Short Description
The white-throated dipper is a roundish songbird that mainly lives on fast-flowing waters with a stony bottom.
The feathers on the head, neck and belly are dark brown. The wing and tail feathers are black. The white plumage on the throat and breast is striking. The bill is black.
The females are slightly lighter on average and have slightly shorter wings than the males.
Features
White-throated dipper
Cinclus cinclus
white chest and throat
rounded physique
In the city
The white-throated dipper is a rare, irregularly wintering guest on the river Panke in the Berlin district of Wedding. In order to offer the dipper a suitable nesting opportunity, nesting boxes have been installed on some of the bridges along the river.
Fun Facts
The white-throated dipper uses its short, rounded wings as oars under water. This helps it dive for food.
The dipper is the only native songbird in Germany that can swim and dive.
It can walk several metres under water.
- Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
Sources
Habitus, Alun Williams333, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cinclus_cinclus_bronwen_y_dwr.jpg
Habitus, Олексій Карпенко, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BA_(Cinclus_cinclus)_%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%BE_%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%B4_%D0%B3%D0%BD%D1%96%D0%B7%D0%B4%D0%B0.jpg
_%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%BE_%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%B4_%D0%B3%D0%BD%D1%96%D0%B7%D0%B4%D0%B0.jpg){kind=link}
von Blotzheim, G. & Urs N. (1985) Passeriformes. : von Blotzheim, G. & Urs N. (eds.) Handbuch der Vögel Mitteleuropas, volume 10/II, Wiesbaden: AULA-Verlag, 957-1020.
Eilts, H.-J. (2019) Die Wasseramsel Cinclus cinclus als Wintergast auf dem Berliner Stadtgebiet, Otis, 26, 109-117.
Ineichen, S., Klausnitzer, B. & Ruckstuhl, M. (2012) Stadtfauna. 600 Tierarten unserer Städte, Bern, Stuttgart und Wien: Haupt Verlag.
Eilts, H.-J. & Sieste, F. (2020) Neues Zuhause für seltene Wasseramseln. Nisthilfen für nordische Gäste an Berlins Panke installiert, URL: https://berlin.nabu.de/news/newsarchiv/2020/Januar/27463.html (Accessed: 26.05.2021).
NABU – Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V. (n.d.) Wasseramsel. Cinclus cinclus, URL: https://www.nabu.de/tiere-und-pflanzen/voegel/portraets/wasseramsel/ (Accessed: 02.07.2021).
Page „Wasseramsel“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 13.03.2021, 19:16 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wasseramsel&oldid=209763383 (Accessed: 15.07.2021).