greenland redpoll
John Miller and Andy Stoddart
From early January to early April 2009 a flock of redpolls frequented Kelling village, attracted by feeders in a garden. This flock comprised at any one time around 20 Lesser and 6 Common Redpolls but substantially more individual birds were involved over the period.
On 14th March, whilst watching the redpolls on the feeders, JM noticed that they had been joined by a large, rather heavily streaked individual. This bird was noticeably larger and darker than the other Common Redpolls and it dwarfed the Lessers. It was on view for a few minutes until a person walked past the garden and everything flushed. It was not seen again that day. The following morning, however, a local ringer had nets out in the garden and one of the first birds to be trapped was this large, dark redpoll.
It was found to have measurements well outside the range of the nominate form. It had a wing length of 82mm, a tail length of 62mm, a bill length of 10.7mm and it weighed 16 grams. These measurements in combination placed the bird comfortably within the range of the forms rostrata/islandica, known collectively as ‘Northwest Redpoll’, and the wing and bill measurements confirmed the bird as rostrata. The bird was ringed, photographed in the hand and was subsequently watched and photographed at the feeders until at least 29th March. It was also seen independently in Weybourne on 17th and 19th March.
In the field the bird appeared extremely large and thick-set, significantly larger than the accompanying nominate Common Redpolls and also different in shape, having a broad, heavy head, a very long, tubular body, very long wings, a long tail and a large, deep bill. In the hand there was a noticeable convex profile to the upper mandible though this was less obvious in the field.
In plumage it was very cold in colour, a dark, steely and rather ‘swarthy’ brown-grey. The most striking feature was the prominence of the underpart streaks. These were dark ash-grey and very heavy, usually forming three broad lines down the whole length of the flanks where they merged with solidly dark-centred undertail coverts. The black ‘bib’and the black lores were very extensive. The mantle and scapulars were also very heavily streaked and there was hardly a trace of pale mantle ‘tramlines’. The rump was very heavily streaked on a pale greyish-white background. The whitish wing-bars were very narrow and tinged buff on the outermost feathers. At close range there was a subtle buff wash to the face and upper breast.
In assessing the appearance of redpolls it is important to take into account the time of year. By spring, all redpolls are worn, with any pale feather fringes significantly reduced. As a consequence, they appear darker and more streaked than in fresh first-winter or adult winter plumage. This bird therefore appeared greyer (less brown), had less buff in the face and upper breast and had narrower wing-bars than would be typical on a fresh autumn individual.
‘Northwest Redpolls’ comprise two forms. The form rostrata (‘Greenland Redpoll’) breeds in southern Greenland and on Baffin Island and is strongly migratory, prone to periodic irruptions southwest into eastern Canada and the northeastern United States and southeast to Iceland, Scotland and Ireland. All birds are large and dark with streaked rumps. The form islandica (‘Iceland Redpoll’) occurs in Iceland and is claimed to be less migratory or prone to irruption. It is also a large redpoll but occurs in a variety of plumages ranging from dark with a streaked rump (like ‘Greenland Redpoll’) to very pale with a white rump (like Arctic Redpoll). These birds are considered by some authors to be a ‘hybrid swarm’ between rostrata Common Redpoll and hornemanni Arctic Redpoll but the taxonomy of redpolls in Iceland is poorly understood and other interpretations incorporate dark islandica into rostrata, regarding pale Icelandic birds as a form of Arctic Redpoll (either hornemanni, exilipes or an ancestral native form).
In Britain, ‘Northwest Redpolls’ occur predominantly in the Northern and the Western Isles where they are an increasingly familiar feature of mid-autumn. Given that most birds recorded here are large, dark and streaked and that the Greenland/Baffin population is strongly migratory, it seems likely that the majority of ‘Northwest Redpolls’ recorded in Britain are ‘Greenland Redpolls’.
Away from northern and western Britain, ‘Northwest Redpolls’ are much rarer and are so far almost unknown in southern and eastern England. This represents the first confirmed record of ‘Greenland Redpoll’ for Norfolk though at least one other bird in the flock showed characters suggestive of ‘Iceland Redpoll’ (see Systematic List).
References
Reid, J.M. and Riddington, R. (1998). Identification of Greenland and Iceland Redpolls. Dutch Birding 20: 261-271.
