Common chiffchaff / Zilpzalp (Phylloscopus collybita)

Wikipedia eBird Vogelwarte BirdLife ZH ornitho.ch bird-song.ch Xeno-Canto BirdID NABU

In our back yard in Fehraltorf 2020-10-03 12.44.50 Luppmen
Classification: Genus Phylloscopus; Family Phylloscopidae
In the survey of 2008, there was only 1 Chiffchaff in Fehraltorf for every 7 blackbirds, and it was ranked 19th in the village. Yet in summer 2020 I heard them in nearly every recording I make, whether at home by the brook (Luppmen) or in the woods. I presume their population has exploded in the last 10 years.
I see them in middle branches, but not in particularly exposed places.
Song: [Translated from German:] From the middle of August till the end of September the chiffchaff offers regular autumn song. [Link]
Lange Reihen (6-20) von „zilp-zalp“-Rufen, meist abwechselnd in Tonhöhe. (Als bemühe sich der Sänger vergeblich den ersten Ton wieder zu treffen , ohne jedoch weit zu verfehlen.) „Zins zahl, Zins zahl, zahl Zins, Zins Zins zahl“ („Zins“ etwas höher als „zahl“) [Link]
Song a very distinct: "chiff-chaff-chiff-chiff-chaff-chiff", in a regular clock-like rhythm. Each syllable at seemingly random pitch, but no large intervals tonally. Sometimes "get stuck" at one note. [Link]
Calls: Rufe :einsilbiges „hüid“, hinaufgezogen, wandelbar. [Link]
Contact/alarm call a soft, plaintive ascending "hooeet". Similar to W.Warbler, but shorter with a monosyllabic feel. [Link]
Physical details: length=10-11 cm, wingspan=15-21 cm, weight=6-10 g
Habitats: Forest

Song: Seems to consist of 3 notes repeated randomly, occasionally just 2 notes. Though NABU.de says they stop singing at the end of July, I do hear their 3-note song occasionally in October, but just one or two repetitions.
Song attributes: Melody: simple rhythmic, slow, Frequency: high (3-9 KHz) Singing season: 03-01 - 07-31 Dawn chorus start, 35 minutes before dawn.
Call: Repeated rising note, not too loud

Source: XENOCANTO XC656913 - Common Chiffchaff - Phylloscopus collybita - call recorded in Belgium.mp3 (contact call)


Call attributes: Call melody: one note, slow, Frequency: 2-4 KHz, Special sounds: whoop.
First documented observation : 2019-06-04 in Forsthaus.

Media


In our back yard in Fehraltorf 2020-10-03 12.45.08 Luppmen

Zilp zalp in wald Fehraltorf. 2020-04-09 16.56.11 Wald Fehraltorf

Zilpzalp Hintern. 2023-10-26 14.11.58

Zilpzalp im Wald Fehraltorf 2020-04-06 16.04.05 Luppmen (song)

Additional Images


Zilpzalp im Dogwood, Fehraltorf. 2023-10-26 14.12.40

Zilpzalp im Dogwood, Fehraltorf. 2023-10-26 14.12.02

Zilpzalp landet im Dogwood, Fehraltorf. 2023-10-26 14.02.18

Possibly common zilpzalp at San Christiano, Tenerife. 2022-03-19 11.05.56 Canary Islands

Zilpzalp in Carona. 2021-04-02 08.23.16 Carona

Additional Audio


Source: BirdNet 20211024_093104 birdnet 2022 - Zilpzalp, whooping call - Zilpzalp - Neerach.mp3 2021-10-24 09.31.04 Neeracherried (call)

Source: BirdNet 20210819_091028 birdnet 1946 - Common Chiffchaff doubtful, saw willow warbler - Common Chiffchaff - Uznach.mp3 2021-08-19 09.10.28 Uznach (song?)

Source: BirdNet 20210814_072148 birdnet 1906 - Common Chiffchaff whoop call - Common Chiffchaff - Fehraltorf.mp3 2021-08-14 07.21.48 Fehraltorf (call)

Source: BirdNet 20210726_115121 birdnet 1850 - Common Chiffchaff in forest - Common Chiffchaff - Sankt Moritz.mp3 2021-07-26 11.51.21 Engadin (song?)

Source: BirdNet 20210720_150957 birdnet 1824 - Common Chiffchaff, they were around after I doubted it at first - Common Chiffchaff - Weisslingen.mp3 2021-07-20 15.09.57 Weisslingen (song?)

♫ Zilpzalp plus whoop im brändli. 2021-03-23 14.32.35 Wald auf dem Hoenggerberg (song?)

Source: BirdNet 20201031_090720 birdnet 1064 plus second bird, rising call - Common chiffchaff - Fehraltorf.mp3 2020-10-31 09.07.20 Fehraltorf (call)

Source: BirdNet 20201005_113156 birdnet 970 Chiffchaff whoop call - Common chiffchaff - Fehraltorf.mp3 2020-10-05 11.31.56 Fehraltorf (call)

Source: BirdNet 20200930_165915 birdnet 958 more weird loud calls plus rising call - Common chiffchaff - Fehraltorf.mp3 2020-09-30 16.59.15 Fehraltorf (call)

Source: BirdNet 20200713_135501 birdnet 794 to id - Common chiffchaff.mp3 2020-07-13 13.55.01 Hirzli (song?)

♫ Alpweg blackbird zilpzalp and interesting unknown bird, could be zaunkönig, etc. 2020-06-27 16.05.47 Alpweg (song?)

Source: BirdNet 20200609_104723 birdnet 588 wild guess zilpzalp - No confident detection.mp3 2020-06-09 10.47.23 Sils (song?)

Source: BirdNet 20200507_102011 birdnet 462 fragende note - wer - wirklich zilpzalp - Common chiffchaff.mp3 2020-05-07 10.20.11 Hungerseeli (song?)

Source: BirdNet 20200501_115845 birdnet 450 im Wald zwischen Usterstrasse und - Common chiffchaff.mp3 2020-05-01 11.58.45 Luppmen (song?)

♫ Blackbird Saeumenweg mit Zilpzalp, Hahn. 2020-04-25 08.22.37 Luppmen (song?)

Source: BirdNet 20200424_061335 birdnet 395 Luppmen - Common chiffchaff.mp3 2020-04-24 06.13.35 Luppmen (song?)

♫ Chirping atop tree plus zilpzalp, buchfink. 2020-04-23 09.45.13 Luppmen (song?)

♫ Rotkelchen zilpzalp Flugzeug waldkorporation. 2020-04-23 09.34.02 Forsthaus (song?)

♫ Leaky hose plus zilpzalp. 2020-04-23 09.31.53 Luppmen (song?)

Source: BirdNet 20200423_065141 birdnet 375 sputter, whistle - Common chiffchaff.mp3 2020-04-23 06.51.41 Luppmen (song?)

Source: BirdNet 20200417_082039 birdnet 259 zilpzalp but also 2 note at higher pitch 2nd - No confident detection.mp3 2020-04-17 08.20.39 Wald Fehraltorf (song?)

♫ One note ascending zilpzalp or moenchsgrasmuecke. 2020-04-06 16.03.49 Luppmen (song?)