Common redpoll
Acanthis flammea (Linnaeus, 1758)
The common redpoll (Acanthis flammea) is a small bird in the family Fringillidae, part of the songbirds and other perching birds in the order Passeriformes. It weighs 13 g, has a wingspan of 23 cm, and is a granivore that lives in forest habitat.

Quick facts about the common redpoll
It lays clutches of 5 eggs, incubated for 10.5 days, with 1.75 clutches per year, and reaches sexual maturity at 1 year. The species is partially migratory and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 12.5 g – 13 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 23 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 10.7 years – 25 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Granivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 10.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.75src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the common redpoll?
Photos of the common redpoll
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.







Where does the common redpoll live?
Not recorded
What is 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).
From the Wikipedia article “Redpoll” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Redpoll&oldid=1374724184), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the common redpoll sound like?
Is the common redpoll endangered?
The common redpoll is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the common redpoll classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyFringillidae
- genusAcanthis
- SpeciesAcanthis flammea (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Carduelis flammea, Carduelis rufescens, Fringilla flammea, Fringilla linaria, Linota canescens
Other names and names in other languages (127)
- Arctic redpollEnglish
- Arctic/Hoary redpollEnglish
- Common (mealy) redpollEnglish
- Hoary redpollEnglish
- Mealy red-pollEnglish
- Mealy redpollEnglish
- RedpollEnglish
- RedpollEnglish
- حسون ناريArabic
- حسون ناري أشيبArabic
- حسون أحمر الرأس الأشيبArabic
- حسون أحمر الرأس الشائعArabic
- حسون ناري القطب الشماليArabic
- حسون أحمر الرأس القطب الشماليArabic
- pardín de baberuAsturian
- Таҡыя турғайBashkir
- Звычайная чачоткаBelarusian
- Брезова скатияBulgarian
- Полярна скатияBulgarian
- Lineg penn flammBreton
- passerell golanegreCatalan
- Куги кӓзӓляMari
- ХурӑнтӑрриChuvash
- čečetka zimníCzech
- čečetka bělaváCzech
- Llinos BengochWelsh
- Llinos FlodiogWelsh
- Llinosiaid PengochWelsh
- GråsiskenDanish
- HvidsiskenDanish
- Nordlig GråsiskenDanish
- LeinfinkGerman
- BirkenzeisigGerman
- PolarbirkenzeisigGerman
- TaigabirkenzeisigGerman
- ΣημυδόσπιζαGreek
- FlamkardeloEsperanto
- ordinara flamkardeloEsperanto
- Pardillo ÁrticoSpanish
- Pardillo norteñoSpanish
- pardillo sizerínSpanish
- urvalindEstonian
- Hele-urvalindEstonian
- Txoka gorriztaBasque
- urpiainenFinnish
- tundraurpiainenFinnish
- reyðskalliFaroese
- ReyðkollurFaroese
- Sizerin flamméFrench
- Sizerin blanchâtreFrench
- StienbarmkeWestern Frisian
- DeargéadanIrish
- Deargéadan ArtachIrish
- Deargéadan coiteannIrish
- Dearcan-seilichScottish Gaelic
- deargan-seilichScottish Gaelic
- deargannan-seilichScottish Gaelic
- Liñaceiro paponegroGalician
- Kione-jiargManx
- תפוחית שחורת סנטרHebrew
- תפוחית שחורת-סנטרHebrew
- sjeverna juričicaCroatian
- zsezseHungarian
- szürke zsezseHungarian
- HrímtittlingurIcelandic
- AuðnutittlingurIcelandic
- OrganettiItalian
- OrganettoItalian
- Organetto articoItalian
- ベニヒワJapanese
- コベニヒワJapanese
- orpimmiutaqKalaallisut
- БгыкъэщKabardian
- ШекілдекKazakh
- Арктика шекілдегіKazakh
- 홍방울새Korean
- 쇠홍방울새Korean
- PencoughCornish
- Rouden ZeisegLuxembourgish
- Rouden ZeiselLuxembourgish
- BarmsiesLimburgish
- ČimčiakasLithuanian
- paprastasis čimčiakasLithuanian
- Poliarinis čimčiakasLithuanian
- ĶeģisLatvian
- parastais ķeģisLatvian
- Брезова чинкаMacedonian
- огнено конопјарчеMacedonian
- Bagħal tal-ĠojjinMaltese
- Дөлөн цэгцүүхэйMongolian
- PolarsisikNorwegian Bokmål
- BarmsijsDutch
- Grote barmsijsDutch
- WitstuitbarmsijsDutch
- gråsisikNorwegian
- Czeczotka tundrowaPolish
- CzeczotkaPolish
- czeczotka (zwyczajna)Polish
- Pintarroxo-borealPortuguese
- pintarroxo-de-queixo-pretoPortuguese
- Zaisch da lareschRomansh
- InăriţăRomanian
- InărițăRomanian
- ЧечёткаRussian
- Обыкновенная чечёткаRussian
- ЧооруосYakut
- Rose lintieScots
- UmmolcizášNorthern Sami
- ládjocizášNorthern Sami
- upmolcizášNorthern Sami
- stehlík čečetkaSlovak
- brezovčekSlovenian
- Брезова јуричицаSerbian
- Brezova juričicaSerbian
- JуричицаSerbian
- JuričicaSerbian
- gråsiskaSwedish
- snösiskaSwedish
- Huş İsketesiTurkish
- Kuzey keten kuşuTurkish
- Чечітка білаUkrainian
- Звичайна чечіткаUkrainian
- чечітка звичайнаUkrainian
- 普通朱頂雀Chinese
- 普通朱頂雀〔白腰朱頂雀〕Chinese
- 白腰朱頂雀Chinese
- 白腰朱顶雀Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common redpoll
Other species in the same genus Acanthis.
Hoary redpoll
Acanthis hornemanni
CompareCommon redpoll vs Hoary redpollCommon redpoll vs Acanthis carduelis
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common redpoll?
The common redpoll is a bird in the family Fringillidae, grouped with the songbirds and other perching birds.
How big is the common redpoll?
The common redpoll weighs 13 g and has a wingspan of 23 cm, placing it in the small size class.
What does the common redpoll eat?
The common redpoll is a granivore, and its trophic level is herbivore.
Is the common redpoll endangered?
No. The common redpoll is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the common redpoll live?
The common redpoll has a lifespan of 10.67 years, and our sources report values up to 25 years.
How many eggs does the common redpoll lay?
The common redpoll lays 5 eggs per clutch, with 1.75 clutches per year and an incubation period of 10.5 days.
Does the common redpoll migrate?
Yes, the common redpoll is partially migratory.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common redpoll (Acanthis flammea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-redpoll
“Common redpoll (Acanthis flammea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-redpoll.
@misc{common_redpoll_2026,
title = {Common redpoll (Acanthis flammea)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-redpoll},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}