CreatureData

Common redpoll

Acanthis flammea (Linnaeus, 1758)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

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.

Common redpoll (Acanthis flammea)
Photo: Jyrki Salmi from Finland · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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?

COMMON REDPOLL · WINGSPAN 23 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 23 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the common redpoll is about 14% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

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?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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?

Jonathon Jongsma · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Jonathon Jongsma · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Jonathon Jongsma · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Doug Hynes · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Jonathon Jongsma · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Jonathon Jongsma · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Jonathon Jongsma · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. 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?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyFringillidae
  6. genusAcanthis
  7. 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.

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.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Common redpoll (Acanthis flammea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-redpoll

MLA

“Common redpoll (Acanthis flammea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-redpoll.

BibTeX
@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}
}