Bird Album
White-throated Dipper
Cinclus cinclus (Linnaeus, 1758)
18 cmLength28 cmWingspan62 gWeight
This plump, short-tailed bird often stands on rocks in rapids, bobbing its body up and down, and also dives.
Busiest months: January and March–April · Most records: China, Spain, United Kingdom
How to identify
Field marks
- Plump body and short tail
- White throat and upper breast
- Some European subspecies have a slate-gray back that looks blackish at a distance
Male, female and young
Juveniles are gray-brown and lack the chestnut band.
Voice
A sharp “zil, zil, zil” in flight; the male's song is sweet, like that of Eurasian Wren.
Where and when it's recorded
White-throated Dipper has been recorded at 292 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 46 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Hoces Ebro Rudrón PNat – Molino del CantoSpain438 records
- Vallée d'OukaïmedenMorocco328 records
- Tetti LupoItaly249 records
More places
- Arnfield ReservoirUnited Kingdom221 records
- Inzinger GaisauAustria197 records
- Elton ReservoirUnited Kingdom179 records
- Pancharevo Lake and FishpondsBulgaria124 records
- South ParkBulgaria108 records
- Hoces Ebro Rudrón PNat – Zamanzas-Los AltosSpain103 records
- Völser Auen Airport ShoreAustria94 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The white-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus), also known as the European dipper or just dipper, is an aquatic, passerine bird found in Europe, the 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.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the White-throated Dipper?
The White-throated Dipper is about 18 cm long, with a wingspan of 28 cm and weighs around 62 g.
Where does the White-throated Dipper live?
Its breeding range: Palearctic: widespread, also northwestern Africa. It is most often recorded in China, Spain and United Kingdom.
When is the best time to see the White-throated Dipper?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January, March and April (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the White-throated Dipper endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the White-throated Dipper as Least Concern.
What does the White-throated Dipper eat?
Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.
What family is the White-throated Dipper in?
It belongs to the family Dippers (Cinclidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Length
- 18 cm
- Wingspan
- 28 cm
- Weight
- 62 g
- Habitat
- Rivers & streams
- Diet
- Fish, shrimp & shellfish
- Lifestyle
- Varied
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 89 mm
- Tail
- 50 mm
- Bill
- 22 mm
- Tarsus
- 28 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Palearctic: widespread, also northwestern Africa
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Subspecies · 2
- Cinclus cinclus leucogaster sc Russia, nw China s to Afghanistan and n Pakistan
- Cinclus cinclus przewalskii e Himalayas, s Tibet and w China
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Dippers Cinclidae
- Genus
- Cinclus
Other birds in the genus Cinclus
Brown DipperCinclus pallasii
American DipperCinclus mexicanus
White-capped DipperCinclus leucocephalus
Rufous-throated DipperCinclus schulzii
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Mark Medcalf. ↗
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