Editing Dipper (section)

==Behaviour==

===Food===
Dippers [[forage]] for small animal prey in and along the margins of fast-flowing freshwater streams and rivers.  They perch on rocks and feed at the edge of the water, but they often also grip the rocks firmly and walk down them beneath the water until partly or wholly submerged.  They then search underwater for prey between and beneath stones and debris; they can also swim with their wings.  The two South American species swim and dive less often than the three northern ones.<ref name=Tyler1994b>{{cite journal | last = Tyler | first = S.J. | title = The Yungas of Argentina: in search of Rufous-throated Dippers ''Cinclus schulzi'' | journal = Cotinga | volume = 2 | pages = 38–41 | year = 1994 | url=http://www.neotropicalbirdclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Cotinga-02-1994-38-41.pdf }}</ref>  Their prey consists primarily of [[invertebrate]]s such as the [[nymph (biology)|nymph]]s or [[larva]]e of [[mayfly|mayflies]], [[Black fly|blackflies]], [[Plecoptera|stoneflies]] and [[Trichoptera|caddisflies]], as well as small fish and fish eggs.  [[Mollusc]]s and [[crustacean]]s are also consumed, especially in winter when insect larvae are less available.<ref name=Tyler1994/>

===Breeding===
Linear breeding territories are established by pairs of dippers along suitable rivers, and maintained against incursion by other dippers.  Within their territory the pair must have a good nest site and roost sites, but the main factor affecting the length of the territory is the availability of sufficient food to feed themselves and their broods.  Consequently, the length of a territory may vary from about {{convert|300|m|ft|-2|abbr=off}} to over {{convert|2500|m|ft|-2|abbr=off}}.<ref name=Tyler1994/>

Dipper nests are usually large, round, domed structures made of [[moss]], with an internal cup of grass and rootlets, and a side entrance hole.  They are often built in confined spaces over, or close to, running water.  The site may be on a ledge or bank, in a crevice or drainpipe, or beneath a bridge.  Tree sites are rare.<ref name=Tyler1994/>

The usual clutch-size of the three northern dipper species is four or five; those of the South American species is not well known, though some evidence suggests that of the rufous-throated dipper is two.<ref name=Salvador1986>{{cite journal | last = Salvador | first = S. |author2=Narosky, S. |author3=Fraga, R. | title = First description of the nest and eggs of the red-throated dipper in northwestern Argentina | journal = Gerfaut | volume = 76 | pages = 63–66 | year = 1986 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294873606 }}</ref>  The incubation period of 16 or 17 days is followed by the hatching of [[altricial]] young which are brooded by the female alone for the next 12 to 13 days. The nestlings are fed by both parents and the whole fledging period is about 20–24 days.  Young dippers usually become independent of their parents within a couple of weeks of leaving the nest. Dippers may raise second broods if conditions allow.<ref name=Tyler1994/> The maximum recorded age from [[Bird ringing|ring-recovery]] data of a white-throated dipper is 10 years and 7 months for a bird ringed in Finland.<ref>{{cite web| title=European Longevity Records   |url=https://euring.org/data-and-codes/longevity-list?page=4 |publisher=Euring | access-date=13 February 2019 }}</ref> The maximum age for an American dipper is 8 years and 1 month for a bird ringed and recovered in South Dakota.<ref>{{ cite web | title=Longevity Records of North American Birds | publisher=United States Geological Survey | url=https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/longevity/Longevity_main.cfm | access-date=13 February 2019 }}</ref>

===Communication===
Dippers' calls are loud and high-pitched, being similar to calls made by other birds on fast rivers; the [[sound frequency|call frequencies]] lying within a narrow range of 4.0–6.5&nbsp;[[kHz]], well above the torrent noise frequency of maximum 2&nbsp;kHz.<ref name=Martens1990>{{cite conference | first = Martens | last = J. |author2=Geduldig, G. | title = Acoustic adaptations of birds living close to Himalayan torrents | book-title = Proc. Int. 100 DO-G Meeting | pages = 123–131 | publisher = Current Topics Avian Biol. | year = 1990 | location = Bonn }}</ref>  Dippers also communicate visually by their characteristic dipping or bobbing movements, as well as by blinking rapidly to expose the white feathers on their upper eyelids as a series of white flashes in courtship and threat displays.<ref name=Goodge1960/>