Appearance
The redpoll is a small brownish-grey finch with dark streaks and a bright red patch on its forehead. It has a black bib and two pale stripes on the wings. Males' breasts are often suffused with red. Adults measure between 11.5 and 14 centimetres in length and weighing between 12 and 16 grams . Wingspan ranges from 7.5 to 8.7 in . The rump is streaked and there is a broad dark brown streak across the vent. It has brown legs, a dark-tipped yellowish bill and dark brown irises.
Distribution
The range of the redpoll extends through northern Europe and Asia to northern North America, Greenland and Iceland. It is a partial migrant, moving southward in late autumn and northward again in March and April. Its typical habitat is boreal forests of pines, spruces and larches. It feeds mainly on seeds, principally birch and alder seeds in the winter.Redpolls, subspecies ''A. f. cabaret'', were introduced into New Zealand between 1862 and 1875. They are now found throughout both the North and South Islands as well as on many outlying islands.
Habitat
The range of the redpoll extends through northern Europe and Asia to northern North America, Greenland and Iceland. It is a partial migrant, moving southward in late autumn and northward again in March and April. Its typical habitat is boreal forests of pines, spruces and larches. It feeds mainly on seeds, principally birch and alder seeds in the winter.Redpolls, subspecies ''A. f. cabaret'', were introduced into New Zealand between 1862 and 1875. They are now found throughout both the North and South Islands as well as on many outlying islands.
Reproduction
The redpoll first breed when they are one year old. The female builds the nest, accompanied by the male, often low down in a tree or bush. It has an outer layer of thin twigs, a middle layer of root fibres, fragments of juniper bark and lichens and an inner layer of down, wool and hair. Three to seven speckled eggs are laid. The eggs are 16.9 mm × 12.6 mm with a calculated weight of 1.4 g . They are incubated by the female and hatch after about 11 days. The young are cared for by both parents but are brooded only by the female. The chicks fledge when aged around 13 days. Generally two broods are raised each year.
Food
The diet is mostly very small seeds, especial those from birch trees . In the breeding season some invertebrates are also eaten. It forages mainly in trees but will occasinally forage on the ground.References:
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