140 



BRITISH BIIWS 



FIG. 48. LESSER KEDPOLL. ^ natural size. 



edged with pale reddish brown ; breast glossy rose-red, passing into 

 light chestnut-brown on the sides ; belly and lower tail-coverts dull 



white. Female: less 

 bright. Length, five 

 and a quarter niches. 



The redpoll, or 

 redpole, as it is often 

 written, is a pretty and 

 interesting little bird 

 of the northern parts 

 of Great Britain. It 

 has been described by 

 Seebohm as an im- 

 mature linnet in ap- 

 pearance, but resemb- 

 ling a siskin in its 

 habits. It is usually 

 called the lesser red- 

 poll, because it is slightly less in size than the continental redpoll, 

 which sometimes visits this country in winter. This last sub- 

 species is the mealy redpoll (Linota linaria). A third form of 

 this wide-ranging little bird, the Greenland redpoll (Linota liorne- 

 manni), has been included in the list of British birds on account of 

 a single specimen having been obtained in this country. 



In its lively disposition, its flight, and to some extent in its lan- 

 guage, the redpoll resembles the linnet ; but its feeding habits vary 

 according to the season of the year and the conditions it finds itself 

 in. In summer it keeps much to the higher branches of the trees, 

 where it moves deftly about like a siskin or a crested tit in its search 

 after minute insects and their larvae ; but in winter it feeds princi- 

 pally on seeds which it finds on the ground. It is fond of the seeds 

 of the birch-tree. The appearance of a flock of redpolls feeding 

 among the birches is thus described by Warde Fowler : ' It is one 

 of the prettiest sights that our whole calendar of bird life affords to 

 watch these tiny linnets at work in the delicate birch-boughs. 

 Thev fear no human being, and can be approached within a very 

 few yards. They almost outdo the titmice in the amazing variety 

 of their postures. They prefer in a general way to be upside down, 

 and decidedly object to the commonplace attitudes of more solidly 

 built birds.' 



