Dippers are very unique birds, and in fact are the world’s only aquatic passerine (perching songbird) species!
With double the average number of feathers for a bird their size to increase both insulation and swim speed, specially adapted iris muscles that enable them to see underwater as well as above, high concentrations of hemoglobin that allow for superior blood flow and muscle function even in frigid mountain air and waters, and a plethora of other adaptations, dippers are incredibly well-suited to their high elevation aquatic lifestyle.
These little birds can not only fly and swim, but they have surprisingly strong and sturdy legs equipped with long, highly tensile toes and sharp claws that allow them to adeptly grip just about anything. Because of this, dippers can appear to walk underwater even in fast-flowing rivers and streams!
They’re an overall chipper (see what we did there?) group of birds, with John Muir noting how gleeful they are even in the midst of winter storms whilst other birds are hunkering down, or when diving through crashing waterfalls in Yellowstone National Park.
There are five species of dippers and dozens of subspecies. The former includes the American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) of the Americas, the brown dipper (Cinclus pallasii) of the eastern Palearctic region, the white-capped dipper (Cinclus leucocephalus) of South America (particularly the Andes mountains), the rufous-throated dipper (Cinclus schulzi) of the southern Andes, and the white-throated of European dipper (Cinclus cinclus) of Europe, the Middle East, portions of central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent in southern Asia.
In this article, we’ll learn more about Norway’s national bird, the European dipper!
White-throated Dipper Native Habitat & Range
As mentioned above, white-throated dippers have a very broad (but somewhat patchy) distribution, ranging across much of Europe, the Middle East, portions of central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent in southern Asia. This includes much of the U.K., Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Mongolia, India, Nepal, and Bhutan.
As with all dipper species, you can expect to find white-throated dippers in and along fast-flowing streams and rivers with ample water movement and rocks suitable for the aquatic insect species that they depend on. They can be found along slower-moving waters at times, as well, and along some lowland coastlines outside of the nesting season. Often, dippers greatly prefer mountainous and cliff-like habitats, found almost exclusively in these types of areas during the nesting season. Steep and rocky terrain help protect their eggs and young from potential predators, while nearby (usually directly below or adjacent to the nesting area) rivers and streams provide ample food. They may also be found along lakes and ponds that are fed by rivers or streams, and lowland habitats like grasslands and wetlands during winter when upland water sources have frozen.
The water must be clean and well-oxygenated, as this provides the most suitable habitat for the largest number of aquatic insects and fish alike, both of which dippers depend on. Polluted waters often result in dippers moving from the area within just a season or two as pollution and low-oxygen conditions greatly diminish the availability and health of their prey.
White-throated Dipper Identification & Appearance
White-throated dippers, regardless of gender, average about 18 cm (or 7.1 inches) in length. Males are usually between 60 and 76 grams while females typically weigh between 50 and 67 grams. These birds are fairly small and appear somewhat round, due partially to their massive amount of feathers meant to both keep them warm, keep water out, and hold air bubbles to enable faster swimming (much like the feathers of penguins do).
Adults have a distinctly brown head and a back that is a mottled mixture of black, grey, and brown. The wings and tail can be brown or mottled similarly to the back. As might be surmised from their name, the throat and chest of the white-throated dipper are a bright, vivid white. Adults will have a brown belly, while juveniles will have a completely white belly. The bill is quite dark, usually black or slate grey. Two subspecies found in Spain, C. cinclus cinclus and C. cinclus aquaticus, have been found to possess red-brown throat and chest coloration rather than white, meaning that throat and chest color can’t be used to determine white-throated dipper subspecies in their Spanish range.
White-throated Dipper Diet & Nutrition
Dippers, including European dippers, feed almost exclusively on aquatic insects and their larvae like mayflies, midges, and mosquitoes, but will also eat the occasional small fish, fish eggs, worms, and small crustaceans. They can be observed obtaining food by diving into the water, walking along the water’s bottom, or even swimming through strong currents! They rely on heavy amounts of protein to fuel their very active, non-migratory, year-round lifestyle that persists through even the harshest of winters.
White-throated Dipper Behavioral Traits
Perhaps the most notable behavioral trait of all dippers is their namesake – when searching for food, they very quickly dip their heads in and out of the water (as much as 60 times per minute!). They will often perch on rocks in the water or wade directly in the water to do this. Male dippers will also dip and bob their heads to attract females as well as warn off other males.
When courting, the males will sing as they stick out their chests and then alternate between flying high and low to very literally show off their fitness. Females often choose males based on their song and flight.
Additionally, white-throated dippers possess white eyelids that flash noticeably when they blink. It is believed that this is for the sake of communicating with other dippers, as it can be quite difficult to hear calls and songs over the rushing rivers that these small birds are most often found in and near.
White-throated Dipper Reproduction Habits
White-throated dippers reach sexual maturity around one year of age. As with other dippers, European dippers are somewhat monogamous, meaning that they stay with the same mate throughout the breeding season, though can change mates year to year. Uncommonly, dippers may choose the same mate for several breeding seasons in a row.
Both males and females contribute to building and guarding the nest, which is usually placed very near a river, often in hard-to-reach, steep rocky crags and cracks. Dipper nests have also been found on bridges, in tree cavities (very uncommon), on rocky ledges or large rocks themselves, and even behind waterfalls!
Dipper nests are large and round, often resembling a basketball in both shape and size. They’re quite elaborate with two chambers. The outer chamber is made mostly of moss (which can be dipped in water to further insulate it) and mean primarily for insulation and guarding against prying eyes, while the inner “cup” is made of moss, grasses, leaves, and sometimes feathers and fur. Not always, but sometimes the two layers are offset from one another with separate entrances to make it more difficult for predators to see or get to eggs and chicks.
Usually, anywhere from one to eight eggs are laid. Only the female incubates the eggs, while the male brings her food. After anywhere from two to three weeks, the eggs hatch, and both parents contribute to the feeding and guarding. After about three weeks, most young have fledged but stick around for another week or so before becoming fully independent. Some parents may continue feeding their young for a couple of weeks after they’ve fledged. White-throated dippers can have multiple broods back-to-back, sometimes up to three in one nesting season. The process starts anew once the previous brood has fledged, though new eggs may be laid while fledged young are still in the nest.
White-throated Dipper Population Threats & Numbers
White-throated dippers are fairly abundant and listed as “Least Concern” by the IUCN Red List, with an estimated global population of 740,000-1,700,000 mature individuals. However, in Europe there were as many as 61,000-584,000 mature individuals in 2015, with numbers decreasing around 25% every 12 to 13 years.
The greatest threats to white-throated dippers are decreasing water quality due to pollution, reduced insect populations due to various human impacts like ecosystem destruction and pollution, and dipper habitat loss through human expansion and development. Dams and similar impoundments built along rivers greatly alter and remove dipper habitats, and even irrigation and hydro-electric operations diminish habitats as they significantly reduce water flow, thereby affecting white-throated dippers by decreasing food populations, like those of various aquatic insects as well as fishes.
