Hoary Redpoll

Overview

Hoary Redpoll: Small finch (exilipes), buff-gray, brown-streaked upperparts and brown-streaked white underparts washed pink. Head has red cap, black chin patch. Black wings with two white bars. Rump is pale gray or white with few or no streaks. Black tail is notched. Black legs and feet.

Range and Habitat

Hoary Redpoll: Breeds along Arctic coasts, wandering southward in winter to much of Canada and northern U.S. Inhabits weedy pastures and roadsides in winter; stays on tundra in summer.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Hoary Redpoll has very fluffy body feathers that help it stay warm in extremely cold temperatures. It has feathers on areas of its body that are bare in most other birds.
If temperatures get too warm, it may pluck out some of its body feathers. These feathers will grow back in a few days. The species name commemorates the Danish botanist Jens Wilken Hornemann.
A group of redpolls are collectively known as a "gallup" of redpolls.