Redpoll

The redpoll is a small brownish-grey finch with dark streaks and a bright red patch on the forehead, a black bib and two pale stripes on the wings. Males' breasts are often suffused with red. Adults are 11.5–14 centimetres long and weigh 12–16 grams, with a wingspan of 19–22 centimetres. The rump is streaked and a broad dark brown streak crosses the vent. It has brown legs, a dark-tipped yellowish bill and dark brown irises. It was formerly treated as three species: common or mealy, arctic or hoary, and lesser redpoll. (Wikipedia, general species account)

The redpoll breeds in the Arctic and north temperate Holarctic tundra and taiga, with a range through northern Europe and Asia to northern North America, Greenland and Iceland. It is a partial migrant, moving south in late autumn and north again in March and April. Its typical habitat is boreal forest of pines, spruces and larches, and it feeds mainly on seeds, principally birch and alder seeds in winter. The lesser redpoll was introduced to New Zealand between 1862 and 1875. (Wikipedia, general species account)