The White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) is a chunky, compact songbird, the only passerine in northern Europe that regularly swims and dives. Dark brown overall like a Blackbird, it is unmistakable thanks to its bright white throat and breast patch, and its build is stockier than a thrush's, with a short, upward-tilted tail reminiscent of a Wren's; white eyelids give a distinctive blinking effect as the bird moves its eyes. It measures 17–20 cm, roughly the size of a large thrush despite its compact shape.
The Dipper is closely tied to fast-flowing water with a stony bottom, where it can walk along the streambed hunting aquatic insects and small crustaceans among the stones and gravel. Its call is a creaking "dsrr," and its melodic song can be heard year-round, even in the depths of winter when ice covers the surrounding ground but the stream itself still runs free. It nests in a moss-covered, domed structure built behind a waterfall, under a bridge or in a streamside rock crevice. In Sweden it breeds along fast-flowing rivers and streams in Norrland, Dalarna and Bergslagen, and further south wherever suitable rapids exist, with a population estimated at 15,000–25,000 pairs; it is largely a resident, though northern birds may move south during hard winters.
Read about this species in Swedish →