DSC8377 Dipper... - a photo on Flickriver

DSC8377 Dipper...

            Dipper - Cinclus Cinclus

aka Water Ouzel
 
Dippers are members of the genus Cinclus in the bird family Cinclidae, named for their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater.

They have a characteristic bobbing motion when perched beside the water, giving them their name. While under water, they are covered by a thin, silvery film of air, due to small bubbles being trapped on the surface of the plumage.

Dippers are found in suitable freshwater habitats in the highlands of the Americas, Europe and Asia. In Africa they are only found in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. They inhabit the banks of fast-moving upland rivers with cold, clear waters, though, outside the breeding season, they may visit lake shores and sea coasts.

The high haemoglobin concentration in their blood gives them a capacity to store oxygen greater than that of other birds, allowing them to remain underwater for thirty seconds or more, whilst their basal metabolic rate is approximately one-third slower than typical terrestrial passerines of similar mass. One small population wintering at a hot spring in Suntar-Khayata Mountains of Siberia feeds underwater when air temperatures drop below −55 °C (−67 °F).

Dippers are completely dependent on fast-flowing rivers with clear water, accessible food and secure nest-sites. They may be threatened by anything that affects these needs such as water pollution, acidification and turbidity caused by erosion. River regulation through the creation of dams and reservoirs, as well as channelization, can degrade and destroy dipper habitat.

Dippers are also sometimes hunted or otherwise persecuted by humans for various reasons. The Cyprus race of the white-throated dipper is extinct. In the Atlas Mountains dippers are claimed to have aphrodisiacal properties. In parts of Scotland and Germany, until the beginning of the 20th century, bounties were paid for killing dippers because of a misguided perception that they were detrimental to fish stocks through predation on the eggs and fry of salmonids.

Population:

UK breeding:

6,200-18,700 pairs

Taken on: April 18, 2019

Tags:

Dipper

Dippers

Avian

Animal

Animals

Wildlife.

Wetlands

Wildbirds

Wildlife Photography

Jeff Lack Photography

Water-Birds

Water

River Birds

Rivers

River-Banks

Countryside

Nature

NGC

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Sets appears in: • Dipper

Groups appears in: • Wildlife Photography • UK Nature more » • Water Birds • Unlimited Birds • ***The Wildlife Photography • WelshFlickrCymru • TMI: your ART & NATURE **NO PEOPLE OR MAN-MADE OBJECTS** P1♥C1 • Wings Of The World • The Worlds Best Nature, Wildlife, And Macro Photography • * Birds of Britain * • BBC Wales Nature & Landscapes • Wildlife UK • MARIPOSAS&BIRDS&FLORA&FAUNA&BUTTERFLY • Wales Birders • ***ANIMALS INTERNATIONAL*** New Title/Awards (NO PEOPLE) • #4 PLATINUM WILDLIFE/ Post 1 - Award 1 (P2-A2) with CODE • the RSPB • BBC Springwatch (Official) • Wildlife of the British Isles • Nature's Golden Carousel ~ Closed! • RSPB Love Nature • World of Birds • *Specialist Nature & Wildlife Photographers* (P1 - A2) • UK - Wildlife & Nature • ***Naturally Wonderful***[100% NATURE]NO PEOPLE/BUILDINGS/BOATS • Uk birdwatchers • #3 PALLADIUM WILDLIFE/ Post 1 - Award 5 (P2-A10) with CODE • Wild Bird Photography • Welsh Wildlife Group • BBC Wildlife aspirations • Spectacular Bird Photos • *Feathers & Beaks* P1 - A3 • The Best Wildlife Photography on Planet Earth. • World of Wildlife • UK wild life watching • RSPB Cymru Photo Group • Our Wonderful and Fragile World - P1 - A4 • NATURE'S SPIRIT (by invitation) (post 1/award 1) • Wildlife and Landscape Photography • Treasures of the World • * Wonderful World of Wildlife * • Wildlife Sightings UK • Illuminations in the Wild • The Wonderful Wildlife UK • This is Nature • Wildlife: 100 views 10 favourites (Strictly enforced) • Worldwide Fauna • The World of Birds • Taken in Wales • Stunning wildlife • Birds..wild birds field guide of Britain • UK-Birds & Wildlife • Birds of Britain and the Western Palearctic • The Best of British Birds and Wildlife • Specialists' Choice Nature & Wildlife (P1 - A2) • South Wales Wildlife Photography • The Specialists' Hall of Fame « less

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