The Urban Pantheist

Urban species #016: Common Redpoll Carduelis flammea

The common redpoll is a holarctic species of finch. Holarctic means that it is found in a ecological zone that circles the northern part of the northern hemisphere, just as red foxes, brown bears, and wolves are. Being a finch means that it feeds almost entirely on seeds. Together, this means that common redpolls are found visiting birdfeeders in Hokkaido, Moscow, Glasgow, Juneau, Toronto, as well as Boston. Their occasional winter visits south of their breeding range are related to fluctuations in the supplies of their favorite food supplies, such as birch catkins (pictured here, in Boston. photo by cottonmanifesto)