Family:
The Iberian chiffchaff is very similar to the chiffchaff but brighter in colour and with a smaller head, and longer bill. Until recently it was considered a subspecies. It has greenish-brown upperparts, a buffy-yellow breast, white belly, yellow vent, and pale fringes on the wing feathers. On the head the face is yellow below the bill and it has a yellow line over the eye and a dark eye stripe like the willow warbler. The bill is pale, and the legs are light brown.
It is best distinguished from the chiffchaff by its song and call. The song is made up of a short, series of falling and rising slow notes followed by a rattle, while its call is downslurred and slightly sad and plaintive sounding.
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Iberian chiffchaffs eat mainly insects that they pick from the foliage of trees and dense thickets. It will also eat fruit in autumn and winter and occasionally nectar.
During breeding season, the Iberian chiffchaff is found in native woodlands in Portugal, Spain, and North Africa. It migrates for the winter to open forest and scrubland in West Africa.
