Dipper

Dippers
American Dipper
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Cinclidae Genus: Cinclus Borkhausen, 1797
Species
Cinclus cinclus Cinclus leucocephalus Cinclus mexicanus Cinclus pallasii Cinclus schulzi

Dippers are members of the genus Cinclus in the bird family Cinclidae. They are a group of perching birds whose habitat includes aquatic environments in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. They are named for their bobbing or dipping movements.

Usually they inhabit the banks of fast-moving hillside rivers, though some nest near shallow lakes. They have dense feathers with a down undercoat, an advanced^[clarify] nictitating eye membrane and a larger preen gland for waterproofing their plumage. Their blood can store more oxygen than other passerine birds^{[citation needed]} which allows them to remain underwater for up to 10 seconds.

These adaptations let them submerge and walk on the bottom to feed on insect larvae. They are about 8 inches in size with a short tail and wings and resemble the wrens, though there is no clear relationship.

Cinclus is the only genus in the family Cinclidae. The White-throated Dipper was also known in Britain as water ouzel (sometimes spelt "ousel") – ouzel originally meant the unrelated but superficially similar Blackbird (Old English osle)^[1]; ouzel also survives as the name of a relative of the Blackbird, the Ring Ouzel.

Species

• White-throated Dipper or European Dipper, Cinclus cinclus
• White-capped Dipper Cinclus leucocephalus
• American Dipper Cinclus mexicanus
• Brown Dipper Cinclus pallasii
• Rufous-throated Dipper Cinclus schulzi

References

1. ^ [1] List of Old English bird names

• Mullarney, Svensson, Zetterstrom and Grant, Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0-00-219728-6

External links

• ITIS - Cinclus
• Dipper videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Dipper sounds on xeno-canto.org

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