Please examine the following 3 photographs (total of 140k). Craig, having successfully photodocumented an Ohio Hoary Redpoll in the past, was intrigued by this very pale redpoll at his feeders (Parma, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio) in February 2000.
Two close-up views are seen before a panorama involving several typical Common Redpolls is provided in the third image. After the 3rd shot is a brief assessment by myself. Suffice it to say neither of us are certain of the identity and would greatly appreciate your input.
Although very pale, my difficulty with this bird being a good representative of Hoary Redpoll is the bill. It is neither particularly small nor angular. While nares to tip length overlaps between the two species, I think these photos sufficiently illustrate a relatively narrow bill of the Common Redpoll. But what do you think? Email me vfazio@bright.net or directly to the ohio-birds list if you are a subscriber.