Mealy Redpoll?

I think it\'s a Mealy Redpoll.

Taken on 12 Jan 14 on the cliffs at Strathy Point on the Pentland Firth coast while photographing the lighthouse there.

Big crop plus it was extremely cold and windy so holding camera steady was an issue, hence not very sharp image.

I would say it's an Arctic redpoll

You could be right, vc. It seems very pale.

Nah, can't be. It's not listed as a British species on the RSPB website and is not in the RSPB Handbook of Scottish Birds!

Actually Mealy Redpoll is not included in the RSPB Handbook of Scottish Birds either, just Lesser and Common varieties, although the Common Redpoll is identified as Carduelis Flammea, which also appears to be the Latin name for Mealy Redpoll?

I can't say which this is, but as far as I understand it in the UK you get the Lesser Redpoll which is the commonest species; the Mealy Redpoll (also called Common Redpoll*) which is scarce; and the Arctic Redpoll which is a rare vagrant. So three species.


*I have capitalised the vernaculars to make it clearer

It doesn't look to me like an Arctic Redpoll (aka Hoary Redpoll on this side of the pond). I'm not familiar with Lesser Redpolls, so I can't really speak to that. From what I see it looks consistent with Common Redpolls I have seen here in the states.

The photo shows a bird that is far paler than the redpolls that are currently visiting my garden to take niger . I assume these are Lessers . Looking at the illustrations in 'Birds of Europe' by Lars Jonsson , Arctic would seem the likely identification . It also says they are a very rare winter visitor to Northen Britain .

Mealy Redpoll

Two things:
1/ Redpoll taxonomy is a minefield
2/ If it's big & pale, it's about as Arctic as they get, but shouldn't it have a white rump?

That's a Mealy (otherwise known by some birders as common) redpoll 100%
Rspb bird books are great indicators but the Collins bird guide is a much better book as it shows most if not all of the rarer birds the frequent the uk.

all I know is that it isn't a lesser redpoll because that's the one we have in NZ and they look not at all similar.