They are named after the sound they make and have a rather unremarkable brown appearance, that is however until you look closer at them and see hints of yellow and green. They can be found in Eurasia and some fly to Africa in the winter because the weather is a whole lot nicer there. My first time seeing one of them was 20 august 2025, which is 4 days ago for me now and could be 100 years in the past for you.
Despite me only seeing one recently I've been hearing these birds my entire life, when I listened to their distinct "high, low, high, low" song I immediatly heard the sounds of spring when these birds are the noisiest. I unconsciously remebered these sounds but only made the link a few days ago, amazing how that works.
Anyway these guys have an intimate relationship in spring and care for their children, then they part to find new love the next year. The cuckoo also tries to cuck them sometimes but they are smart enough to throw foreign eggs out of their nest.
Some tips if you ever want to see this guy: they look a whole lot like a different bird, the "willow warbler". A fellow birder I met in a birdwatching shack told me:"the difference is in the legs, Chiffchaff has dark legs, while the willow warbler has brownish yellow legs." Keep that in mind when you go searching. The songs are also distinctly different.
Keep your eyes and ears peeled.
