British Birds. 
58 
and sixth, while the third and fourth are the longest. It has a more pointed wing 
than the Chiffchaff, as might be expected in a bird which migrates so much 
further south than the latter bird. In addition to this different wing-formula, 
the Willow-Warbler can always be distinguished from the Chiffchaff by its 
paler legs. 
The Willow-Warbler is a summer visitor and breeds in nearly every 
portion of the British Islands, its breeding range extending over the greater 
part of Europe to the high north, and as far east as the Valley of the 
Yenesei. In winter it is found throughout Africa, from the oases of the 
Sahara to the forests of West Africa, and throughout the eastern portion of 
the Continent down to the Cape Colony itself. 
The nest is placed on the ground, and is made to look like the surroundings 
of dead leaves among which it is built. It is composed of dry stems of 
grass with a little moss, and is somewhat scantily lined with feathers. The 
eggs are from five to eight in number, white, with reddish dots, occasionally 
with more distinct spots, dots, or streaks, generally collected towards the 
larger end of the egg. 
The Chiffchaff ( Phyllos - 
copus minor). This little 
Warbler is smaller than the 
Willow-Wren, is duller in 
colour, and has blackish legs. 
The wing - formula is also 
different, the wing being more 
rounded, with the second pri- 
mary equal in length to the 
sixth. These characters will 
serve to tell the two species at 
all ages, even in the young 
plumage, which is always much more yellow in immature Phylloscopi than it is in 
the adult birds. The Chiffchaff arrives in England in March, and its feeble song and 
vociferous call-note are heard long before either of its near relations have reached our 
shores. It inhabits the whole of the United Kingdom during summer, but is rarer 
and more locally distributed than the Willow-Warbler. It does not extend its winter 
range nearly so far to the south as the latter bird, and even stays in the South of Eng- 
land in mild winters. It ranges in summer throughout Europe, but does not reach so 
far north as the Willow-Warbler, breeding only on the higher mountains in the 
Mediterranean countries, nor does it cross the Ural Mountains, being replaced in the 
east by the Siberian Chiffchaff ( P . tristis). The winter range does not extend 
beyond North Africa and Abyssinia. Its habits are like those of the other Willow- 
Warblers, but it is a more retiring bird and is more often heard than seen. The 
The Chiffchaff. 
