| American dipper | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Cinclidae |
| Genus: | Cinclus |
| Species: | C. mexicanus |
| Binomial name | |
| Cinclus mexicanus Swainson, 1827 | |
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| Distribution map | |
The American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus), also known as a water ouzel, is a semiaquatic bird species native to western North America.
It is a stocky grey bird with a head sometimes tinged with brown, and white feathers on the eyelids that cause the eyes to flash white as the bird blinks. It is 16.5 cm (6.5 in) long, has a wingspan of 23 cm (9.1 in), [2] and weighs on average 46 g (1.6 oz). The name "dipper" derives from its long legs, which it uses to bob its whole body up and down during pauses as it feeds on the bottom of fast-moving, rocky streams.
The American dipper was described by the English zoologist William Swainson in 1827 based on a specimen that had been collected in Mexico by the English naturalist William Bullock. Swainson placed the new species with the dippers in the genus Cinclus and coined the current binomial name Cinclus mexicanus. [3] The type locality is Temascaltepec de González in Mexico. [4]
There are five subspecies: [5]
This species, like other dippers, is equipped with an extra eyelid called a nictitating membrane that allows it to see underwater, and scales that close its nostrils when submerged. Dippers also produce more oil than most birds, which may help keep them warmer when seeking food underwater.
The song consists of high whistles or trills peee peee pijur pijur repeated a few times. Both sexes of this bird sing year round.
The American dipper inhabits the mountainous regions of Central America and western North America from Panama to Alaska. It is usually a permanent resident, moving slightly south or to lower elevations if necessary to find food or unfrozen water. The presence of this indicator species shows good water quality; it has vanished from some locations due to pollution or increased silt load in streams.
The American dipper defends a linear territory along streams. In most of its habits, it closely resembles its European counterpart, the white-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus), which is also sometimes known as a water ouzel.
The American dipper's nest is a globe-shaped structure with a side entrance, close to water, on a rock ledge, river bank, behind a waterfall or under a bridge. The normal clutch is 2–4 white eggs, incubated solely by the female, which hatch after about 15–17 days, with another 20–25 days to fledging. The male helps to feed the young. The maximum recorded age from ring-recovery data of an American dipper is 8 years and 1 month for a bird ringed and recovered in South Dakota. [6]
It feeds on aquatic insects and their larvae, including dragonfly nymphs, small crayfish, and caddisfly larvae. It may also take tiny fish or tadpoles.
Dippers may occasionally be preyed on by predatory fish such as by brook trout, bull or Dolly Varden trout. [7] [8]
The American dipper, previously known as the water-ouzel, was the favorite bird of famous naturalist John Muir. He dedicated an entire chapter in his book The Mountains of California to the ouzel stating "He is the mountain streams' own darling, the humming-bird of blooming waters, loving rocky ripple-slopes and sheets of foam as a bee loves flowers, as a lark loves sunshine and meadows. Among all the mountain birds, none has cheered me so much in my lonely wanderings, —none so unfailingly. For both in winter and summer he sings, sweetly, cheerily, independent alike of sunshine and of love, requiring no other inspiration than the stream on which he dwells. While water sings, so must he, in heat or cold, calm or storm, ever attuning his voice in sure accord; low in the drought of summer and the drought of winter, but never silent." [9]
Dippers are members of the genus Cinclus in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater.
The white-throated dipper, also known as the European dipper or just dipper, is an aquatic passerine bird found in Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The species is divided into several subspecies, based primarily on colour differences, particularly of the pectoral band.
The brown dipper, also known as Pallas's dipper, Asian dipper or the Asiatic dipper, is an aquatic songbird found in the mountains of the east Palearctic. It is a thrush-like bird with a cocked tail. Its plumage is chocolate-brown with a slightly lighter coloured back and breast. At 22 cm (8.7 in) and 87 g (3.1 oz), it is the largest of the dippers. This species, which is not often seen, is found at medium to low elevations where mountain streams flow.
The rufous-throated dipper or Argentine dipper is an aquatic songbird found in South America, and is part of the dipper family.
