Chiffchaff

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Chiffchaff

Western Common Chiffchaff,
Phylloscopus collybita collybita

Conservation status

Least Concern

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Sylviidae
Genus:	Phylloscopus
Species:	P. collybita

Binomial name

Phylloscopus collybita
(Vieillot, 1817)

The Common Chiffchaff or simply Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita, is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and Asia. It is probably the best-known of all Old World warblers.

This warbler is less strongly migratory and hardier than most leaf warblers; northern breeders winter in southern and western Europe (north to Britain), southern Asia and north Africa. Along with the Sand Martin, it is the first passerine to return in the spring, and one of the last to leave in late autumn.

The Chiffchaff is a bird of open woodlands with some taller trees and ground cover for nesting. Its habitat is quite specific, and even its near relatives do not share it. The Willow Warbler prefers younger trees, and the Wood Warbler less undergrowth.

The Chiffchaff's nest is built in low shrub, and the four to seven eggs are incubated by the female for 13-14 days to hatching, with another 14-15 days until the chicks fledge. The male is inquisitive and fearless, attacking dangerous predators like the Stoat if they approach the nest.

Like most Old World warblers, this small species is insectivorous, moving restlessly though foliage or briefly hovering.

This is a typical leaf warbler in appearance, 10-12 cm long, greenish brown above and off-white below. It is very similar to the Willow Warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus, but non-singing birds can be distinguished from that species by their dark legs, fine dark bill, dumpy shape and short primary projection. They also dip their tail much more often.

This warbler gets its name from its simple song, a repetitive cheerful "chiff-chaff". This song is one of the first avian signs that spring has returned.

[edit] Systematics

Previously, the Chiffchaff contained additional subspecies from the Canary Islands, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Caucasus. These have been elevated to full species rank more recently (Clement & Helbig 1998, Sangster et al. 2001):

The Iberian Chiffchaff, P. ibericus

Found in Portugal and Spain, west of a line stretching roughly from the western Pyrenees (Salomon 1989) via the Sistema Ibérico to the Mediterranean; the Iberian and Common Chiffchaffs co-occur in a narrow band along this line (Balmori et al 2002). Apart from the northernmost section, the precise course of the contact zone is not well-documented. A long-distance migrant, this species winters in western Africa. It was initially believed to be named P. brehmii, but the type specimen of that taxon is not an individual of the Iberian Chiffchaff^{[citation needed]}.

It differs in vocalizations (Salomon 1989, Salomon & Hemim 1992, Helbig et al. 1996), external morphology (Salomon et al. 1997), and mtDNA sequences (Helbig et al. 1996, 2001). There is little hybridization in the contact zone (Salomon 1989, Salomon & Hemim 1992) and hybrids apparently show much decreased fitness (Helbig et al. 2001); hybrid females appear to be sterile according to Haldane's Rule (Helbig et al. 1993). Regarding the latter aspect, it is interesting to note that the Iberian Chiffchaff apparently is the oldest lineage of chiffchaffs and quite distinct from the Common Chiffchaff (Helbig et al. 1996).

The Canary Islands Chiffchaff, P. canariensis

Formerly occurring on the major Canary Islands, this species is resident all-year round and does not migrate. Two subspecies are known, the western Phylloscopus canariensis canariensis of El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria and the eastern Phylloscopus canariensis exsul of Lanzarote and possibly Fuerteventura. The latter, which might have been a distinct species (Sangster et al. 2001), became extinct in 1986 at latest, probably much earlier.

The species is differentiated by morphological, bioacoustical and genetical characteristics (Helbig et al. 1996), and of course does not co-occur with any other chiffchaffs.

The Mountain Chiffchaff, P. sindianus

It is found in the Caucasus (P. s. lorenzii) and Himalaya (P. s. sindianus) mountain ranges. P. s. lorentzii and the Caucasus Common Chiffchaff P. c. caucasicus co-occur in a small area in the Western Caucasus, but interbreed hardly ever if at all (Martens 1982). This species is an altitudinal migrant, remaining in the same general area all year but moving to lower altitudes in winter.

It differs in vocalizations (Martens & Hänel 1981, Martens 1982), external morphology (Cramp 1992), and mtDNA sequences (Helbig et al. 1996). The Mountain chiffchaff's subspecies appear to be distinct vocally (Martens 1982), and also show some difference in mtDNA sequences (Helbig et al. 1996); they are maintained at subspecies rank pending further research (Sangster et al. 2001).

