Common Dipper

Cinclus cinclus

Scarce & local residents with 13,000 breeding pairs in Britain & Ireland along shallow watercourse including fast flowing streams and rivers.

Also breeds in the rest of mainland Europe & North West Africa.

The head of the adult is brown, the back is slate-grey mottled with black, looking black from a distance, and the wings and tail are brown.

The throat and upper breast are white, followed by a band of warm chestnut, which merges into black on the belly and flanks.

The bill is almost black, the legs and irises brown. C. c. cinclus has a black belly band.

The young are greyish brown and have no chestnut band.

The Male has a sweet wren-like song.

Also known as White-throated Dipper.