Though suggestive of a female Purple, House, or Cassin's Finch, this goldfinch-sized bird will be noticeably smaller, more crisply and densely streaked overall with a smaller very pointed bill. All ages are similar in appearance, with some variation in the amount of streaking on the underparts and the coloration of the wingbars and edges of the flight feathers. Adult Male: Grayish-brown and heavily-streaked overall, with crisp streaks on whitish underparts; finely streaked head and back; wings and tail dusky brown to blackish; wings show obvious broad yellow lower wing bar and yellow edging on flight feathers; smaller upper wing bar is narrower and white; relatively unpatterned head and face are finely streaked with a weak buffy supercilium and slightly darker auricalars. Female: Virtually identical to male, but has a narrower whitish lower wing bar and limited yellow in the wings. Immature: Presumed identical to adult female, likely only separable from adults in the hand. In flight, note yellow flashes in wings and tail. Dark bill is smaller, thinner, and less conical than those of female "Carpodacus" species, and extremely pointed. Female and immature redpolls have shorter fleshy-yellow bills, at least some black on the chin and around the base of the bill, and thicker flank streaking and show no yellow in the flight feathers.

Length: 13 (cm) Wingspan: 23 (cm)

Voice:

Distinctive, rising, strident, harsh calls; song is a series of call notes and whistles.

Habitat:

Coniferous forests, deciduous thickets, riparian areas, suburbs.

Behavior:

Irruptive and nomadic; abundance shifts year-to-year with food availability. Nest is a fine cup on horizontal tree branch. Often in groups; dense winter flocks may number in the hundreds. Sometimes flocks with goldfinches.

Feeding:

Forages on conifer cones, birch and alder catkins, and on ground. Eats a variety of seeds, grains, and insects; often visits bird feeders, where it prefers thistle and sunflower seeds.