The greyer eastern Common Chiffchaff subspecies Siberian Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus (collybita) tristis, from Siberia is sometimes considered to be a full species and has a very distinct call, song, and plumage, being closer to P. s. sindianus in these respects (Martens 1982, Helbig et al. 1996); P. (c.) tristis and P. c. collybita do not recognize each other's songs (Schubert 1982, Martens & Meincke 1989). The Common Chiffchaff subspecies P. c. abietinus, which occurs in Scandinavia and northern Russia, is intermediate in appearance, but has the same calls and song as the nominate subspecies. Pending resolution of the status of P. (c.) fulvescens which is found where the ranges of abietinus and tristis connect and may (Marova & Leonovich 1993) or may not (Martens & Meincke 1989) be a hybrid between these, tristis is maintained in P. collybita (Sangster et al. 2001).

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Phylloscopus collybita. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

Balmori, Alfonso; Cuesta, Miguel Ángel & Caballero, José María (2002): Distribución de los mosquiteros ibérico (Phylloscopus brehmii) y europeo (Phylloscopus collybita) en los bosques de ribera de Castilla y León (España). [Article in Spanish with English abstract]. Ardeola 49(1): 19-27. PDF fulltext

Clement, P. & Helbig, Andreas J. (1998): Taxonomy and identification of chiffchaffs in the Western Palearctic. Brit. Birds 91: 361–376.

Cramp, S. (ed.) (1992): The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Vol. 6. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Helbig, Andreas J.; Salomon, Marc; Wink, Michael & Bried, Joël (1993): Absence de flux genique mitochondrial entre le Pouillots "veloces" medio-européen et ibérique (Aves: Phylloscopus collybita, P. (c.) brehmii); implications taxonomiques. Résultats tirés de la PCR et du séquencage d'ADN. C. R. Acad. Sci. III 316: 205-210. PDF fulltext

Helbig, Andreas J.; Martens, Jochen; Seibold, I.; Henning, F.; Schottler, B. & Wink, Michael (1996): Phylogeny and species limits in the Palearctic Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita complex: mitochondrial genetic differentiation and bioacoustic evidence. Ibis 138(4): 650–666.

Helbig, Andreas J.; Salomon, Marc; Bensch, S. & Seibold, I. (2001): Male-biased gene flow across an avian hybrid zone: evidence from mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 14: 277–287. DOI:10.1046/j.1420-9101.2001.00273.x PDF fulltext

Marova, I. M. & Leonovich, V. V. (1993) [Hybridization between Siberian (Phylloscopus collybita tristis) and East European (Ph. collybita abietinus) Chiffchaffs in the area of sympatry.] Sbornik Trudov Zoologicheskogo Muzeya, Moskovskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta 30: 147–163. [Article in Russian]

Martens, Jochen (1982): Ringförmige Arealüberschneidung und Artbildung beim Zilpzalp, Phylloscopus collybita. Das lorenzii-Problem. Zeitschrift für Zoologische Systematik und Evolutionsforschung 20: 82–100. [Article in German]

Martens, Jochen & Hänel, Sabine (1981): Gesangformen und Verwandtschaft der asiatischen Zilpzalpe Phylloscopus collybita abietinus und Ph. c. sindianus. Journal für Ornithologie 122(4): 403–427. [Article in German with English abstract] DOI:10.1007/BF01652928 (HTML abstract)

Martens, Jochen & Meincke, C. (1989): Der sibirische Zilpzalp (Phylloscopus collybita tristis): Gesang und Reaktion einer mitteleuropäischen Population im Freilandversuch. Journal für Ornithologie 130(4): 455–473. [Article in German with English abstract] DOI:10.1007/BF01918465 (HTML abstract)

Salomon, Marc (1989): Song as a possible reproductive isolating mechanism between two parapatric forms. The case of the chiffchaffs Phylloscopus c. collybita and P. c. brehmii in the western Pyrenees. Behaviour 111(1-4): 270–290. HTML abstract

Salomon, Marc & Hemim, Y. (1992): Song variation in the Chiffchaffs (Phylloscopus collybita) of the western Pyrenees – the contact zone between collybita and brehmii forms. Ethology 92(4): 265–282. HTML abstract

Salomon, Marc; Bried, J.; Helbig, Andreas J. & Riofrio, J. (1997) Morphometric differentiation between male Common Chiffchaffs, Phylloscopus [c.] collybita Vieillot, 1817, and Iberian Chiffchaffs, P. [ c.] brehmii Homeyer, 1871, in a secondary contact zone (Aves: Sylviidae). Zoologischer Anzeiger 236: 25–36.

Sangster, George; Knox, Alan G.; Helbig, Andreas J. & Parkin, David T. (2002): Taxonomic recommendations for European birds. Ibis 144(1): 153–159. DOI:10.1046/j.0019-1019.2001.00026.x PDF fulltext

Schubert, M. (1982): Zur Lautgebung mehrerer zentralasiatischer Laubsänger-Arten (Phylloscopus; Aves, Sylviidae). Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum Berlin 58: 109–128. [Article in German]