rosy flush

Both sexes of the Lesser Redpoll wear a bright red cap all year round. It is this which gives them their name, from the archaic English for head, particularly the crown or scalp. In his spring breeding plumage, the male also develops a peachy-red throat and chest. Lesser Redpolls, Carduelis cabaret, are members of the finch family. Agile birds, they often hang upside down to feed, tossing pale seed husks to the ground. They favour birch seeds and can often be found in young woodland, where they tend to grow. They will also eat insects in the summer and will take niger seeds from a feeder in the garden, where they are becoming a more common sight. Lesser Redpoll are sociable birds, even during the breeding season, and can be heard calling to one another with a ‘chip-chip-chip-chrrrrrp’.