White-throated Dipper

Cinclus cinclus

The only songbird in Europe that walks underwater. Hunts on streambeds, blinking a white eyelid.

Population: 700,000–1,700,000 mature individuals globally (decreasing trend)
Habitat: Fast-flowing, clear-water rocky streams and rivers with riffles and exposed rocks; also lake margins; nests in crevices, cliffs, and under bridges over running water; some birds move to slower lowland rivers or coasts in winter
Fun fact: The White-throated Dipper is Europe's only truly aquatic passerine, walking and swimming along stream beds to hunt underwater — an ability aided by scales that seal its nostrils, a nictitating membrane that protects its eyes, and dense waterproof plumage; it is also the national bird of Norway.
Range: Patchily but widely distributed across the Palearctic — Britain, Ireland, and Scandinavia through continental Europe, Northwest Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia), the Middle East, Russia and Central Asia, to China, Mongolia, India, and Bhutan (14 recognized subspecies, one — the Cyprus form — extinct since 1945); present in 50+ countries
Diet: Mainly aquatic invertebrates (caddisfly larvae and other aquatic insect larvae, the amphipod Gammarus, freshwater molluscs such as Limnaea and Ancylus); also small fish, fish eggs, and amphibian larvae, taken by walking and swimming along stream beds using its wings for underwater propulsion
Size: 0.18 m
Wingspan: 0.28 m
Lifespan: 10 years

More Songbirds