Lots of Redpolls are at birdfeeders in Minnesota this winter. These tiny birds of the Finch family sometimes completely overwhelm area birdfeeders and can occur in flocks of 100+ birds. There are two species of Redpoll that occur in Minnesota; the Common and the Hoary Redpoll. Within those two species are several sub-species. Here is a link to a fantastic article about how to identify the various species and sub-species. The article is about Redpolls in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is our close neighbor to the north.
http://aba.org/nab/v65n2redpolls.pdf
