Dipper Bird On Visit To A River In The Highlands Of Scotland

Tour Scotland early Winter travel video of a Dipper bird on visit to a river in the Scottish Highlands. Dippers have a distinctive white throat and breast which contrasts with the dark plumage of their bodies, and Scotland provides a home for around 15,000 pairs. The dipper family is exceptional for its ability to hunt underwater. They feed on small aquatic invertebrates and fish, which they catch by walking along the bottom of fast flowing rivers and streams. By stretching out their wings against the current, dippers manage to push themselves downwards and stay submerged; they also hold on to stones with their feet to prevent them being swept off. Dippers were given their name because of their bobbing movements, up and down, while perched, and especially so when they’re excited. Dippers have been known to make up to around 60 of these dips per minute. A local name for the species used to be water ousel, ousel being an old Scots word for blackbird. Dippers have a range of physical adaptations that make them well suited to life on the water. These include well-developed wing muscles that help push against the currents, eyes that function underwater, blood that stores large amounts of oxygen to draw from when they are submerged and specialised flaps over their nostrils to prevent water rushing in. Dippers are the national birds of Norway, All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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