THE CHIFFCHAFF 



PHTLLOSCOPUS RUFUS 



LOCAL names in surrounding districts : " Oven-builder " 

 (Essex). 



STATUS IN BRITISH AVIFAUNA : A common if somewhat 

 local summer visitor to England and Wales ; most abundant 

 in the south and west ; rarer in Scotland and Ireland. 



RADIAL DISTRIBUTION WITHIN FIFTEEN MILES OF ST. 

 PAUL'S : Although the Chiffchaff is almost as widely 

 dispersed as the Willow Warbler it seems to be a scarcer 

 and more local species in some localities. With this 

 exception the distribution of the two species within the 

 Metropolitan area is very similar. I do not find it so 

 common or so well known in the eastern districts, and 

 in the Epping area it is said to be a very local bird. Dur- 

 ing the seasons of its migrations it often visits the parks 

 and wooded places within a mile or so of St. Paul's, but it 

 probably breeds no nearer than Dulwich, or possibly in 

 Battersea Park. Beyond this area it becomes so generally 

 distributed in districts where the Willow Warbler is also 

 found that it is unnecessary to repeat the list of localities. 

 Very probably the two birds are much confused, although 

 the very characteristic note of the Chiffchaff and its 

 partiality for trees should form a ready guide to its correct 

 identification. Passing mention may be made of a pair 

 of Chiffchaffs that I watched for some time in the tall 

 elm-trees in Kensington Gardens on April 13, 1905 

 worth recording as a date of passage. 



Special interest attaches to the Chiffchaff, because it is 

 absolutely the first, as it is the smallest, of the Warbler 

 band to reach British shores in spring. True, its journey 

 may not be a very extensive one, for possibly the south of 

 France is the winter home of British individuals, but in any 

 case the wild weather of the closing days of March usually 



