Common Redpoll
Acanthis flammea
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyFringillidae (Finches, Euphonias, and Allies)
- GenusAcanthis (Redpolls)
- SpeciesAcanthis flammea (Common Redpoll)
About the Common Redpoll
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).
The redpoll was listed in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Fringilla flammea. The specific epithet flammea is Latin meaning "flame-coloured". Linnaeus also described the redpoll as Fringilla linaria on the same page, but the earlier name flammea has priority.
The redpoll was previously placed in the genus Carduelis. Molecular phylogenetic studies showed that it formed a distinct lineage, so it was moved to the resurrected genus Acanthis that had been introduced in 1797 by the German naturalist Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen. The genus name Acanthis is from Ancient Greek akanthis, a name for a small now-unidentifiable bird.
Five subspecies are recognised: A. f. flammea (Linnaeus, 1758) – north Europe, Siberia... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Common Redpoll in Nahanni National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Nahanni National Park
White-winged Crossbill
Loxia leucoptera
Pine Siskin
Spinus pinus
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
Leucosticte tephrocotis
Pine Grosbeak
Pinicola enucleator
Purple Finch
Haemorhous purpureus
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Setophaga coronata
White-crowned Sparrow
Zonotrichia leucophrys
Dark-eyed Junco
Junco hyemalis
Wilson's Warbler
Cardellina pusilla
Swainson's Thrush
Catharus ustulatus
Lincoln's Sparrow
Melospiza lincolnii
Common Yellowthroat
Geothlypis trichas
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.