CHIFF CHAFF. 
139 
I NS ESS OR ES. SYLVIA DJE. 
DEN TIROSTRES. 
CHIFF CHAFF. 
Sylvia rufa. 
PLATE XXXVI. FIG. IV. 
However monotonous the voice of the ChifF Chaff 
may sound when mingled with the rich melody of the 
various warblers, there is a time at which it brings with 
it a delightful welcome, when its cheerful sound bursts 
upon the ear as the first notice of the arrival of our 
feathered friends, just as the violet and the primrose— 
harbingers of the “ time of flowers ”—are first rearing 
their beautiful forms upon the cold earth, to tell us 
that the woods will soon again be green, and that the 
chill, joyless winter is about to give place to the delights 
of summer. It comes to us before the insects have left 
their winter hiding-places, when there is not a green 
leaf to cover its graceful form. 
The arrival of the ChifF Chaff usually takes place 
in March; and Dr. Neville Wood informs me that 
he has heard its note as early as the 5th of February. 
Montague likewise mentions January and February as 
its earliest appearance. It is generally sitting its eggs 
towards the end of May. The nest is very similar to 
that of the willow warbler; it is composed of dried 
grass, dead leaves, and moss; is covered with a dome, 
and profusely lined with feathers; it is, too, like the 
nest of that species, placed, most frequently perhaps, 
