Lesser or Mealy Redpoll (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Groocock]

A comment placed on my blog queries the identity of the Redpoll below. Would anyone care to comment as to whether the bird is Lesser or Mealy Redpoll? The images were taken at Draycote Water and the majority of redpolls were lesser. Many thanks.


http://diaryofabirdingmedic.blogspot.com/2009/12/draycote-water_23.html

 

[sglynas]

Lesser for me. (so probably a mealy)
Steve

 

[JohnZ]

Lesser for me too.

 

[rokermartin]

I would say its a Mealy Redpoll it has pale underparts and it appears to have a pale streaked rump.

 

[Enji]

I'm rubbish with Redpolls, but it looks browner than the Commons we have here, so I'd say Lesser... but what do I know, I've only seen one Lesser in my life...

 

[gnome]

As the person who originally made the comment on the blog about it's ID I thought I'd come over here and add my 2p's worth. Firstly I should say that I don't have a great deal of in-the-field experience with the subtleties of redpolls but nevertheless I thought that I'd have a go. This bird stood out in comparison with the other redpolls photos that were on the same page (see blog link) and perhaps Hippo might wish to post some side-by-side comparison shots.

The lessers in the photos were much browner that this bird and this one has the pale streaked rump as rokermartin mentions. It also has a paler neck/shawl area and somewhat (though not terribly obvious) frosted appearance. The clincher would be if you could see the back fully in which case you're looking for some white streaks down the middle of the back : lesser has just the black and brown steaking. I fancy that you can just make out one of these white streaks from the photos though it's not terribly clear. In conclusion I'd say that this is a mealy but a first winter which is why it's not so obvious as if it were an adult bird. If you compare it to the lesser's in the other photos though, they are much browner than this bird.

 

[Steven Astley]

It not rare at all for Lessers to have white tram lines, pale rumps. The relatively rich brown tones seen on the mantle and the brownish wash around the face favour lesser IMO. There's nothing concrete to pin it down as a mealy and nothing unusual from these photos to suggest its not a lesser.
As I know from mistaking themselves. Collins is useless for Redpolls and despite many great upgrades in the 2nd edition they haven't changed the Redpolls unfortunately.

 

[gnome]

It not rare at all for Lessers to have white tram lines, pale rumps. The relatively rich brown tones seen on the mantle and the brownish wash around the face favour lesser IMO. There's nothing concrete to pin it down as a mealy and nothing unusual from these photos to suggest its not a lesser.
As I know from mistaking themselves. Collins is useless for Redpolls and despite many great upgrades in the 2nd edition they haven't changed the Redpolls unfortunately.

I was actually using Collins (1st ed.) as the basis for my analysis so that explains my error. Shame, as I thought I'd got to grips with the differences. It does still look significantly less brown than the other redpolls on the blog but I suppose there must be a fair bit of variation in this respect too.

 

[Kevin Groocock]

Hi All

Many thanks, so far for all of the information. I am not an expert and it was not until Gnome pointed out my redpolls, I had not given Mealy a thought! When studying through bins, I only saw lesser. Decided to try a few shots and posted them as lesser.

I have managed to bring out a few more from my archives that may (or may not) help! I must say that I still think lesser, but would love to be proved wrong!

My next task will be Willow & Marsh Tits .............................(I'll get my coat!)

 

[Keith Dickinson]

I tend to plump for lesser although I'd like more pictures really.
I agree that the Collins guide would have been so much better if they'd addressed the redpoll issue in the second edition.
I tend to use the Macmillan guide to Bird Identification, along with Beaman and Madge's Handbook of Bird Identification and the Birds of the Western Palearctic to try and separate redpolls.
Macmillan does mention vocalisation as a method of telling them apart, mealy being deeper voiced than lesser, obviously no use with a photo though. Even the Macmillan Guide states that 'not all redpolls are racially identifiable in the field'.