Most of the Redpolls we see are just the ordinary Icelandic ones but once in a while you see an individual bird that stands out from the rest. This autumn we had a Redpoll that was quite different. It was a very beautiful and much whiter Redpoll than the ordinary ones.

Early in 2011 we also had a Redpoll that was different. News spread around town of a small white bird that came into gardens with a group of Redpolls. The local paper even had some news on this peculiar bird. The bird turned out to be a white Redpoll. It was first spotted in autumn 2010 and was seen in Selfoss most days until the end of March 2011.
Read more in articles: White Redpoll

Redpolls vary both in size and in shade of brown. The Icelandic variety is the palest and has whiter wing bars and less streaked underparts than others.

Today I saw two unusually white Redpolls which resemble the  Arctic Redpoll a lot. They are probably just ordinary Redpolls but quite unlike the normal Icelandic  Redpoll. This is one of the whiter ones

and this is the other one. Below is a normal Icelandic Redpoll.

In former times Redpolls could only be found in birch forests in North Iceland. In the sixties they started to breed in South Iceland and are now among the most common breeding birds in woods and gardens.  Around 50-70 Redpolls visit the feeder in my garden every day.

Redpolls are my favourites because they are very active, charming and have a great diversity in colour and appearance.