the willow-warblers. 
213 
south of Scotland ; it is a common bird in Ross-shire has been 
found in Caithness, but is only known as a straggler in the 
Outer Hebrides and in the Orkneys. In Ireland it is by no 
means rare. 
Range outside tie British Islands.— Found throughout the 
greater part of Europe, but nesting less frequently in the 
Mediterranean countries than in the north ; in Italy it bleed 
only in the mountains. It does not quite reach the Arctic 
Circle in summer, occurring in Scandinavia as high as 65 iM. 
lat , and in Russia attaining the same latitude. Its eastern 
range extends to the government of Perm, where it is replaced 
by die Siberian Chiffchaff, Fhylloscopus traits, ' v J» c h also takes 
its place in the Petchora Valley. According to Pleskc our 
Chiffchaff breeds in the government of Orenburg, noith of the 
Ural river, but in Central and Southern Russia is only seen on 
migration and it is also a migrant to the valleys of the Amu 
Darya, wintering in Persia, Asia Minor, Greece and Palestine, 
and Y as far south as Abyssinia. In the Canary Islands it is 
placed by an allied species, Puylloscopus fortunatus. 
Halits -These resemble those of the other members of the 
genus but the Chiffchaff is less easily observed than either the 
Wood or Willow-Warblers, as it seldom sings in the open, but is 
more a frequenter of shrubberies and ivy-clad woods, m which 
k manages to conceal itself effectually. Its tell-tale note, from 
which the name of Chiffchaff is derived, betrays its presence, 
but the bird is by no means easy of observation except in the 
vicinity of its nest. Its food consists of small insects and 
caterpillars, in pursuit of which it searches the eaves ' 'g™ y 
l,ke the Willow-Warbler, and it is quite as active as the latter 
bird, though it his not such a rapid flight, owing doubtless to 
its more rounded and less migratory wing. 
Nest.— This is generally placed on the ground. It is half 
domed as a rule, but not invariably, and is composed of dried 
.Trass, rather roughly put together on the outside, but more 
neatly on the inside of the nest, which is usually lined with 
feathers No moss is used, as in the case of the Willow- 
Warbler and the feather-lining is sometimes very scanty, as is 
also the case occasionally with the nest of the last-named 
species. The Chiffchaff often builds in the open, by the side 