The ring ouzel is a mainly European member of the thrush family Turdidae. It is a medium-sized thrush, 23–24 centimetres (9.1–9.4 in) in length and weighing 90–138 grams (3.2–4.9 oz). The male is predominantly black with a conspicuous white crescent across its breast. Females are browner and duller than males, and young birds may lack the pale chest markings altogether. In all but the northernmost part of its range, this is a high-altitude species, with three races breeding in mountains from Ireland east to Iran. It breeds in open mountain areas with some trees or shrubs, the latter often including heather, conifers, beech, hairy alpenrose or juniper. It is a migratory bird, leaving the breeding areas to winter in southern Europe, North Africa and Turkey, typically in mountains with juniper bushes. The typical clutch is 3–6 brown-flecked pale blue or greenish-blue eggs. They are incubated almost entirely by the female, with hatching normally occurring after 13 days. The altricial, downy chicks fledge in another 14 days and are dependent on their parents for about 12 days after fledging.
The hooded warbler is a New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America across the eastern United States and into southernmost Canada (Ontario). It is migratory, wintering in Central America and the West Indies. Hooded warblers are very rare vagrants to western Europe.
Townsend's warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.
The Cape longclaw or orange-throated longclaw is a passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which comprises the longclaws, pipits and wagtails. It occurs in Southern Africa in Zimbabwe and southern and eastern South Africa. This species is found in coastal and mountain grassland, often near water.
The canyon wren is a small North American songbird of the wren family Troglodytidae. It is resident throughout its range and is generally found in arid, rocky cliffs, outcrops, and canyons. It is a small bird that is hard to see on its rocky habitat; however, it can be heard throughout the canyons by its distinctive, loud song. It is currently in a monotypic taxon and is the only species in the genus Catherpes.
The Cyprus dipper was a bird subspecies endemic to Cyprus. It was a stream wader in the montane forests of the island. This insectivorous bird was last observed c. 1950 on Cyprus. It disappeared after deforestation.
The long-tailed hermit is a large hummingbird that is a resident breeder in Venezuela, the Guianas, and north-eastern Brazil. This species was formerly referred to as the eastern long-tailed hermit.
Setophaga is a genus of birds of the New World warbler family Parulidae. It contains at least 34 species. The Setophaga warblers are an example of adaptive radiation with the various species using different feeding techniques and often feeding in different parts of the same tree.
The white-throated magpie-jay is a large Central American species of magpie-jay. It ranges in Pacific-slope thorn forest from Jalisco, Mexico, to Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Magpie-jays are noisy, gregarious birds, often traveling in easy-to-find flocks, mobbing their observers.
The yellow-faced grassquit is a passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae and is the only member of the genus Tiaris. It is native to the Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
The broad-billed hummingbird is a small-sized hummingbird that resides in Mexico and the southwestern United States. Males and females have different features. The juveniles resemble the female adult more than the male adult. The broad-billed hummingbird is a bright coloured bird with a broad and bright red bill. The bird is also known for its other common names – the Colibrí Pico Ancho in Spanish and Colibri circé in French. It is more active during the day and less active during the night.
The red warbler is a small passerine bird of the New World warbler family Parulidae endemic to the highlands of Mexico, north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It is closely related to, and forms a superspecies with, the pink-headed warbler of southern Mexico and Guatemala. There are three subspecies, found in disjunct populations, which differ in the color of their ear patch and in the brightness and tone of their body plumage. The adult is bright red, with a white or gray ear patch, depending on the subspecies; young birds are pinkish-brown, with a whitish ear patch and two pale wingbars.
Wild Basin a region in the southeast corner Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, United States. The primary entrance is located north of Allenspark off State Highway 7.
The rufescent tiger heron is a species of heron in the family Ardeidae. It is found in wetlands from Central America through much of South America.
The mountain trogon, also known as the Mexican trogon, is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. First described by William Swainson in 1827, it is resident in Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico and has occurred in El Salvador as a vagrant. Like all trogons, the mountain trogon is sexually dimorphic. The male is metallic green on the crown, nape, upperparts and chest, the latter separated from its bright red belly and vent by a narrow band of white. The female is warm brown on the head, upperparts and chest, separated from its paler brown lower chest and red belly and vent by a narrow white band.
| Authority control databases: National |
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