Passeriformes / Fringillidae / Acanthis
Redpoll
Acanthis flammea · 白腰朱顶雀
Introduction
A small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae, it is the only species in the genus Acanthis. It breeds in Arctic and north temperate Holarctic tundra and taiga. Formerly treated as three separate species, it is now considered conspecific due to small genetic differences and continuous phenotypic variation.
Description
Small brownish-grey finch with dark streaks, a bright red forehead patch, black bib, and two pale wing stripes. Males often have red-suffused breasts. Adults measure 11.5–14 cm (4.5–5.5 in) in length, weigh 12–16 g (0.42–0.56 oz), and have a wingspan of 19–22 cm (7.5–8.7 in). Features include a streaked rump, broad dark brown vent streak, brown legs, dark-tipped yellowish bill, and dark brown irises.
Distribution & Habitat
Range extends through northern Europe and Asia to northern North America, Greenland, and Iceland. Typical habitat includes boreal forests of pines, spruces, and larches. It is a partial migrant, moving south in late autumn and north in March and April. Subspecies A. f. cabaret was introduced to New Zealand between 1862 and 1875 and is now found throughout both main islands and many outlying islands.
Behavior & Ecology
Breeds at one year old. The female builds the nest low in trees or bushes with male assistance, using twigs, root fibres, juniper bark, lichens, down, wool, and hair. Clutches contain 3–7 speckled eggs (16.9 mm × 12.6 mm, 1.4 g), incubated by the female for about 11 days. Both parents care for young, but only the female broods them. Chicks fledge at around 13 days; generally two broods are raised annually. Diet consists mainly of small seeds, particularly birch and alder, with some invertebrates eaten during breeding. Foraging occurs mainly in trees, occasionally on the ground.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Acanthis
Taxonomy Changes
Acanthis hornemanni → Acanthis flammea
Subspecies lump — GBIF Backbone Taxonomy uses the former name; AviList 2025 uses the current name.
Subspecies (5)
-
Acanthis flammea cabaret
formerly restricted to British Isles and the Alps, but has expanded recently eastward through southern Scandinavia eastward to eastern Europe; introduced to New Zealand, and self-colonized New Zealand subantarctic islands and Macquarie Island (southeast of Australia)
Data Sources
CBR Notes: 极北朱顶雀和白腰朱顶雀合并，保留中文名白腰朱顶雀，英文名由Common Redpoll修改为Redpoll。从名录中移除极北朱顶雀（Chesser et al. 2024，Mason & Taylor 2015，Funk et al. 2021）
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.
