Iberian Chiffchaff

Iberian Chiffchaff

Phylloscopus ibericus

Silhouette: Jiekun He · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Lisbon

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%

207 Verified sightings at Lisbon
381 In all 6 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Iberian Chiffchaff

The Iberian chiffchaff (Phylloscopus ibericus) is a species of passerine belonging to the family Phylloscopidae, the leaf warblers. This species is found as a breeding bird in southwestern Europe and northwestern Africa. It winters in western Africa south of the Sahara Desert.

However, when the holotype of P. c. brehmi was re-examined it was found to actually be an example of common chiffchaff which rendered Homeyer's name invalid. As of 2016, it is recognised as a separate species under the name Phylloscopus ibericus

The genus name Phylloscopus is from Ancient Greek phullon, "leaf", and skopos, "seeker" (from skopeo, "to watch"). The specific ibericus is Latin for "Iberian". The name "chiffchaff" is onomatopoeic, referring to the repetitive chiff-chaff song... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:31

Germany · 2026

© Emil Lundahl · XC1152304 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:51

Spain · 2026

© Marcos Prada Arias · XC1142089 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Subsong0:47

Belgium · 2025

© Kelle Moreau · XC993715 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Picos de Europa National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
2 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
3 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
4 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
5 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
6 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ouagadougou 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
~20%
2 Lisbon 🇵🇹 Portugal
<5%
3 Marrakesh 🇲🇦 Morocco
<5%
4 Porto 🇵🇹 Portugal
<5%
5 Madrid 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Iberian Chiffchaff in Lisbon?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Iberian Chiffchaff sighting in Lisbon on a given day, based on 207 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 90th most-seen of the 186 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Iberian Chiffchaff in Lisbon?

August and September

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Iberian Chiffchaff in Lisbon on a given day, against under 5% in October to July, the lowest months. Those are among Lisbon's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain a month against 95 mm in November.

What time of day is best to see an Iberian Chiffchaff?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Iberian Chiffchaff sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Lisbon the best place to see an Iberian Chiffchaff?

2nd of 5

Of the 5 cities where we can rate Iberian Chiffchaff sightings, Lisbon ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, about 20%).

Where does the Iberian Chiffchaff sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Iberian Chiffchaff is recorded against all the birds logged in Lisbon (207 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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