The Common Redpoll, Carduelis flammea, is a species in the finch family. It breeds somewhat further south than the Arctic Redpoll, also in habitats with thickets or shrubs. Nominate C. f. flammea (Mealy Redpoll) breeds across the northern parts of North America and Eurasia. There is also an Icelandic subspecies, C. f. islandica, and one which breeds in Greenland and Baffin Island, C. f. rostrata. All forms migrate further south in winter into southern Canada, the northern USA and most of Eurasia. These birds are remarkably resistant to cold temperatures and winter movements are mainly driven by the availability of food. The common redpoll is smaller, browner and more streaked than Arctic; there are two distinct populations (one lighter, one darker) united in islandica, the relationships of which are unresolved (Seutin et al., 1995).