White-capped Dipper

About the White-capped Dipper

The white-capped dipper (Cinclus leucocephalus) is a semiaquatic passerine bird of South America. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The white-capped dipper was described by the Swiss naturalist Johann Jakob von Tschudi in 1844 with the binomial Cinclus leucocephalus, which it has retained ever since. The type locality is the Junín Province in Peru. The specific epithet leucocephalus combines the Ancient Greek leukos "white" and -kephalos "-headed". Of the five species now placed in the genus, a molecular genetic study has shown that the white-capped dipper is most closely related to the other South American species, the rufous-throated dipper (Cinclus schulzii).

The white-capped dipper has these three subspecies: C. l. rivularis Bangs, 1899 C. l. leuconotus Sclater, PL, 1858 C. l. leucocephalus Tschudi, 1844 The white-capped dipper is 13.5 to 16.5 cm (5.3 to 6.5 in) long and weighs 38 to 59 g (1.3 to 2.1 oz). The sexes have the same plumage, but males are slightly larger than females. Adults of the nominate subspecies C. l. leucocephalus have a white crown and nape that sometimes have blackish brown streaks... Wikipedia →