adult

adult juvenile European distribution adult with food for young

Identification

They are very distinctive birds like big fat Wrens, dark brown, almost black but with a huge white 'baby's bib' covering their breast. In juvenile birds the pale front is obscured by scaly grey blotches. Look carefully and you'll see their white eyelids as they blink at regular intervals.

Habitat

Breeds and winters on fast flowing upland streams.

Behaviour

It has been shown that Dippers do actually walk underwater along the riverbed in search of food. The white 'eyelid' which can be seen when they 'blink' helps to protect the eyes when they are searching for food underwater.

Migration

Mostly resident although northerly birds are medium-distance migrants to areas further south.

This information is taken from the BirdFile on the appropriate BirdGuides DVD-ROM. As well as video and sounds, our CD- and DVD-ROMs contain additional text on Voice, Sexing, Ageing, Food, Nests and Eggs and more.

For the purposes of our bird news services, Dipper is classed as Common: common species, including species that are certain or probable escapees from captivity when occurring in the British Isles. (Note that rarity levels are currently applied nationally and may not reflect local variations in abundance.)

Longnor, Shrops 29/03/2009	Melrose, Borders 28/01/2010	Craig y Cilau NNR, Powys 24/01/2010	Melrose, Borders 28/01/2010	Melrose, Borders 28/01/2010
Melrose, Borders 27/01/2010	Melrose, Borders 27/01/2010	undisc. site, Manc'r 09/01/2010	Szilvásvárad, Hungary 04/10/2009	Annan, Dumf & Gall 10/01/2010

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Dipper breeds in the following countries (Bird News Extra subscribers will see population statistics and information on trends for each country):

Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Britain
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lichtenstein
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia and Montenegro
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine

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