Common Chiffchaff
Phylloscopus collybita
Also known as: Chiffchaff, Chiff-Chaff
Habitat
Ground
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
8 g
About This Species
Listen first for the distinctive, onomatopoeic song that gives this small leaf warbler its name, often the first returning migrant heard in British woodland edges and scrub each spring. It forages restlessly through foliage gleaning insects, frequently flicking its tail as it moves. Spring is best for song and arrival, though some birds now overwinter in milder areas.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- It nests on or near the ground in dense low vegetation, so avoid trampling through undergrowth or scrub during the spring and summer breeding season.
- It is protected under the UK Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, with equivalent protection under the EU Birds Directive across its European range.
- Stick to paths and observe without pushing into nesting cover.
LCAvesPasseriformesPhylloscopidae
Seasonal Activity
6,482,955 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Phylloscopidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 8 g
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.