chiffchaff

Phylloscopus collybita

• A small bird similar to the willow warbler
   
• Delicately tinted grey-olive plumage
   
• The easiest way to tell them apart is their song

The chiffchaff has a two-note, almost mechanical sounding song, hence chiffchaff - click on the recording below to listen:

Where found

Woods and hedges. It nests near the ground, although is best seen and heard in the tops of tall trees.
 

When to look for

• A summer visitor from March onwards
   
• Increasingly overwintering in southern counties

Its song is one of the first and most distinguishable in spring
 
Fabulous chiffchaff facts

• Chiffchaffs are extremely active birds, constantly flicking their tails and wings while feeding
  
  
• They favour small insects, including caterpillars, gnats and midges, that are foraged from high in the canopy
  
  
• They also catch flies in mid-air and hover to pick insects from under leaves
  
  
• Chiffchaffs will only sing in trees more than 5m high
  
  
• The female builds a domed nest on or near the ground, and assumes most of the responsibility for brooding and feeding the chicks
  
  
• The male has little involvement in nesting, but defends his territory against rivals, and attacks potential predators
  
  
• These small dumpy warblers are summer visitors to the UK and are scarce in Scotland