Common Chiffchaffs are very small leaf warblers.
Overall, their plumage
is dominated by olive-greyish hues. The front is light-grey to
light olive-grey, with some yellow patches interspersed irregularly.
The crown, nape of the neck, back, rump and upperwing coverts are
dark olive-grey. The flight feathers are dark-grey with narrow white
leading edges.
They have yellowish supercilia and olive-grey eye stripes.
The irises are dark. The bill has a grey upper mandible and a horn-coloured
lower mandible. The legs and feet are pale pinkish-grey.
Juvenile
birds have an entirely pale-yellowish front.
The Iberian
Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus ibericus),
the Canary Islands Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus canariensis) and the
Mountain Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus sindianus) are no longer
considered to be conspecific with the Common Chiffchaff.
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Common Chiffchaff is available
HERE
.
There are 3 races of Common Chiffchaffs, which are a strongly
migratory Eurasian species, part of which winter in Arabia and
northern Africa.
They are found as permanent residents only in parts of western
and southern Europe (nominate race "collybita").
During the northern summers they extend their breeding range
into the rest of Europe, except parts of Scandinavia, and into
most of mid- to high-latitude Asia, southward of the Arctic
circle, as far to the East as eastern Siberia. Part of the
population also breeds in northern Turkey, around the Caucasus
mountain range and along the southern coastal fringe of the
Caspian Sea in northern Iran.
The migratory populations spend the winters around the
Mediterranean Sea (Iberia, parts of Italy, southern Greece,
the Mediterranean islands), in northern Africa (around the
Atlas mountain range, parts of the Libyan coastline, the Nile
delta and sub-Saharan Africa, except the eastern coastal fringe),
parts of Asia Minor (the western and southern coastal fringe),
the near-coastal fringe of the Middle East and in parts of Arabia
(mostly in near-coastal areas of southern Saudi Arabia and Yemen)
and in southern Asia, from south-eastern Iraq, Kuwait through
southern Iran into the south-eastern half of Pakstan, northern
India and western Bangladesh. They can also occasionally be
found in suitable habitats (oases, along temporarily running
streams) in the Sahara desert and in the Arabian desert.
Race "collybita" breeds
in Europe, as far to the East as Poland and Bulgaria. This race
mainly winters in the South of its breeding range around the
Mediterranean and in North Africa.
Race "abietinus" breeds in Scandinavia and northern Russia, and
spends the northern winters in an area spanning from south-eastern
Europe and north-eastern Africa eastwards to Iraq and western Iran.
Race "tristis" breeds in Siberia to the East of the Pechora River
and winters in the lower Himalayas, but is also sometimes found
in Europe in winter.
In Europe, Common Chiffchaffs, nominate race
"collybita",
are permanent residents along the coastline of southern England,
of western and southern France (and the far north-eastern
corner of Spain) and in most of lowland Italy, except the
far South. Small numbers are resident in southern Ireland
and England, in western France and in almost all of Italy,
except the far South.
During the breeding season, the breeding range is extended
from all of the British Isles in the West nd all of Europe,
except southern Greece and parts of Scandinavia (mostly the
highest mountain ranges, parts of southern Sweden and the
far North) into eastern Europe (and beyond).
In most of Iberia (except the far north-eastern corner), far
southern Italy, most of Greece and the Mediterranean islands
they are found only as winter visitors.
Common Chiffchaffs have a preference for open woodland with
some trees and some undergrowth, including shrubs for nesting.
Sightings
Click here for sighting information
Race "collybita"
J. Pires reports finding Common Chiffchaffs,
nominate race
"collybita",
regularly during the winter months in various locations in southern/central
Portugal.
D. Wilczynska found a Common Chiffchaff, race
"collybita",
near Brok, Masovia, Poland, in August 2016.
M. Eaton spotted a Common Chiffchaff, race
"collybita",
near Wadebridge, Cornwall, England, in September 2019.
Photos
Race "collybita"
ADULT
Sex unknown
Frontal view of a moulting Common Chiffchaff looking sideways
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2023]
Near-frontal view of a wet Common Chiffchaff
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Albufeira de Vilar, Sernancelhe, Viseu, Portugal, December 2019]
Near-frontal view of a Common Chiffchaff
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, December 2017]
Near-lateral view of a moulting Common Chiffchaff
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2023]
Near-lateral view of a Common Chiffchaff
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, Masovia, Poland, August 2016]
Lateral view of a Common Chiffchaff
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2015]
Lateral view of a Common Chiffchaff
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, , Portugal, October 2021]
Lateral view of a Common Chiffchaff
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2013]
Lateral view of a soaking wet Common Chiffchaff
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2018]
Lateral view of a Common Chiffchaff
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Bailao, Estremoz, Portugal, December 2019]
Near-dorsal view of a Common Chiffchaff
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2023]
Dorsal view of a Common Chiffchaff looking sideways
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Raia river, Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2022]
IMMATURE/JUVENILE
Lateral view of a juvenile Common Chiffchaff
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Palhais, Barrero, Portugal, January 2018]
Food, Diet
Lateral view of a Common Chiffchaff with its prey, a flying insect
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Raia river, Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2021]
Near-dorsal view of a Common Chiffchaff with its prey, a flying insect
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, , Portugal, October 2021]
Common Chiffchaff picking a fly off a concrete pillar
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montargil, Alentejo, Portugal, June 2015]
Common Chiffchaff looking for insects or taking nectar?
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2019]
Common Chiffchaff looking for insects or taking nectar?
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2019]
More Common Chiffchaff sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
.
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.