This is such a cool bird. Photo via Flickr.
The American Dipper is the only aquatic songbird in the world! Here are 7 facts about this amazing and unique bird of the Rocky Mountains.
Birds were one of the first aspects of the natural world that I got into. They are everywhere and you can see some whenever you look outside. I’m really amazed at how many different types of birds live in the world. Birds live in the forest, meadows, along oceans, or near lakes and ponds. One bird of the Rockies that I’ve seen and marvel at is the American Dipper.
7 Facts About The American Dipper
The American Dipper is a type of songbird. Songbirds are an order within birds (check this old post on classification system of life to remember what an Order is or this one on the types of animals). They range in size from 3 1/2 inches up to a 24 inch raven. About half of the birds in the world are songbirds. Amazingly, the Dipper is the only aquatic songbird in the world!
This is a small to medium sized bird at 8 inches tall. It is gray all over and has a short tail. It lives along mountainous streams throughout the Rocky Mountains.
Is there any food under there that looks good to eat?
This bird looks for food underwater. It can poke its head under to look for food, dive underwater, swim, or even walk underwater. Yes, as crazy as it sounds, this small bird walks along the bottom of fast flowing streams looking for food.
These birds eat aquatic insects, such as the larvae or nymphs of mayflies, caddisflies, and stoneflies. Additionally, they will eat other tiny animals they find, such as small fish.
These are one of the birds that don’t migrate during the harsh winters of the Rockies. However, they may move to larger rivers that remain unfrozen during the winter so that they can still find food to eat.
This is a nest. You can see a bird inside if you look closely. Photo via Flickr.
They build a nest near water. In the past they built their nests on cliff ledges, behind waterfalls, or on dirt banks. Now a common nesting locations is under bridges. Both the male and female work together to build the nest, which looks like a moss dome. The outside of the nest is moss and the inside a dry grass/bark mixture to stay dry. There is a small entrance on the water side, leading to a cup nest.
American Dippers need to live near/along clean rivers and streams. This is because their food source, aquatic insects, can’t survive in polluted water. Thus, polluted rivers is a threat to the survival of these birds. Scientists estimate that there are about 200,000 of these birds alive.