Iberian chiffchaff


The Iberian chiffchaff 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 Atlantic.

Taxonomy and etymology

The name "chiffchaff" is onomatopoeic, referring to the repetitive chiff-chaff song of the common chiffchaff. 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". The specific ibericus is Latin for "Iberian".
Previously the Iberian chiffchaff was considered as a subspecies of the common chiffchaff. As of 2016, it is recognised as a separate species under the name Phylloscopus ibericus for the following reasons :
In past, erroneously listed as Phylloscopus brehmii.