436 BRITISH BIRDS. 



Phylloscopus brehmi, Homeyer, Erinn. Vers, deutschl. Orn. 1870, p. 48. 

 Phylloscopus abyssinieus, Blanf. Oeol. §■ Zool. Abyss, p. 378, pi. iii. fig. 2 (1870). 

 Phyllopneuste brehmi {Homeyer), Proc. Zool. Soc. 1872, p. 25. 

 Phyllopneuste tristrami, Broolies,Jlde Dresser, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1872, p. 25. 

 Phylloscopus coUybita (Vieill.), Newton, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 4.37 (1873). 

 Phyllopseuste rufa {Bechst.), Gieb. Thes. Orn. iii. p. 120 (1877). 



The ChifFchaff, though it has a much more restricted range than the 

 Willow- Wren^ and is seldom so abundant^ is nevertheless a common bird 

 in most parts of England and Wales. In Scotland and Ireland it is said 

 to be more locals but has undoubtedly occurred in most counties, including 

 the Orkneys, the Shetland Isles, and the Hebrides. In most of the 

 southern counties of England it is a somewhat commoner species than 

 the Willow- Wren ; but in Yorkshire, though common enough, it is rare in 

 comparison with the abundance of the latter bird. 



On the continent the ChiffchafP does not range quite up to the Arctic 

 circle. In Norway and Sweden it is rarely found above lat. 65°. It is not 

 uncommon in Finland, and occurs in Russia up to Archangel and the main 

 valley of the Volga. In the valleys of the Petchora and the Kama, and 

 east of the Ural mountains, the ChiffchafP is replaced by the Siberian 

 Chiffchaflf [Phylloscopus tristis) . The Chiffchaff breeds in Transylvania ; 

 but in South Russia, the Caucasus, and Turkey it appears to be princi- 

 pally known in spring and autumn on migration, instances of its breeding 

 or wintering in these districts being noted as very exceptional. In Persia, 

 Asia Minor, Palestine, and Greece it is a regular winter visitor. In Spain, 

 the south of France, and Italy the Chiffchaff may almost be considered a 

 resident. It is undoubtedly so on the Canary Islands ; but in South-west 

 Europe it is more probable that the birds are migratory, but that in this 

 region the summer and winter ranges overlap. The Chiffchaff is a regular 

 •winter visitor to North and North-east Africa as far south as Abyssinia, 

 but it has not been known to remain in any part of the mainland to breed. 

 Occasionally individuals have been known to vrinter in the south of 

 England, and in mild seasons even in North Germany. 



It is very doubtful if Linnaeus distinguished between the three Willow- 

 Wrens. He -was probably but very little of a field -ornithologist, and not 

 much acquainted with the songs of birds. In the ' Fauna Suecica ' and in 

 the tenth edition of the ' Systema Naturae ' he appears to have distinguished 

 the Chiffchaff under the name of Motacilla acredula; but in the twelfth 

 edition he degraded it to the rank of a variety of the Willow-Wren. Gil- 

 bert White, in his charming 'Natural History of Selborne,' seems to have 

 been the first naturalist to clearly discriminate between the three species ; 

 and in 1768 he announced his discovery to Pennant; but the bookmaker 

 does not seem to have believed the story of the field-naturalist, and in 1776 

 Pennant's ' British Zoology ' records the '' Yellow Wren " only. It seems 



