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There is enough water in rivers; in some cascading part the dipper may be seen.

 

The white throat and – seen from a distance – black plumage resemble a churchman’s dress and some movements too support the impression – when frightened the dipper makes a series of bows. On closer inspection we see that the head, neck and underbelly of the sturdy bird are the brown of wood tar (appearing black seen from a distance). The back plumage and the short tail however are a dull black. The beak and legs are dark brown. Length up to about twenty centimetres, weight up to 70 grams.

 

Dippers are the only birds among passerines who are able to dive. They daub their plumage with the secretion from a fat gland at the tail base – similar to waterfowl. On the river bottom they move at a ”run” or swimming aided by the wings as in flight. When they dive they can remain underwater for up to half a minute.

 

In cascading river stretches with low water levels they search for invertebrates when diving but they also hunt for small fish and fish fry. Very rarely we see the dipper feeding on land.

 

As nester, the dipper is rare in Estonia. It flies from its breeding grounds in the North to us for winter, but is represented in very low numbers – in some winters 300 individuals, but years are not alike..