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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KenM" data-source="post: 2884166" data-attributes="member: 57880">FWIW...For the last three years, I've had the benefit of observing Redpolls daily, from my bedroom window, niger feeder being just 8' away, ''just'' below eye level, giving me every opportunity to observe their variability. Arriving in Oct/Nov.departing April/May, generally between 5-10 individuals are involved (on a daily basis), with a high incidence of variability being shown, on size and morphology, often having Goldfinch and Siskin alongside to give ''scale'' to larger and smaller individuals.The larger birds can be as big as Goldfinches (although without the bulk), and can appear c15% bigger than some of the smaller individuals,Rumps can be dirty-pale, tan, pink, concolourous with mantle or white, and invariably spotted to a greater or lesser extent.Greater covert bars are invariably buff..albeit some are white, showing buff margins.Female types can have, what I would call a warm ground colour to the scaps/mantle, or to have no warmth at all, just a concolourous buff wash to these areas.Some birds have a faint single streak to the UTC's, others can have broader more obvious streaking...and some have to be ''sorely'' scrutinised to reveal just the faintest of marks.Flank streaking can be heavy or light, I have also observed some females to have an ochre wash to the head, contrasting strongly against a hard white to chest/belly, unlike the normally heavier streaked types.I have seen two ''Classic'' examples of Common Redpoll during this period..being larger, with ''blond'' streaking to the head and nape, white braces, partial white/pinky faintly spotted rump (although I have seen much smaller types with the same cosmetics).In a nutshell...how can you expect anyone to take ''the latest'' over-engineered speculation, with anything...other than with a pinch of salt, regarding the taxonomic ''purity'' of LR...especially when they are known to interbreed with CR in core areas.Does cabaret really have a leg to stand on, do they really justify being ''distinct'' species....mmmmm?However with controversy reigning in the taxa department, perhaps more time better spent setting up ''easily observed feeding stations'' (where one can read ''ring nos.'') might be of more use?Over the last three years I've ''imaged'' and read the rings on 3 individual birds...with the information sent to the BTO, and had returns from Yorkshire, Kent and Brussels!Absolutely...no speculation there...</blockquote>

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