Redpoll

Redpoll (Acanthis flammea) is a tiny streaked finch with a red forehead, small yellow bill and black chin; adult males often show pink across the breast. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds in Arctic and north-temperate tundra and taiga across the Holarctic, feeds heavily on birch and alder seeds and moves south or erupts beyond its usual range when food is scarce. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).