Bird ID please

[StRoRo]

What's this bird?
They where flying in a small flock with Gold Finches.

[faz]

its a lesser redpoll

[Farplace]

I think its a redpoll

[StRoRo]

Dont know if this will help but I found another shot it was in.
There seems to be a hint of red on the breast.

[Robert S J Smith]

It is a Redpoll species, which one (either Mealy or Lesser) I am unsure of.

Robert

[aeshna5]

A male Lesser Redpoll. I found a small flock of c20 of these today in a birch in Ruislip Woods.

[Robert S J Smith]

What features make this a Lesser Redpoll? I struggle with these so any pointers would be useful... thanks!

[faz]

mealy redpoll is larger and plaler than the lesser redpoll

[JackBD95]

definite lesser redpoll!!!

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by Robert S J Smith

What features make this a Lesser Redpoll? I struggle with these so any pointers would be useful... thanks!

That's a good question - and I think that the finer points of redpoll identification will continue to be debated for quite some time (the number of species that they should be treated as is also up for debate - not all countries treat caberet (Lesser Redpoll) as a seperate species, some still treat them as a race of Common Redpoll (and they are treated as one species in the revised Collins guide).

This article is quite a good read.
Basically, obviously small, dark redpolls are Lessers (caberet), larger, noticeably pale birds are Mealys (flammea from Scandinavia).
Some birds are far more difficult to place into either race/species - and I've seen photos of the same bird have been called definite Lessers by experienced UK based birders (where Mealy is the scarcer form), and definite Mealys by Scandinavian birders (where Lesser is scarce). Birders from both areas tend to assume that the more intermediate individuals are the commonest form found in their area, and only treat the more obvious extremes as the scarcer species.