Bird Album
Common Chiffchaff
Phylloscopus collybita (Vieillot, 1817)
10–12 cmLength18 cmWingspan8.3 gWeight
This small, stocky green-brown leaf warbler is named for its “chiff-chaff” song.
Busiest months: March–April and October · Most records: United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal
Looks like Willow Warbler
How to identify
Field marks
- Dark green upperparts tinged brown; grayish-white underparts
- Spring adult of nominate subspecies has a short, whitish supercilium
- Dark legs; small, fine, dark bill
- Tail dips down, then flicks sideways
Male, female and young
Male is slightly heavier (7–8 g, female 6–7 g); newly fledged juvenile has browner upperparts and yellowish-white underparts.
Voice
Song is a repeated, cheerful “chiff-chaff”; call is “hweet”.
Similar species
Where and when it's recorded
Common Chiffchaff has been recorded at 1,819 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 104 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Txingudi – PlaiaundiSpain3,807 records
- Amwell HMWT NRUnited Kingdom3,662 records
- Titchwell Marsh RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom3,575 records
More places
- Beddington FarmlandsUnited Kingdom3,502 records
- Minsmere RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom3,476 records
- International Birding and Research Center Eilat (IBRCE)Israel3,178 records
- Jerusalem Bird ObservatoryIsrael2,914 records
- Brent ReservoirUnited Kingdom2,903 records
- Walthamstow WetlandsUnited Kingdom2,726 records
- Desembocadura del Guadalhorce – ÁreaSpain2,601 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The common chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita), or simply the chiffchaff, is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Common Chiffchaff?
The Common Chiffchaff is about 10–12 cm long, with a wingspan of 18 cm and weighs around 8.3 g.
Where does the Common Chiffchaff live?
Its breeding range: Palearctic: widespread. It is most often recorded in United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal.
When is the best time to see the Common Chiffchaff?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in March, April and October (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Common Chiffchaff endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Common Chiffchaff as Least Concern.
What does the Common Chiffchaff eat?
Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.
What family is the Common Chiffchaff in?
It belongs to the family Leaf Warblers (Phylloscopidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Length
- 10–12 cm
- Wingspan
- 18 cm
- Weight
- 8.3 g
- Habitat
- Forest
- Diet
- Insects & other invertebrates
- Lifestyle
- Perches in trees
- Migration
- Migratory
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 59 mm
- Tail
- 48 mm
- Bill
- 12 mm
- Tarsus
- 20 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Palearctic: widespread
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Leaf Warblers Phylloscopidae
- Genus
- Phylloscopus
Other birds in the genus Phylloscopus
Wood WarblerPhylloscopus sibilatrix
Western Bonelli's WarblerPhylloscopus bonelli
Eastern Bonelli's WarblerPhylloscopus orientalis
Buff-barred WarblerPhylloscopus pulcher
Ashy-throated WarblerPhylloscopus maculipennis
Hume's Leaf WarblerPhylloscopus humei
Yellow-browed WarblerPhylloscopus inornatus
Brooks's Leaf WarblerPhylloscopus subviridis
Chinese Leaf WarblerPhylloscopus yunnanensis
Lemon-rumped WarblerPhylloscopus chloronotus
Sichuan Leaf WarblerPhylloscopus forresti
Gansu Leaf WarblerPhylloscopus kansuensis
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Carlos N. G. Bocos. ↗
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