Scientific name: Cinclus cinclus
Size: Approx 18cm
Distribution: Found throughout most of the UK, but absent from south east England
Months seen: All year round
Habitat: In or beside fast flowing water
Food: Aquatic invertebrates and small fish
Special features: Dippers have mostly dark brown plumage with a white throat and breast. The top of the head is chestnut coloured and there is a narrow band of chestnut plumage below the white breast. The beak is slate grey and the legs are brown.
The name dipper comes from its habit of bobbing up and down on its legs.
Dippers are short, stocky birds with strong legs which allow them to walk, and swim, underwater to catch their food, even in strong currents.