Common chiffchaff the male has little involvement in nesting, but defends his territory against rivals, and attacks potential predators. A small insectivorous bird, it is subject to predation by mammals, such as cats and mustelids, and birds, particularly hawks of the genus "Accipiter". Its large range and population mean that its status is secure, although one subspecies is probably extinct. The British naturalist Gilbert White was one of the first people to separate the similar-looking common chiffchaff, willow warbler and wood warbler by their songs, as detailed in 1789 in "The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne", but the common chiffchaff was
The Birds' Christmas Carol illness (possibly tuberculosis), and, by the time she is 10, she is bedridden; physicians say that she does not have long to live. Most of the brief novel's plot involves Carol making plans for a Christmas celebration for the nine Ruggles children, a poor, working-class family living near the Birds. Wiggin's story is primarily a moral tale about a saintly child, but unlike many other such stories of the period, Carol is refreshingly intelligent and cheerful instead of pious. The story is also enlivened by many humorous touches, particularly in the scenes of the Ruggles family's home life. In 1917,