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White-throated Dipper

White-throated Dipper

Cinclus cinclus

Identify the White-throated Dipper by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The White-throated Dipper is a compact, starling-sized aquatic songbird of fast-flowing streams from Europe through the Middle East and Central Asia to the Himalayas. It has a dark body and a bright white throat and breast. Uniquely among songbirds, it regularly dives and “flies” underwater, and even walks along the streambed to feed. Northern birds move to open water in winter.

Did you know?

  • Its name comes from its habit of bobbing on rocks, not from its diving.
  • It is one of the few songbirds that routinely swims and dives underwater.

Voice

Song

About the species

Identification

A plump, short-tailed, dark brown bird about the size of a starling, with a clear white breast and throat patch. The wings are short and the flight direct; its diving and perching on rocks by running water separate it from all other songbirds.

Family

Cinclidae

Size

Medium (thrush)

Colours

brown, white, black

About the habitat

Clear, fast-flowing rivers and streams with rapids, stony banks and rocks; in winter any open, flowing water, including lake outlets.

Diet

Aquatic invertebrates such as caddisfly and mayfly larvae, beetles, small crustaceans and freshwater snails, and occasionally small fish; also invertebrates from banks and rocks.

Behaviour

Often seen bobbing with tail cocked on midstream rocks or ice edges, then plunging into the current and swimming with its wings to forage on the bottom. It flies fast and low over the water. Pairs are monogamous and hold linear territories along streams; males sing a sweet, wren-like song even in winter. The domed nest is built in a crevice, behind a waterfall or under a bridge.

Sources

Photo: Mark Medcalf, CC BY 2.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cinclus cinclus -Kirkcudbright, Scotland-8.jpg

Sound: Terje Kolaas, XC425880, CC BY 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/425880

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions + Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0; Wikipedia: CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-throated_dipper

See also