Editing Redpoll

{{about|the bird|the breed of cattle|Red Poll}}
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Carduelis flammea CT6.jpg
| image_caption = Male, [[Quebec]] Canada
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |year=2019 |title=''Acanthis flammea'' |amends=2018 |page=e.T22725044A155292529 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22725044A155292529.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Acanthis
| parent_authority= [[Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen|Borkhausen]], 1797
| species = flammea
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| range_map = Acanthis distribution map.svg
| range_map_caption = Range{{leftlegend|#FF7F2A|Breeding}}{{leftlegend|#7137C8|Year-round}}{{leftlegend|#5F8DD3|Nonbreeding}}
}}

The  '''redpoll''' ('''''Acanthis flammea''''') is a species of small [[passerine]] bird in the finch family [[Fringillidae]]. It is the only species placed in the genus '''''Acanthis'''''. It breeds in the Arctic and north temperate [[Holarctic]] tundra and [[taiga]]. The redpoll was formerly widely treated as three species: the '''common''' or '''mealy redpoll''', the '''arctic''' or '''hoary redpoll''' (''A. hornemanni''), and the '''lesser redpoll''' (''A. cabaret''). <ref>{{cite web |last1=Funk |first1=Erik |last2=Mason |first2=Nicholas |last3=Pálsson |first3=Snæbjörn |last4=Albrecht |first4=Tomáš |last5=Johnson |first5=Jeff |last6=Taylor |first6=Scott |title=A supergene underlies linked variation in color and morphology in a Holarctic songbird |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27173-z |website=Nature |access-date=16 April 2025}}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
The redpoll was listed in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|10th edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[Binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Fringilla flammea''.<ref name=linnaeus>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=182 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727089 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | editor-last=Paynter | editor-first=Raymond A. Jnr. | year=1968 | title=Check-list of Birds of the World | volume=14 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=251 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14481452 }}</ref> The specific epithet ''flammea'' is [[Latin]] meaning "flame-coloured".<ref>{{ cite web | last=Jobling | first=James A. | title=flammea | work=The Key to Scientific Names | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=flammea | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | access-date=27 September 2024 }}</ref> Linnaeus also described the redpoll as ''Fringilla linaria'' on the same page, but the earlier name ''flammea'' has priority.<ref name=linnaeus/><ref>{{ cite journal | last=Lönnberg | first=Einar | date=1931 | title=Olof Rudbeck, Jr., the first Swedish ornithologist | journal=Ibis | volume=73 | issue=2 | pages=302-307 | doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.1931.tb01519.x }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last=Knox | first=Alan | date=1988 | title=The taxonomy of redpolls | journal=Ardea | volume=76 | pages=1-26 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280315107 }}</ref>

The redpoll was previously placed in the genus ''[[Carduelis]]''. Molecular phylogenetic studies showed that it formed a distinct [[Lineage (evolution)|lineage]], so it was moved to the resurrected genus ''Acanthis'' that had been introduced in 1797 by the German naturalist [[Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Zuccon | first1=Dario  | last2=Prŷs-Jones | first2=Robert | last3=Rasmussen | first3=Pamela C. | last4=Ericson | first4=Per G.P. | year=2012 | title=The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae) | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=62 | issue=2 | pages=581–596 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.002 | url=http://www.nrm.se/download/18.9ff3752132fdaeccb6800010935/Zuccon%20et%20al%202012.pdf | pmid=22023825| bibcode=2012MolPE..62..581Z }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | last=Borkhausen | first=Moritz Balthasar | author-link=Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen | date=1797 | title=Deutsche Fauna, oder, Kurzgefasste Naturgeschichte der Thiere Deutschlands. Erster Theil, Saugthiere und Vögel | language=German | location=Frankfurt am Mayn | publisher=Varrentrapp und Wenner | page=248 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/38962756 }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=August 2024 | title=Finches, euphonias | work=IOC World Bird List Version 14.2 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/finches/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=27 November 2024}}</ref> The genus name ''Acanthis'' is from [[Ancient Greek]] ''akanthis'', a name for a small now-unidentifiable bird.<ref>{{ cite web | last=Jobling | first=James A. | title=Acanthis | work=The Key to Scientific Names | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=Acanthis | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | access-date=27 September 2024 }}</ref>

Five subspecies are recognised:<ref name=ioc/>
* ''A. f. flammea'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758) – north Europe, Siberia, Alaska and Canada
* ''A. f. rostrata'' ([[Elliott Coues|Coues]], 1861) – northeast Canada, Greenland and Iceland
* ''A. f. cabaret'' ([[Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller|Müller, PLS]], 1776) – temperate west, central west Palearctic lowland (montane in south) birch and larch woods: British Isles, southwest Scandinavia east to north Germany and south Poland; south to southeast France, Austria and Czech Republic
* ''A. f. exilipes'' (Coues, 1862) – low (locally high) Arctic tundra birch and willow of north Eurasia, north Alaska and northwest Canada
* ''A. f. hornemanni'' ([[Carl Peter Holbøll|Holbøll]], 1843) – low (locally high) Arctic tundra birch and willow of far northeast Canada and Greenland

