Dipper

From Free net encyclopedia

(Difference between revisions)

Revision as of 05:51, 17 April 2006
Jimfbleak (Talk | contribs)
replace with an image of a dipper, previously was Brewer's Blackbird
Next diff →

Current revision

For other uses, see Dipper (disambiguation).

{{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Dippers | image = Americandipper67.jpg | image_caption = American Dipper | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Chordata | classis = Aves | ordo = Passeriformes | familia = Cinclidae | genus = Cinclus | genus_authority = Borkhausen, 1797 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision =

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 nictitating eye membrane and a larger preen gland for waterproofing their plumage. Their blood can store more oxygen than other passerine birds 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 historically in Britain as ouzel, or water ouzel (ouzel sometimes being spelt with an s rather than a z).

[edit]