dipper, common name for the only aquatic member of the order Perciformes (perching birds) found near cold mountain streams. With their short, stubby wings and tails and their thick brownish plumage, dippers are thought to be closely related to the wrens. There are four species: the brownish gray North American dipper, Cinclus mexicanus, called also water ouzel, found from Alaska to Panama; the white-headed dipper of the Andes; the European common dipper, with a white throat and breast, found from Scandinavia to Africa; and the Asian dipper of Siberia and China. Dippers have filmy feathers, large preen glands that provide waterproofing oil, and flaps over the nostrils and a third eyelid to keep out water. They swim well underwater, using their wings for propulsion, and eat water insects and larvae, newts, and minnows. Their wrenlike domed nests are built in rock crevices. Dippers are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Perciformes, family Cinclidae.

Little Dipper, familiar configuration of stars in the constellation Ursa Minor (see Ursa Major and Ursa Minor).

Dipper, Big, and Little Dipper: see Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

Big Dipper, familiar configuration of stars visible in the constellation Ursa Major (see Ursa Major and Ursa Minor).

or water ouzel

Any of five songbird species in the genus Cinclus (family Cinclidae), noted for hunting insects by walking underwater in rushing streams. The species are widely distributed in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America. Dippers are plump, stub-tailed birds, about 7 in. (18 cm) long, with a thrushlike bill and legs. They are commonly blackish brown or dull gray. They nest in a dome of moss built in a crevice, often behind a waterfall. Seealso ouzel.

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