The water dipper (Cinclus cinclus) is stocky, at first glance a plump bird of dark brown color with somewhat ’smudged’ wings, back and tail, its throat and chest are snow-white. Juveniles are gray with a darker pea-shaped pattern, the whiteness on their chests is less extensive, ’smudged’ and interrupted by a pattern of dark crescent-shaped lines. The water dipper measures from the tip of its slender, short beak to the end of its short tail a little under 20 cm.
The water dipper is a resident of fast-flowing, oxygen-rich clear rivers and streams with rocky bottoms and stony banks. In Slovenia, it is thus most common in the mid-mountain and Alpine regions, while in the lowlands it is rarer. Nevertheless, in winter it often migrates to lower-lying areas, to slow, meandering rivers. We will see it perched on a moss-covered rock that rises above the water surface, or skimming just above the water as it passes by us. If we are patient enough, we can observe it tirelessly gathering aquatic insects and other aquatic invertebrates. The water dipper is a good swimmer, able to swim on the surface, dive using its wings and use the current to keep it underwater while it forages for insect larvae and other invertebrates that cling to rocks or hide beneath them.
The nest lined with moss and other plant material is built by the water, for example among the roots of trees on the riverbank, it hides it behind a waterfall or attaches it under a bridge. It nests between March and June, but since it is a year-round resident, we can encounter it along clean waterways all year.
In Slovenia it is threatened by the loss of suitable habitat due to river regulations, therefore it is listed on the Red List of nesting birds as a vulnerable species.