The redpoll was formerly regarded as three separate species: the common redpoll with subspecies ''flammea'' and ''rostrata'', the lesser redpoll with subspecies ''cabaret'' and the arctic redpoll with subspecies ''hornemanni'' and ''exilipes''. The three species are now considered as [[conspecific]] based on the small genetic differences and the continuous phenotypic variation.<ref name=ioc/><ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Mason | first1=N.A. | last2=Taylor | first2=S.A. | date=2015 | title=Differentially expressed genes match bill morphology and plumage despite largely undifferentiated genomes in a Holarctic songbird | journal=Molecular Ecology | volume=24 | issue=12 | pages=3009-3025 | doi=10.1111/mec.13140 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Funk | first1=E.R. | last2=Mason | first2=N.A. | last3=Pálsson | first3=S. | last4=Albrecht | first4=T. | last5=Johnson | first5=J.A. | last6=Taylor | first6=S.A. | date=2021 | title=A supergene underlies linked variation in color and morphology in a Holarctic songbird | journal=Nature Communications | volume=12 | issue=1 | pages=6833 | doi=10.1038/s41467-021-27173-z | doi-access=free | pmc=8616904 }}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Carduelis flammea flammea MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.221 Luleå.jpg|thumb|Eggs]]
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 {{convert|11.5|and|14|cm}} in length and weighing between {{convert|12|and|16|g}}. Wingspan ranges from 7.5 to 8.7 in (19–22 cm).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Common Redpoll Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Redpoll/id|access-date=2025-02-22|website=www.allaboutbirds.org|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref name=NatureGate>{{cite web |url=http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/linnut/redpoll |title=Redpoll: ''Carduelis flammea'' |publisher=NatureGate |access-date=2013-12-13}}</ref>

[[File:Acanthis flammea - Common Redpoll XC115595.ogg|thumb|Calls from a flock of birds feeding, [[Iowa]] USA]]

[[File:Foeragerende grote barmsijs-4961988.webm|thumb|Foraging redpoll filmed in Holland]]

==Distribution and habitat==
The range of the redpoll extends through northern Europe and Asia to northern North America, Greenland and Iceland. It is a [[Bird migration|partial migrant]], moving southward in late autumn and northward again in March and April. Its typical habitat is [[Taiga|boreal forest]]s of [[pine]]s, [[spruce]]s and [[larch]]es. It feeds mainly on seeds, principally [[birch]] and [[alder]] seeds in the winter.<ref name=NatureGate/> 

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.<ref name="NZ">{{cite web |title=Common Redpoll |url=https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/common-redpoll |website=New Zealand Birds Online |access-date=27 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | editor1-last=Higgins | editor1-first=P.J. | editor2-last=Peter | editor2-first=J.M. | editor3-last=Cowling | editor3-first=S.J. | year=2006 | chapter=''Carduelis flammea'' Common Redpoll | title=Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds | volume=7, Boatbill to Starlings; Part 7B, Dunnock to Starling | location=Melbourne, Victoria | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=978-0-19-553996-7 | pages=1345-1355 | chapter-url=https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/assets/95597/1691919106-353_common-20redpoll.pdf }}</ref>

==Behaviour==
===Breeding===
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 {{cvt|16.9|x|12.6|mm}} with a calculated weight of {{cvt|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.{{sfn|Cramp|1994|pp=656-657}}

===Food and feeding===
The diet is mostly very small seeds, especial those from birch trees (''[[Betula]]''). In the breeding season some invertebrates are also eaten. It forages mainly in trees but will occasinally forage on the ground.{{sfn|Cramp|1994|p=645}}

==Gallery==
<gallery mode = packed heights = 100px>
Arctic Redpoll (Acanthis hornemanni) (13667519855).jpg|''A. f. hornemanni'' 
Common redpoll in snow.jpg|[[Kenai National Wildlife Refuge]], Alaska
Acanthis_flammea_UL_08.jpg|''A. f. flammea'', Quebec, Canada
Acanthis cabaret 5 East Chevington.jpg|''A. f. cabaret'', Northumberland, England
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
*{{ cite book | editor1-last=Cramp | editor1-first=Stanley | display-editors=etal | editor1-link=Stanley Cramp | year=1994 | chapter=''Carduelis flammea'' Redpoll | title=Handbook of the Birds of Europe the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Palearctic | volume=VIII: Crows to Finches | location=Oxford | publisher=Oxford University Press | pages=639-661 | isbn=978-0-19-854679-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0003unse_j5z8/page/639/mode/1up | url-access=registration }}
{{refend}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q20754771}}

[[Category:Holarctic birds]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758|redpoll]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|redpoll]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]