We viewed an American Dipper from a bridge just off State Route 49 - their nest was under the bridge. This bird is about a "dull" as a bird can get, but makes up for it by it with a unique and totally entertaining foraging technique, as it dives into fast running streams, walks underwater, and then pops up like a cork to perch for a moment on a favored rock before diving in again. Seen mostly in the mountains, in western regions from Alaska down to Mexico and even to Panama! Some populations are short-distance migrants, but many are resident.
 |
| Note the very short tail - they don't do a lot of flying! |
 |
| Low light limits feather detail. Body is gray, head browner. |
Brief Taxonomy-
Family: Cinclidae - the Dippers, and only one genus. No close relatives in the New World.
Genus: Cinclus - The Dipper. Five species worldwide, all very similar.
Species: Cinclus mexicanus
No comments:
Post a Comment