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.
 

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