Chiffchaff
This week I managed to photograph both Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler at close quarters. This one is a Chiffchaff and I'll post the similar Willow Warbler later. Most years the Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) is the first spring migrant that I see and this year was no exception as I saw a couple of singing birds on 28 February. This coincided with some unusually warm, fine weather. Chiffchaffs do overwinter in Britain but they tend to occur at lower altitudes, so living in the Pennines I rarely see them in winter, and assume that singing birds in my area are genuine migrants. The early migrants like Chiffchaff mainly winter around the Mediterranean, so do not have as far to travel as sub-Saharan migrants. They can also make use of good migrating weather systems in Europe whereas the weather in sub-Saharan Africa has little relevance to the weather in Europe.
Chiffchaffs are very closely related to Willow Warblers and it was Gilbert White (author of the Natural History of Selborne) who first realised they were separate species by listening to their distinctive songs. He also separated Wood Warbler at the same time. This was in 1768 in correspondence with Thomas Pennant, twenty one years before he published the Natural History of Selborne. It isn't just the song that distinguishes them, Chiffchaffs are duller than Willow Warblers, with shorter wings and distinctive dark legs, all visible here. They also have a more ptominent white crescent below the eye and have a habit of down-pumping their tails. Willow Warblers are similar, except Willow Warbler is a little brighter with longer wings, and paler legs. That eye crescent is less obvious, and they don't habitually pump their tail. But if spring the song is the best way to distinguish them. Here is Chiffchaff song on Xeno Canto: www.xeno-canto.org/466006 (By Andrew Harrop at Rutland Water). For comparison here's a Willow Warbler www.xeno-canto.org/621080
The scientific name Phylloscopus means leaf-gleaner from its habit of searching leaves for insects. Collybita means money-counter which refers to the song; chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff-chiff-chiff-chaff. This really does sound like someone counting coins from a table top. And for me that coin-counting repetitive song will always herald the arrival of spring.
Chiffchaff
This week I managed to photograph both Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler at close quarters. This one is a Chiffchaff and I'll post the similar Willow Warbler later. Most years the Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) is the first spring migrant that I see and this year was no exception as I saw a couple of singing birds on 28 February. This coincided with some unusually warm, fine weather. Chiffchaffs do overwinter in Britain but they tend to occur at lower altitudes, so living in the Pennines I rarely see them in winter, and assume that singing birds in my area are genuine migrants. The early migrants like Chiffchaff mainly winter around the Mediterranean, so do not have as far to travel as sub-Saharan migrants. They can also make use of good migrating weather systems in Europe whereas the weather in sub-Saharan Africa has little relevance to the weather in Europe.
Chiffchaffs are very closely related to Willow Warblers and it was Gilbert White (author of the Natural History of Selborne) who first realised they were separate species by listening to their distinctive songs. He also separated Wood Warbler at the same time. This was in 1768 in correspondence with Thomas Pennant, twenty one years before he published the Natural History of Selborne. It isn't just the song that distinguishes them, Chiffchaffs are duller than Willow Warblers, with shorter wings and distinctive dark legs, all visible here. They also have a more ptominent white crescent below the eye and have a habit of down-pumping their tails. Willow Warblers are similar, except Willow Warbler is a little brighter with longer wings, and paler legs. That eye crescent is less obvious, and they don't habitually pump their tail. But if spring the song is the best way to distinguish them. Here is Chiffchaff song on Xeno Canto: www.xeno-canto.org/466006 (By Andrew Harrop at Rutland Water). For comparison here's a Willow Warbler www.xeno-canto.org/621080
The scientific name Phylloscopus means leaf-gleaner from its habit of searching leaves for insects. Collybita means money-counter which refers to the song; chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff-chiff-chiff-chaff. This really does sound like someone counting coins from a table top. And for me that coin-counting repetitive song will always herald the arrival of spring.