488 



the Warblers which appears in the spring in Denmark, and may be seen in the first half of 

 April. A few remain to breed ; but most pass northward in May and return again in September 

 and October on their passage to their winter quarters. Throughout Holland, Belgium, and 

 France it is a common summer resident, and is said also to be numerous in Portugal. Dr. Rey, 

 however, remarks that he did not see any after the 23rd of March, although when he commenced 

 collecting near Lisbon on the 12th of that month he found this species very abundant. 



In Southern Spain it is sedentary, and, according to Colonel Irby (Orn. Str. Gibr. p. 89), is 

 most common near Gibraltar from November to March. In Italy the Chiffchaff is found every- 

 where in suitable localities during the summer, and winters in some parts, summering also in 

 Sardinia, where Mr. A. B. Brooke believes that some few individuals must remain throughout 

 the winter, as he has seen them in February and March. In Sicily it is resident, frequenting 

 the mountains in the summer and descending to the plains in winter. In Malta, Mr. Wright 

 says (Ibis, 1864, p. 09): — "Arriving in autumn, after passing the summer in Europe, the Chiff- 

 chaff remains with us all the winter. During that season until spring, when it is joined by 

 new comers, it is one of the most familiar birds, being generally spread over the country, in 

 gardens, orange-groves, and places where the carob and other trees afford it shelter and insect 

 food." 



It breeds in Southern Germany, but in many localities it is said to be rarer than the Willow- 

 Wren. In Austria, the countries skirting the Danube, and in Turkey it is numerous in summer, 

 as also in Greece and the Ionian Islands, where it also winters. Strickland, Dr. Kriiper, and 

 Mr. ('. G. Danford all record it from Asia Minor; and the first of these naturalists shot it near 

 Smyrna in November. Canon Tristram met with it in Palestine, which country it leaves by the 

 end of February ; and Mr. Wyatt found it as numerous in the peninsula of Sinai as the Willow- 

 Wivn. 



According to Von Heuglin it is a common migrant in Egypt, Arabia, &c, ranging south to 

 Abyssinia, Kordofan, and Bahr el Abiad. It arrives in vast numbers with its congeners, and 

 winters here and there in North-cast Africa. In Algeria, Mr. Taczanowski says, it is rather rare 

 than otherwise. Mr. Salviu states that it appears to winter there, and he obtained examples 

 near El Djem in March. Mr. Tyrwhitt Drake met with it at Tetuan, where it is seldom seen; 

 and, according to Favier, it is nearly as common asP/ii/lloscopus trochilus near Tangier, wintering 

 there, arriving in October and November, and leaving for Europe again in February, March, and 

 April. 



Dr. Carl Bolle states that it is resident in the Canaries; and Mr. Godman says (Ibis, 1872, 

 p. 174), it is " common in Teneriffe, Palma, and Gran Canary, where it chiefly inhabits the upper 

 and heathy districts, though 1 shot some specimens in a garden at Orotava. They are identical 

 with our Chiffchaff. 1 have six or seven skins from Teneriffe." 



To the eastward the Chiffchaff is found as far as Persia, where Mr. Blanford obtained it at 

 Shiraz ; but beyond that 1 cannot trace it, and it appears to be replaced by Plujlloscopus tristis. 



N«\t to the Golden-crested Wren the Chiffchaff is one of the smallest of the European 

 Warblers, and, like that species, it frequents the foliage of tolerably high trees, being almost in 

 continual motion in search of its insect food. It closely resembles the Willow-Wren in its 

 general habits ; but its movements are somewhat quicker, and in its flight it is rather swifter. 



