Dippers (family Cinclidae) are small (~20 cm), stocky songbirds with short tails and stubby wings. They have the distinctive habit of living in and near mountain streams, where they feed on aquatic insects and other aquatic organisms by wading in shallow water or diving into deeper water. The family contains five species, which live in mountainous regions of the Americas, Eurasia and North Africa. The slate-grey American dipper is rarely seen in Saskatchewan and only in the Cypress Hills, which is the only region of the province with the required high-grade streams.
Diane Secoy