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".
Common chiffchaff the adults are hunted by birds of prey, particularly the sparrowhawk. Small birds are also at the mercy of the weather, particularly when migrating, but also on the breeding and wintering grounds. The common chiffchaff is occasionally a host of brood parasitic cuckoos, including the common and Horsfield's cuckoos, but it recognises and rejects non-mimetic eggs and is therefore only rarely successfully brood-parasitised. Like other passerine birds, the common chiffchaff can also acquire intestinal nematode parasites and external ticks. The main effect of humans on this species is indirect, through woodland clearance which affects the habitat, predation by cats, and