Botanical Glossary - Home

American Dipper drying his wings after a lengthy bath in the stream. American Dippers are chunky and slate colored usually associated with rushing mountain streams. The body shape is like a wren with a stubby tail, pale legs and white eyelids. Its habit of making bobbing motions while standing gives this bird its common name, 'Dipper.' The Dipper likes to dive and submerge as it looks for aquatic insects, aquatic invertebrates and small fish (I also observed this one swallowing a small berry that it had found at water's edge) and is quite comical to observe diving, splashing and scooting underwater as it has a bath - then jumps on on a rock, shakes off, and has a lengthy preen. This one was so involved with having a bath that he didn't notice me getting closer - at one point he was splashing around at my feet so close that I couldn't focus on him because he was too close (normally these birds are very skittish and observant of other creatures proximity, especially people)

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