Lesser redpoll

Scientific name: Carduelis cabaret
Bird family: Finches
UK conservation status: Red
Protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Key information

This tiny finch - only slightly bigger than a blue tit - is streaky and brown with patches of red on its head and sometimes its breast. They like to hang upside down to feed in trees. It has recently been 'split' from the mealy (or common) redpoll, a larger and paler species which is a winter visitor to the UK.

What they eat:

Seeds, particularly of birch and alder, plus plants like willowherb and sorrel, but they also visit bird feeders.

Measurements:

Length:: 11.5cm

Wingspan:: 20-22.5cm

Weight:: 9-12g

Population:

UK breeding is the number of pairs breeding annually. UK wintering is the number of individuals present from October to March. UK passage is the number of individuals passing through on migration in spring and/or autumn.

UK breeding:: 220,000 pairs

Identifying features:

Lesser redpoll

Feather colour: Black Brown Cream/buff Grey Pink/purple Red White

Leg colour: Brown

Beak: Black Brown Yellow Short Chunky

Natural habitats: Woodland Farmland Heathland Urban and suburban Wetland

Similar birds:

Common redpoll

Twite

Linnet

Where and when to see them

Lesser redpolls breed in woodland, but also visit gardens. They can be seen dangling from tiny twigs in birch and alder trees, or perhaps on shrub stems. This is a widespread breeding species in Scotland, northern and eastern England and Wales. It is less common in central, southern and south-west England, but does occur in these places in winter.

* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.

Resident
Passage
Summer
Winter

In many areas, winter is the easiest time to see lesser redpolls, after the trees have lost their leaves. Their breeding population has declined and they're much less common than they once were.

RSPB reserves

RSPB Mawddach Valley - Arthog Bog

Minsmere

Coombes Valley

Arne

Lesser redpoll