This is Bird Note.

The tiny common red pole, one of the smallest members of the Finch family, weighs only as

much as four pennies, yet it survives the cold and darkness of winter in the far north.

Most birds depart in autumn to warmer climbs, but red poles feed on birch and alder seeds

that are available throughout the winter, no matter how deep the snow.

They do it in the cleverest of ways through a series of precise adaptations.

Red poles are acrobats, feeding with ease on the smallest of branches, even hanging upside

down to extract seeds from birch cackens.

They may shake a cacken vigorously, then drop to the snow to pick up the fallen seeds

in a more sheltered spot.

This little bird typically eats 40 percent of its body weight in seeds every day to keep

itself alive.

The red pole's expanded esophagus, allows it to store large numbers of seeds during rapid

feeding.

The bird then retires to a dense conifer, and while sheltered from the freezing winds,

brings up the seeds one by one, cracking their shells and swallowing the nutritious kernels.

In a land of extreme winter conditions, red poles are survivors.

Get a good look at this tiny acrobat on our website, birdnote.org.

I'm Mary McCann.