This tiny warbler bird is probably best known for its song. The ChiffChaff (Phylloscopus collybita) is a restless feeder, constantly on the move among foliage in search of invertebrates. There is limited sexual dimorphism, meaning that the two sexes look remarkably similar in appearance.
Adult and juvenile birds have grey-brown upper parts and pale, greyish underparts that are suffused yellow-buff, particularly on the throat and breast. The bill is thin and needle like, and the legs are black, the latter feature being the most reliable source of separation from the superficially similar Willow Warbler.
The best way of identifying the bird however, is the unmistakable song – and continually repeated chiff-chaff or tsip-tsap.
And it breeds on campus – in the Wilderness, in the tall trees by the bridge. Not singing now so hard to spot if it’s still around