CHIFFCHAFF. I89 



same time as the Sand-Martin, the Chiffchaff reaches the south 

 coast, one of the pioneer summer birds ; in mild springs it 

 arrives as far north as Cheshire before the end of the month, 

 some days, often over a week, before the Willow-Wren, It sings 

 more from the tree-tops than this bird, but is less arboreal than 

 the Wood-Wren ; when the weather is cold, however, it is first 

 heard from the undergrowth. The song is simple, a deliberate, 

 throbbing repetition of two or, some say, three notes, from 

 which it gets its name ; a better name than the older one, 

 " Huck-Muck '' or Least Whitethroat, a poor imitation of its 

 notes. It is a steady pulsating song, neither particularly sweet 

 nor harsh, rather suggestive of the throb of a stationary engine. 

 Certainly some of the very early reports of its song are due to 

 confusion with the Great Tit, but the notes of this bird are more 

 varied in tone and usually rapidly repeated. Rarely there is 

 a secondary song, an interlude between snatches of normal 

 song ; twice I have heard a low, deep chif^ chif, chif quite 

 distinct in tone, followed each time by the ordinary notes. 

 On another occasion, an amorous male when courting uttered 

 a sweet little warble, suggestive of a feeble Willow- Wren ; 

 Kirkman refers to 'this variation. The plaintive call, hoo-it 

 or loo-ce, is like that of the Willow- Wren, and when excited this 

 is shortened to hwit. Saunders thought that the song ended 

 in May ; it is drowned by other notes, no doubt, but it con- 

 tinues, with a short pause in individuals during moult, until the 

 birds leave in October. The majority, no doubt, go south 

 before this month, but I have several times heard the song from 

 passing birds late in September and in October. These autumn 

 birds slowly travel south, feeding as they go, visiting spots far 

 remote from their woodland haunts ; in my own garden I see 

 one or two most autumns, passing steadily along the hedge, 

 travelling south-east. 



The insect food largely consists of aphids, small larvae and 

 spiders, picked from the leaves and twigs, and flies are cleverly 