Riddington, R. and Votier, S. (1997). Redpolls from Greenland and Iceland. Birding World 10(4): 14
From early January to early April 2009 a flock of redpolls frequented Kelling village, attracted by feeders in a garden. This flock comprised at any one time around 20 Lesser and 6 Common Redpolls but substantially more individual birds were involved over the period.
On 14th March, whilst watching the redpolls on the feeders, JM noticed that they had been joined by a large, rather heavily streaked individual. This bird was noticeably larger and darker than the other Common Redpolls and it dwarfed the Lessers. It was on view for a few minutes until a person walked past the garden and everything flushed. It was not seen again that day. The following morning, however, a local ringer had nets out in the garden and one of the first birds to be trapped was this large, dark redpoll.
It was found to have measurements well outside the range of the nominate form. It had a wing length of 82mm, a tail length of 62mm, a bill length of 10.7mm and it weighed 16 grams. These measurements in combination placed the bird comfortably within the range of the forms rostrata/islandica, known collectively as ‘Northwest Redpoll’, and the wing and bill measurements confirmed the bird as rostrata. The bird was ringed, photographed in the hand and was subsequently watched and photographed at the feeders until at least 29th March. It was also seen independently in Weybourne on 17th and 19th March.
In the field the bird appeared extremely large and thick-set, significantly larger than the accompanying nominate Common Redpolls and also different in shape, having a broad, heavy head, a very long, tubular body, very long wings, a long tail and a large, deep bill. In the hand there was a noticeable convex profile to the upper mandible though this was less obvious in the field.
In plumage it was very cold in colour, a dark, steely and rather ‘swarthy’ brown-grey. The most striking feature was the prominence of the underpart streaks. These were dark ash-grey and very heavy, usually forming three broad lines down the whole length of the flanks where they merged with solidly dark-centred undertail coverts. The black ‘bib’and the black lores were very extensive. The mantle and scapulars were also very heavily streaked and there was hardly a trace of pale mantle ‘tramlines’. The rump was very heavily streaked on a pale greyish-white background. The whitish wing-bars were very narrow and tinged buff on the outermost feathers. At close range there was a subtle buff wash to the face and upper breast.
In assessing the appearance of redpolls it is important to take into account the time of year. By spring, all redpolls are worn, with any pale feather fringes significantly reduced. As a consequence, they appear darker and more streaked than in fresh first-winter or adult winter plumage. This bird therefore appeared greyer (less brown), had less buff in the face and upper breast and had narrower wing-bars than would be typical on a fresh autumn individual.
‘Northwest Redpolls’ comprise two forms. The form rostrata (‘Greenland Redpoll’) breeds in southern Greenland and on Baffin Island and is strongly migratory, prone to periodic irruptions southwest into eastern Canada and the northeastern United States and southeast to Iceland, Scotland and Ireland. All birds are large and dark with streaked rumps. The form islandica (‘Iceland Redpoll’) occurs in Iceland and is claimed to be less migratory or prone to irruption. It is also a large redpoll but occurs in a variety of plumages ranging from dark with a streaked rump (like ‘Greenland Redpoll’) to very pale with a white rump (like Arctic Redpoll). These birds are considered by some authors to be a ‘hybrid swarm’ between rostrata Common Redpoll and hornemanni Arctic Redpoll but the taxonomy of redpolls in Iceland is poorly understood and other interpretations incorporate dark islandica into rostrata, regarding pale Icelandic birds as a form of Arctic Redpoll (either hornemanni, exilipes or an ancestral native form).
In Britain, ‘Northwest Redpolls’ occur predominantly in the Northern and the Western Isles where they are an increasingly familiar feature of mid-autumn. Given that most birds recorded here are large, dark and streaked and that the Greenland/Baffin population is strongly migratory, it seems likely that the majority of ‘Northwest Redpolls’ recorded in Britain are ‘Greenland Redpolls’.
Away from northern and western Britain, ‘Northwest Redpolls’ are much rarer and are so far almost unknown in southern and eastern England. This represents the first confirmed record of ‘Greenland Redpoll’ for Norfolk though at least one other bird in the flock showed characters suggestive of ‘Iceland Redpoll’ (see Systematic List).
References
Reid, J.M. and Riddington, R. (1998). Identification of Greenland and Iceland Redpolls. Dutch Birding 20: 261-271.
Riddington, R. and Votier, S. (1997). Redpolls from Greenland and Iceland. Birding World 10(4): 14