still at Least Concern

Despite the fact that the habitat and population trends appear to be diminishing, the range for the Common Redpoll is still extremely large. So this decline is not yet believed to be alarming to change their status from Least Concern.

Thankfully, the Common Redpoll is still widespread and abundant.

Birds of a feather...

Common Redpolls definitely flock together!

In abundant flocks, the Common repoll will forage for seeds and vegetable matter.

Common Redpolls can often be seen hanging from small branches, sometimes even hanging upside down while enjoying some seeds.

They will also primarily eat insects during the summer, and are also quite fond of bird feeders.

Creative Nesting

From April to August, the female Common Redpoll works diligently to build her a nest on branches of a spruce, sometimes in grass clumps or under brush piles, or in the crevice of a tree.

Their cup-shaped the nest is made up with twigs, roots and grass, and lined with a thick layer of feathers and fur to help Mom and eggs stay nice and warm.

Common Redpoll will lay between four to six eggs. Their eggs range in color from pale green to blue-green, with speckled with purplish to reddish brown spots found mainly at the larger end of the egg.

The female will incubate their eggs up to 11 days, relying on the male to feed them during this time.

Once hatched, females remain the main provider for feeding their chicks, with the male occasionally helping out.

After about 12 days, their baby chicks are fully fledged, and able to take off on their own.

Check out this bird right now in the video below!

Share this adorable little bird!

It was a delight being able to learn and share information about this plump little bird.

If you're one of the lucky ones to live within their broad range, or even if you get to vacation somewhere in the far north of North America, or Eurasia, hopefully you can get a chance to enjoy seeing them flock as they forage for goodies.

Maybe even put out a bird feeder or two, they'll definitely appreciate it. Be sure share this with your fellow bird lovers!

Kylin