DSC8481 Dipper.. - a photo on Flickriver

DSC8481 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

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Dipper

Dippers

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Sets appears in: • Dipper

Groups appears in: • Wildlife Photography • UK Nature more » • Water Birds • Unlimited Birds • Bird Images • A Guide To The Birds Of Europe • WelshFlickrCymru • TMI: your ART & NATURE **NO PEOPLE OR MAN-MADE OBJECTS** P1♥C1 • Wings Of The World • The European Nature And Wildlife Group • Beautiful Birds • All birds all the time • Wales Online Photography Flickr Group • Wildlife UK • Avian Photography • Wales Birders • #4 PLATINUM WILDLIFE/ Post 1 - Award 1 (P2-A2) with CODE • the RSPB • BBC Springwatch (Official) • Wildlife of the British Isles • World of Birds • *Specialist Nature & Wildlife Photographers* (P1 - A2) • UK - Wildlife & Nature • Amazing Birds ***No Rules, No Banning, No Sweepers*** • AWESOME BIRDS ! (Award 2 Please) • 4 Birds only • Uk birdwatchers • :: | Bird Photography |:: • #3 PALLADIUM WILDLIFE/ Post 1 - Award 5 (P2-A10) with CODE • Wild Bird Photography • Welsh Wildlife Group • Best Bird Photographers • BBC Wildlife aspirations • Spectacular Bird Photos • *Feathers & Beaks* P1 - A3 • The Best Wildlife Photography on Planet Earth. • Avian Wonders • World of Wildlife • UK wild life watching • Our Wonderful and Fragile World - P1 - A4 • NATURE'S SPIRIT (by invitation) (post 1/award 1) • Wildlife and Landscape Photography • Treasures of the World • Wildlife Sightings UK • Best Birds Worldwide • The Wonderful Wildlife UK • This is Nature • Amateur Photographer Magazine • The World of Birds • Taken in Wales • NATURE'S KALEIDOSCOPE P1 X A1 • 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) • Universart ECO arts /Wild nature//Ecologia/Moderated • South Wales Wildlife Photography • The Specialists' Hall of Fame « less

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