Mealy Redpoll - Elton Bury

Towards the end of the 2016 year there have been a number of Lesser Redpolls visiting the seed feeders adjacent to the carpark at Elton Reservoir in Bury. Just before Christmas there was a report of a very "pale" Redpoll in the group of visiting Redpolls with the characteristics possibly of a Common or by its other name Mealy Redpoll.

This is not intended to be a technical paper but more a pictorial record with comment only for interest.

Click image & view full screen

This image above shows a male Lesser Redpoll. The birds mantle shows is significantly amount of brown together with a buff wing bar.

This is the best image showing a possible male Common or by it's other name a Mealy Redpoll. Significantly paler than the first image of a male Lesser Redpolls with a more white wing bar, the mantle still shows an amount of brown.

The size difference between the Lesser Redpoll and the Mealy Redpoll can clearly be seen in this image with the Mealy being a "fatter" bird

Image shows the Mealy Redpoll sat in a tree, usually the bird lands directly onto the feeders

Another image of the Mealy Redpoll this time showing more brown on the mantle than the previous image, maybe as a result of the light angle

The image shows the same male Mealy Redpoll on the left of the feeder and a female Lesser Redpoll on the right. Again the amount of brown is a concern for Mealy Redpoll identification