American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus)

American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus)

Description: Larger than sparrow-sized, uniformly slate0gray, wren-shaped bird with stubby tail, yellowish feet and white eyelids. Its voice is a bubbling song and its call is a sharp zeet.

Range: Resident from northern Alaska south through out the mountains of the West and into western Panama.

Habitat: It is found exclusively along fast-flowing streams, preferably with rapids and riffles. There is an excellent chance of seeing this bird along Goldstream River and at the Sooke Potholes.

General: Lays 3-6 white eggs in a large insulated nest of moss which it builds under roots, in a rock crevice, or on the bank of a stream. The Dipper feeds on small aquatic invertebrates and small fishes by running over the gravel in shallow water, or, amazingly, by diving into the water and running along the bottom with its wings half open. Sit and watch as it feeds or catch a glimpse as it darts upstream.

References:

Bovey, Robin, Campbell, Wayne, and Gates, Brian. 1989. Birds of Victoria and Vicinity. Lone Pine Publishing. Edmonton, Alberta.

Peterson, Roger Tory. 1990. Peterson Field Guides: Western Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, New York.

Udvardy, Miklos D. F. 1994. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Western Region. Chanticlear Press, Inc. New York, New York.