Iberian chiffchaff Iberian chiffchaff The Iberian chiffchaff ("Phylloscopus ibericus") is a species of leaf warbler endemic to Portugal, Spain and North Africa, west of a line stretching roughly from the western Pyrenees via the mountains of central Spain to the Mediterranean. The name "chiffchaff" is onomatopoeic, referring to the repetitive "chiff-chaff" song of the common chiffchaff ("Phylloscopus collybita"). There are similar names in some other European languages, such as the Dutch "Tjiftjaf", the German "Zilpzalp" and Welsh "siff-saff". The genus name "Phylloscopus" is from Ancient Greek "phullon", "leaf", and "skopos", "seeker" (from "skopeo", "to watch"). The specific "ibericus" is Latin for "Iberian".
The Life of Birds matter had been covered before by Attenborough within "Life on Earth", in an episode entitled "Lords of the Air", but now he was free to expand on it. However, by his own confession, despite being especially fascinated by one family, the birds of paradise, Attenborough was not an expert in ornithology. Nevertheless, the notion of an entire series devoted to the creatures excited him, as he would be able to not only communicate his findings to the viewing audience, but further his own knowledge as well. From the outset, the production team were determined that the sound of birds calling