82 THE BIRDS OF YORKSHIRE. 



pairs are found in wooded districts, and for a few miles round 

 Huddersfield it is moderately distributed ; but on approaching 

 the north-west it is decidedly rare, if not altogether absent, 

 in most places : then, coming to the Central Plain, it is more 

 common ; it is very numerous near Ackworth, at Knares- 

 borough, and in the lower Wharfe and Nidd Valleys, while at 

 Ripon it is extremely abundant in the woodlands, more so 

 than the Willow Wren. In the East Riding it is rather local, 

 not a very plentiful species, and variable in numbers in 

 different years ; unlike the Willow Warbler, seldom found 

 away from woods or trees ; its notes, uttered from the top 

 of some tall tree, are unmistakeable and cannot be associated 

 with any other species. 



In the North Riding, from York onward to Thirsk and 

 Northallerton, it is quite common in some seasons ; moderately 

 abundant at Scarborough and northward up the coast, and 

 in the little wooded valleys in Cleveland ; rare and uncertain 

 in Wensleydale and Teesdale, but not uncommon in Swaledale ; 

 and it breeds sparingly in the Sedbergh district. 



On its southward passage in autumn the Chiff Chaff 

 does not appear to attract the attention of the light-keepers 

 to the same extent as the Willow Warbler, or possibly it may 

 be confused with that species ; the Migration Reports contain 

 but four entries concerning it, all of which are from Spurn, 

 two of these being on the 21st and the 29th March, and 

 the other two in August ; it has also been noticed at Redcar 

 on its autumn passage in September. In connection with 

 the migration of this bird the following observation by Ed. 

 Blyth is of interest : — " When off Whitby, about fourteen 

 miles from land, on the 7th October, a Chiff Chaff came on 

 board with some Goldcrests. It was attempted to keep 

 them alive, but they died on the passage." (Rennie's Field 

 Naturalist, November 1833.) 



The Chiff Chaff ceases to sing late in May or early in 

 June, and in the autumn migration appears in gardens and 

 orchards, having then resumed its song. One was heard 

 in Claremont Road, Leeds, on 19th September 1886, and 

 several instances of its late singing are reported in different 



